tightaggressive

Tight-aggressive, also written tightaggressive and often abbreviated TAG, is a poker playing style that emphasizes selective hand selection before the flop and aggressive action after the flop. It is commonly associated with no-limit hold'em cash games and tournaments. A TAG player tends to enter pots with a tight preflop range, choosing hands that have strong postflop playability, and then applies pressure through bets and raises rather than passive calls.

Key characteristics include disciplined starting hand selection, positional awareness, and a balanced attack. Preflop, a TAG player raises with premium and strong speculative hands in favorable positions, and folds many marginal hands. Postflop, they continuation-bet frequently when the flop favors their range, value-bet thinly with strong made hands, and employ selective bluffs to exploit opponents' folds. The style relies on pot control and aggression to win pots without always needing the best hand.

Typical ranges vary by position and table dynamics but generally involve playing a smaller percentage of hands from early positions (e.g., 8–15%) and a larger, still selective range from later positions (e.g., 15–25%). Stack depth, opponent tendencies, and game format influence adjustments; TAG players adjust bet sizes to threaten folds and protect equity.

Advantages of tight-aggressive play include reduced variance, easier hand-reading, and consistent pressure on opponents. Disadvantages include susceptibility to highly aggressive opponents who can push them off marginal holdings, and potential value leakage when bluffs are over- or under-utilized.

In practice, TAG serves as a foundational approach in modern poker strategy, often taught as a baseline from which players adapt to table dynamics, stack sizes, and opponents.