The best players in the game will typically play a reasonable number of hands, but not too many, although this can change one way or the other depending on the playing style of other players at the table. A player who plays only 7% of hands will hardly ever be a crusher, while one who plays 60% of all hands will usually not be the big winner in that game over the long run, even if he runs hot for a while. Of course, the number of hands a player is playing doesn’t tell us their skill level, although players on both extremes of this specter are typically not very good at poker. However, it won't be hard to spot players who are playing extremely tight, as you will rarely see them in a hand, or those who are playing loose, as you will see them putting chips in the middle very often. The “correct” amount of hands one should play in a particular game can depend on many things ranging from the number of players at the table to how others are playing.
A tight player is one who plays few hands overall, while a loose one likes to play as many hands as possible. The first thing you will want to determine about a player when you are seated at a new poker table is whether they are playing tight or loose.
