When someone calls another poker player a ‘rock’ in the game of poker, this is generally meant to say that the player is a solid, tight player who only bets when he has the goods. ‘Rocks’ are often known for rarely putting in money when they are behind other pokerplayers or bluffing without an impeccable case for doing so. It is often hard to get money out of a ‘rocky’ player without them making a big hand while you make a bigger hand, which is why a lot of players won’t play at games when they think a table is full of ‘rocks,’ unless they are capable of stealing pots from these players when they don’t end up making their hands. The opposite of a ‘rock’ player in poker is generally called an ‘action player.’ Action players like to bet draws, like to put their money in while gambling, and are often considered good money to have in a online poker game. One of the most solid ‘rock’ players of all time, Dan Harrington, who is a past main event champion from the World Series of Poker and the author of several excellent books on advanced Texas hold ‘em tournament play (‘Harrington on Hold Em’), is ironically nicknamed ‘Action Dan,’ in that he is well known for his tight image and being very difficult to bleed chips from. In other words, if you somehow end up at a table with ‘Action Dan,’ or someone like him, you are probably not going to make much off him without a hell of a fight.
