Definition of Chameleon

Chameleons are lizards best known for their ability to change skin color in order to adapt to their environment.

In the poker vernacular, the term chameleon refers to any player that is able to change his or her play style based on the opponents and situational factors. The best chameleons can change play style from one hand to the next.

Arguably, the most crucial tool at the successful poker player's disposal is the ability to adapt to opponents and situations. A winning player must also mix it up so that opponents cannot figure them out and predict what's coming.

For the novice, one of the most difficult concepts to realize is that the situation dictates the optimal play style. Novices tend to use the "right" approach as a crutch, which is a big reason why new players are so predictable.

Tight-aggressive, often considered the optimal style, and loose-aggressive are two of the most popular poker approaches. At the least, a chameleon is able shift between these in a way that benefits him and confuses others.

Chameleon also refers to a poker variant. Chameleon Poker is a form of Baseball Poker, which is a variant of Seven-Card Stud. While still popular, this type of poker tends to be uncommon at casinos and online card rooms.

Baseball Poker generally involves wild cards, usually 3s and 9s, and ad-hoc rules. In Chameleon Poker, the ad-hoc rule is that 3s and 9s start wild but can change whenever a player turns up a 7. Any non-wild can become wild.

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