Sitting at the top of the poker food chain is the tight or strong-aggressive player. Such characters utilise superb starting hand selection, relative to their position at the table, and are able to shift between different gears with great success. One minute they'll be playing like a Rock and the next they'll be raising and check-raising, all the while reading their opponents, factoring their outs and pot odds into the equation. And before you know it they'll be sitting out several hands in a row before again getting back into the thick of the action.
Most tellingly though they'll always seem to be making the right bets at the right time - winning big and losing small. When they enter pots they usually do so by raising rather than calling, but do so in a controlled and calculating manner that separates them from a Maniac.
From time to time a Tight-Aggressive player may display all the attributes of a Maniac, but they will be picking their moments carefully and will have the discipline to switch to a different style if it's not working.
Tight-aggressive characters will prey heavily on the poorer players around them, but they will have the skills necessary to take down any player. Like everyone else, they'll get it wrong sometimes but overall they'll be successful because they make the right decisions most of the time.