Understanding his play

[act]

In a ten handed game I played agains this loose pasive player (LP). He would check-call a draw, only raise with close-to-nuts and i did'nt see him bluf. I felt like I understood his game.

Then this hand came up:
He has
Q [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]K [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] in late, he calls preflop

Flop Q [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 3 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 2 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

LP bets and gets one caller
Turn: T [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]
LP Check raises (against a 'typical player')
and I was absolutely [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Prior to this hand, I would suspect that he was primarely driven by his desire to please people - no confrontations, just calls. But then he makes this play - what emotions are causing him to do it? If he was afraid of a bluf he could have just called.

Any suggestions?

[blackaces13]

He was just making a little play to make sure whether or not the other guy had a spade that he wouldn't let go of. Apparently he's not aas obvious as you thought.

[balkii]

You know I have seen strange things like this too. I had a read on a guy just like you did - super passive, only bets with the nuts, check-calls to the river with a set. Then I'm watching a hand - he checkraises on the turn. I think ok hes got the nuts. the hand goes to showdown he has pocket 66 on some crazy board that didnt match up at all with 66. Im thinking WTF?

I guess they probably just get the urge to do something wild sometimes

[Al Schoonmaker]

After playing poker for more than 50 years and practicing psychology for over 35, I am still amazed that people act out of character so frequently. Alas, people OFTEN act out of character, OR we don't understand their character nearly as well as we think we do.
If there is only one instance of this totally inexplicable deviation from our expectations, it's not that important. If we frequently find people acting inexplicably, we have some work to do.
Either we haven't read them as well as we thought, or there is some other factor that is causing these deviations. We have to try to determine WHY we were wrong.
That's one reason that poker psychology is so confusing and so fascinating.
Regards,
Al

[LetsRock]

It's likely that he's not as passive as you think. It sounds like he's a bit "careful" most of the time, but if he's sensing that the table is respecting his bets too much, it's not unusual to make a play or two on a scary board to see just how passive his table image is.

Don't mistake passive for unaware. There are many decent players who know what's going on, but just lack the fortitude to be aggressive on a regular basis.

[onegymrat]

Hi Act,

Perhaps your read on this player was not as accurate as you think. Unless you've played with him a dozen times or so, and he has shown you that he is a certifiable loose-passive player, I don't think you should come to judge so quickly. I have put players in a certain category after a couple of hours, only to see them change their tune. I have learned from the past, the hard way, that others adjust their game according to the pace of the table as well as I do (or better!).

[MaxPower]

Was he losing?