The Timid One - A perplexing player who doesn't bet

They sit there, fearful of the pot. Bets and raises are flat called with monster and marginal holdings alike. When they do finally show their hand you'll shake your head thinking, "Why didn't he take more money from me?" These are the timid players.

The Timid Playbook

A timid player doesn't like to increase the pot. They are nervous about leading out and would prefer to call somebody else's bet. The pots in which they participate are driven by another player. Perhaps in no-limit, if nobody bets first, they might put in the minimum. Perhaps not.

a timid person

Timid players prefer small pots but aren't afraid of large bets.

The primary motivator to their play is keeping the pot small. It feels as though they are opposed to gambling and are limiting the wager until absolutely certain they will win. This certainty doesn't come often though, and usually only on the final streets. By this time however their opponent has become suspicious and isn't willing to donate any more money.

Keep in mind that a timid player need not be a coward. While they may not bet often they aren't going to get scared away easily. This is the most curious aspect of such a player: Obviously they have a good enough hand to call, but they will never defend or value bet. A bully will find themselves wasting a lot of money trying for the fold. This is also not to say this type of player is overly brave. If the wager is too high for their holdings they will fold. An attentive player will however realize it's uncertain whether the timid player has a weak hand or a monster. Just because you're playing against a timid player, you don't want to throw large bets around carelessly.

All this leads to the timid player having little control over the pot size. Their opponents get to decide entirely how much it costs to go along. Any player can easily take a free card when up against a timid player. Occasionally a timid player may put in a minimum bet to block this, but if the pot is already sufficiently large it won't do anything at all. Timid players rely on an aggressive opponent to drive up the pot. Many will even fail to bet on the final street, even while holding a very strong hand. This is perplexing to say the least.

Dominic has again called a pre-flop raise with a junk hand. He is at a rather tight table and has been bullying people on the flop. This time however he's up against Jill, a very timid player who has called. Dominic mistakes her for a coward and when the flop comes up a rather dry 7♣ 8♦ 2♣ and puts in a pot-sized bet to knock her out. The preflop raiser folds but Jill flat calls. The turn throws up a scare card, the A♥ and again Dominic fires out. Jill flat calls again. Dominic relents to a blank on the river and watches Jill show pocket jacks to take the pot.

It must be restated that timid players aren't simple calling stations. If the timid player does not have a decent hand they will fold. They will not stubbornly go along with garbage, but marginal hands will often have them sticking around. The biggest danger against a timid player is that you can't tell whether they have a marginal hand or a strong hand.

Ammy is holding A♣ 2♠ and tries to steal the blinds with a raise on the button. Jill calls in the big blind. The flop comes A♠ 9♥ T♠. This is a problem for Ammy. Perhaps Jill has an ace, which would guarantee a better kicker. Or perhaps Jill has kings or queens. Indeed Jill may even have J♠ Q♠ and be looking at a straight and flush draw. Even calling with tens or nines in the big blind isn't impossible for Jill. Ammy is unlikely to get a fold. A moderate bet would bring nothing since Ammy already knows Jill will call. Ammy reluctantly checks.

Dominate Them

Timid players tend to be tight players.

Assuming that the timid player is also tight makes a lot of sense. If they are to make any money whatsoever it has to be through strong hands, therefore they can't afford enter too many pots. This represents a leak in the timid player's information shield. They will only be playing hands they believe to have a positive expected value, even if marginal.

But that's all that can be extracted from them. Since they only ever call it will not be possible to read their hand more accurately. As mentioned before, an excessively large bet might force them to fold, but it will also be very costly if they call. Therefore only moderate value bets make sense. There is no point in paying for information that just won't be revealed.

No control over the pot is the biggest weakness these players have. This is almost funny since they will believe they are exercising a good degree of pot control. It is their opponent who gets to decide what to bet. A player who has absolute freedom to decide the wager simply dominates the board. They can take a free card for their weak hand or drive up the pot with a strong hand. This can even be decided on a street by street basis as the timid player will call in either case.

Mason has an open ended straight draw. Normally he'd bet at this point but his opponent Jill is a very timid player. A bet would neither get her to fold nor tell him where he stands. He checks and Jill checks behind him. The next street completes his straight. He knows that Jill won't bet so slow-playing here is worthless. He puts in a half-pot bet. On the last card he sees ways his straight could be beat, but since Jill called early it is not likely. He can't be positive though. He'll simply play the stats, knowing that he will usually win with the straight, and put in a moderate value bet.

This is how timid players lose their money. They allow opponents with weak hands to improve or even sometimes hit their long-shot outs giving them monster hands. They fail to defend a mediocre holding and they don't exploit a good holding. Against a bully they will likely earn some significant pots. However, against an astute player they will win peanuts with a better hand, but lose big with a weaker hand.