Why Do Some Players Become Unreadable at the Table? 😶🃏

[Pitonealal]

Lately I’ve been thinking about one strange type of player you see both live and online — the completely unreadable ones.
Not tight, not loose… just impossible to categorize.

You know the type:

sometimes they snap-call with nothing,

sometimes they fold top pair instantly,

sometimes they shove with hands you would never even consider,

and somehow they always make you doubt your own line.


It’s like they’re playing their own private version of poker.

So here’s the question:
👉 What actually makes a player truly unreadable?
Is it:

total lack of patterns?

emotional decisions?

deliberate chaos?

or a very deep understanding of ranges disguised as randomness?


Curious what you all think. Have you played vs someone like this?
And more importantly — is being unreadable a real advantage, or just disguised bad play?

Drop your thoughts below 👇

 

[Phoenix Wright]

This "unreadable" you describe sounds more like the generic "fish" category because the nuances of their decision-making might be unclear to us... but their reasoning doesn't really matter if we have a strategy which beats their strategy. In situations like these, I'd just play more straight-forward and foundational. Their unusual play will essentially put themselves out of the game. Against these players, I'd just value bet more and play without getting too much out of line.

In other words, them being unreadable isn't a problem if they are easy to play against. Even against good players, if you can't get a read on them, then just play your own game.

 

[Mag_P1e]

The most unpredictable players are those who don't understand what they're doing. They don't understand why they called preflop, they don't understand why they didn't fold their fourth pair on the turn to a 75% bet, they don't understand why they even sat down to play today—but they're absolutely certain they're doing everything perfectly.

 

[wushibala]

But if we’re talking about freerolls, then yeah — it’s complete chaos there.
However, there’s another type of player: the ones who are really good at switching between different playstyles. They know exactly when to change gears and how to adapt to specific opponents and specific tournaments.

 

[hobojim1247]

I try intentionally to make myself unreadable. I watch and observe at the beginning of tournaments and start to figure out who knows what they are doing from those who are winging it. Who has a pattern with their bet sizing and bet timing with relation to their hand strength. A very important thing I look for is strength of their hand cards in relation to their position to act.
One thing that makes a player very difficult to read is the one who will develop a different strategy for each player at the table.
As for freerolls , I just play by the book and hope for the best results.

 

[austral]

A player becomes unpredictable not by eliminating patterns,
but by using patterns that are too balanced and too adaptive to be deciphered.

 

[Natox]

I think there are simply people with very good intuition. I've often come across players who make excellent decisions and stay unpredictable. You can see a combination of experience and good self-control. Their knowledge separates them from the crowd of gamblers. Even if they lose, they know what they did and be fine with that. All things that can be learned and improved, in my opinion.

 

[Hospedar]

No one is truly unreadable.

When you face crazy players, you will notice that he doesn't has a balanced range of hands and choices, so he only play what he wants to play when he wants to play...

This may looks like a lack of pattern, but it's not...

We can't see properly what are our patterns and play tendencies, but we have it. Our thoughts will be based on our mind, our biology, our life history, etc.

That's why we need to keep studying more about GTO and MDA (Mass Data Analysis) and why is good to use a good RNG (to help us to reach the correct percentage of all choices and win +EV during the long term).

So I repeat: no one is unreadable; some people are just crazy and strange and we need to keep studying and training to face them and exploit their "hidden" -EV patterns.



These are my thoughts...

 

[hobojim1247]

I think there are simply people with very good intuition. I've often come across players who make excellent decisions and stay unpredictable. You can see a combination of experience and good self-control. Their knowledge separates them from the crowd of gamblers. Even if they lose, they know what they did and be fine with that. All things that can be learned and improved, in my opinion.

excellent point. My wife is one of those people.

 

[dompoker]

Because they are players who don't bluff often, they know when how to bluff is difficult to control.

 

[Roller]

Their Timing Is Perfectly Randomized
Most online reads come from timing tells:
snap-bets
insta-checks
long tanks
Unreadable players:
mix fast and slow actions
don’t snap c-bet every time they hit
don’t tank only on tough spots
Their timing doesn’t correlate with hand strength.

 

[SpanRmonka]

I think you're focusing on trying to read players at the micros far too much.

You don't beat the micros but trying to outwit poor players. You beat it by recognising basic mistakes and tendancies and avoiding the players who can do whatever they like on a whim, unless of course you have the near nuts!!

Just play solid poker

 

[Kasztor007]

For me, most “unreadable” players at the micros are only unreadable on the surface.
Usually it’s just inconsistency or lack of fundamentals, not some next-level balanced strategy.

I try not to overthink it.
If someone plays totally random, I simply switch back to solid TAG poker:

• value bet stronger hands
• avoid big bluffs
• don’t level myself trying to “figure them out”

Against players with no patterns, the best strategy is your own pattern: discipline, position, and strong ranges.
Chaos beats itself in the long run — you just have to stay patient and let them make the first big mistake.

 

[KeyPatience]

Because we’re not good enough at reading!

 

[Viking26]

I think the pros figure out faster your gameplay ..and they play You..figure out your fear...thats why their harder to read..(just an opinion

 

[LiviuRo123]

Some players become unreadable because they control their emotions extremely well. They keep the same timing, bet sizes, and body language no matter what they hold. The more disciplined a player is, the harder it becomes to pick up any reliable tells.

 

[gus_eva]

There are a lot of people who hurt playing and the software helps them. You can't read a freeroll player who plays differently.

 

[sibkaz]

I think it's right to change the style of play... You need to feed the fish first and then catch it))

 

[Mario7]

I define such players as "aggro fish". No reason to do anything special about it. Play tight, basic poker. They will hang themselves sooner or later.

 

[Sos1l]

Lately I’ve been thinking about one strange type of player you see both live and online — the completely unreadable ones.
Not tight, not loose… just impossible to categorize.

You know the type:

sometimes they snap-call with nothing,

sometimes they fold top pair instantly,

sometimes they shove with hands you would never even consider,

and somehow they always make you doubt your own line.


It’s like they’re playing their own private version of poker.

So here’s the question:
👉 What actually makes a player truly unreadable?
Is it:

total lack of patterns?

emotional decisions?

deliberate chaos?

or a very deep understanding of ranges disguised as randomness?


Curious what you all think. Have you played vs someone like this?
And more importantly — is being unreadable a real advantage, or just disguised bad play?

Drop your thoughts below 👇

If we talk only about regulars, they make linear bets both when they hit and when they bluff, and that’s why they are so difficult to read.

 

[anbu210]

What actually makes a player unreadable?​

1) True randomness / lack of stable patterns​

• What it is: Their actions don’t correlate reliably with hand strength or position. They don’t form a stable preflop range, or they switch lines constantly.
• Why it’s unreadable: Your statistical reads (VPIP/PFR, fold-to-cbet, 3-bet freq) don’t converge — small samples give wildly different impressions.
• Typical source: Recreational players, people learning many heuristics but applying them inconsistently, or someone using “mixed” lines without a coherent plan.

2) Emotional (erratic) decisions — tilt, fear, overconfidence​

• What it is: Decisions driven by emotion rather than logic — chasing after losing hands, spewing when frustrated, folding the best hands when scared.
• Why it’s unreadable: Their play switches with mood; yesterday they were tight, today they’re calling off with air. There’s pattern — but it’s a psychological pattern that changes unpredictably.
• Typical source: Short memory (tilt), recreational stress, drunk/overexcited players.

3) Deliberate chaos / strategic unexploitable play​

• What it is: A player intentionally randomizes to be unexploitable (mixing bluffs/values to avoid reads). Could be a skilled reg using a “balanced” or solver-derived strategy or a pro deliberately mixing to obscure tendencies.
• Why it’s unreadable: They do have a plan — but it’s designed to produce high entropy so opponents can’t pin them down. Hard to read, but not chaotic in the emotional sense.
• Typical source: Advanced players, some pros, or bots.

 

[Poker Orifice]

Lately I’ve been thinking about one strange type of player you see both live and online — the completely unreadable ones.
Not tight, not loose… just impossible to categorize.

You know the type:

sometimes they snap-call with nothing,

sometimes they fold top pair instantly,

sometimes they shove with hands you would never even consider,

and somehow they always make you doubt your own line.


It’s like they’re playing their own private version of poker.

So here’s the question:
👉 What actually makes a player truly unreadable?
Is it:

total lack of patterns?

emotional decisions?

deliberate chaos?

or a very deep understanding of ranges disguised as randomness?


Curious what you all think. Have you played vs someone like this?
And more importantly — is being unreadable a real advantage, or just disguised bad play?

Drop your thoughts below 👇

Are you talking about Phil Ivey??!?!?!?

 

[Renolin Sindraj]

Those players are very difficult to play against sometimes. I agree

 

[bremp555]

I’ve run into a few players like this, and they always throw me off way more than the regular “tight” or “loose” profiles. What confuses me most is when their decisions look random, but still seem to work often enough that you start second-guessing yourself. It’s like they’re intentionally mixing in strange timing, weird sizings, and unexpected lines just to stay outside any box you try to put them in.

I sometimes think the “unreadable” label comes from a mix of emotional decisions and genuine range knowledge. Some players are just chaotic by nature, but others actually understand the game well and deliberately break patterns so you can’t anchor them to anything. And when you can’t anchor someone, every decision feels heavier — you lose confidence in your own interpretations.

I’m curious too: do you think being unreadable is a real long-term skill, or does it eventually fall apart against people who take notes and dig into frequencies?

 

[istbno]

Consistency, discipline, and unpredictability. Betting patterns that don’t give away hand strength, timing that doesn’t change, reactions that stay neutral, and avoiding any physical or chat tells. Truly unreadable regs mix range masking, balanced aggression, and mental control. They make it impossible for opponents to assign a clear range, so reads break down completely. It’s not luck—it’s habit, focus, and practice.