I host a quasi-regular game. We usually play a NL tourney format, but this past week we played a ring game. There is one guy in particular whose style has confounded me lately. I am the most agressive player at the table. I tend to steal a lot of pots, and make my fair share of bluffs. This guy is one of the most passive players at the table. He almost never raises pre-flop, and he does have a habit of calling a lot.

The problem I am having is that I find it very hard to put him on hands. One particular hand that gave me problems... I am in the BB with A9 I think. It is called around to me. I check. Flop comes Axx. SB checks, I lead out the pot. This guy calls. Next card is a blank. So I bet again. Called again. River is another blank. I am pretty sure this guy has an ace. Could be 2-pair. So I check the river. He bets 1/4 of the pot. I have to call. He shows me AK.

How do the rest of you play against loose/passive players like this? One other thing is that he seems to love the check-raise these days. He will call my position raise, then check to me with a hand on the flop, I bet, he comes over the top. This happened a few times.

In the end I decided to check behind him, make him make the plays. Still I lost a good deal of money to him showing down second best hands. Any thoughts?

I think your problem came when you allowed people to limp in to see the pot...nice you hit your ace...but you have no Idea where you stand...you say you're very agressive. You have Ax in the BB....and you know this guy' s MO....call call call...raise him preflop...see where you are..if you have 3 or 4 limpers...pot is multiplied X4 preflop. Could tell you how strong or weak others are. If you just decide to call...and hit your ace......a check might suffice right off the bat..and see how hard the hitters fire...small fire..with amateurs...probably good bet they don't have much...as they aren't that adept at making plays. Big fire...someone hit their Ace....with A9...time to back off. And with someone firing small...you can come over the top..and see if they lay down....maybe he puts you on 2 pair...or set...and folds....Highly unlikely in an amateur setting...but possible...Just my 2 cents

If this is a cash game, then he played you perfectly. If he raises youre going to fold (I hope).

I like to limp with AK and then either bet or call every street (depending on my position). I make alot ofmoney from people with smaller aces that wouldve folded if I had raised preflop.

You need to be less aggressive when hes in the pot. Someone else might fold AT if you keep firing but he obviously wont. When hes in the pot, youre going to need a bigger hand to keep firing.

Devil... I don't agree w/ dontquit... I think you should limp w/ A9... if you raise, all the AKs are gonna call, then when the A hits the flop, and you bet the pot (which is now more money), and he calls, you still don't know where you stand... you only know that you have less money in your pocket... I would probably fire out a pot-sized bet on the flop, like you did... if he calls, he probably has something, and I'd check the turn, folding if he overbets... w/ A9, you gotta assume someone playing an Axx flop has the ace, and may have a higher kicker...

This hand aside, I think you should LOVE a calling station... If he's gonna call your bets no matter what, tighten up a little and make him pay when you hit your big hands... People like that can luck their way into a lot of pots, but usually lose a couple big ones and end up broke at the end of the night...

Yeah... what Ice said...

Thanks for the advice, and I essentially did what Ice said. He even commented on it, saying I was turning it around on him.

Also I have no problem with someone limping AK... but he limps AQ, AJ... pretty much anything. I can't think of a time I have seen this guy raise pre-flop. He beat me another ace pot with a limped AQ. He limped it and played it so passively I was totally stunned when he turned it over.

Also, though he never raises pre-flop, he has no trouble raising or check-raising when he has a hand. His main weakness is he tends to overvalue his hands, especially TPTK.

Another hand I was in where he just killed me... forget exactly how it played out, but in the end there were 4 to the flush on the board, including the A, Q, and 9, 3 way pot. I held the 8. I was in mp. Check to me, I put in a value bet and he came way over the top. I was a little gunshy I guess, because I folded. The other guy called. He showed the 5. Funny thing was it was not meant to be a bluff. He thought he had the best hand. I still think this was a disciplined fold, as the three cards that beat me are cards people would likely hold... but still... it hurt. Right after that I doubled through him with pocket aces because he thought his top pair of J's were good. If I had called that flush I would have almost busted him with the aces.