A broad starting profile
Examples include tight, loose, passive, aggressive, or recreational. Use a label only when the observed play supports it.
A specific repeatable behavior
Examples include calls too wide, underbluffs rivers, overfolds to large bets, or uses unusually strong sizing.
What you actually saw
Showdowns, repeated lines, unusual sizes, and sufficient history are more useful than a single vague impression.
The honest default
If you are unsure, leave both player type and tendency Unknown. HandIQ should not invent a read to make an answer sound more specific.
How can a player read change a poker decision?
The same bet can represent a different range against different profiles. A player known to underbluff may make a river bluff-catch less attractive, while a player known to call too wide may support thinner value betting. The hand context still matters; the read changes the assumptions about likely mistakes.
How specific should a tendency be?
Prefer an observable statement such as “calls large flop bets too wide” over a vague judgment such as “bad player.” Specific tendencies are easier to connect to a decision and less likely to create false confidence.
Can I update the read later?
Yes. Save the hand first, then revisit the player details as your evidence improves. You can also ask a follow-up question to test how a different supported assumption would change the analysis.