Play Better Poker

Your Table image is basically the way opponents at the table perceive you.  Do they perceive you as being loose or tight, passive or aggressive? It is important to know.  How they perceive you affects how they play hands against you, and if you know both what your table image is and how they change their play according to it you can more easily read them.

                Remember that table image can sometimes be inaccurate.  If a player sits at your table and raises the first five hands and pounds them all the way you may think he is a maniac, especially if he didn’t show them. It is, however entirely possible that he just got five consecutive monster hands.  He couldn’t in fact be a very weak tight player who just picked up big pairs five hands in a row, and if that is the case chances are people will have a very inaccurate perception of him.

                Determining what people think of how you play is often hard. It has a lot to do with how you have played recently.  Many people don’t pay attention to hands they aren’t involved in, so their perception of you will be dominated more by hands in which you and they were both involved.  If there were a lot of hands like that they may think of as a loose player, if not, they may think you a tight player.  If you were raising a lot in those hands they will likely think you an aggressive player, if not, they may think you passive. 

                Players who pay more attention will have a much better idea of how you really play.  Even they will ten to heavily weight your recent play, which is not necessarily a bad idea either.  As the night draws on tight players who are having bad luck often turn  into lose ones and vice versa.  People’s emotional states often change and their play follows.  So be aware of how you have been playing recently.

                That being said, many people form one image of you and are reluctant to change it.  Don’t fall into this trap.  As I said earlier if a player comes in and is aggressive with his first five hands he may seem to be a maniac.  Chances are he is, but if he proceeds to fold every hand for the next hour be sure to update your opinion of him. 

                Also be aware that how a player plays preflop and post-flop are very different.  Some popel play very tight pre flop but then never seem to fold once the flop comes.  Some people are the opposite, raising every hand before the flop and then playing very well after.  Those players can be deadly.  Be sure to think in terms of how each player plays on each street, not just how they play preflop.

                Your table image is also greatly impacted by your appearances. They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but that doesn’t stop most people from trying.  If you are a young white male, people are going to be much more likely to peg you as an aggressive player.  A young white female whose game is identical to that young white male’s might be considered a calling station or weak-tight(playing few hands and doing so meekly).  People’s preconception often dominate their image of other players.  Be aware of them and use them to your advantage.