The Risk of Constructing a Table Image
Table image is defi ned as the general perception of a player based on his previous actions. Although the most obvious aspect of one’s table image is either tight or loose, there are many more pieces of information to factor in before properly categorizing a player.
The moment you take your seat at the table you are creating an image. Your opponents begin to observe as you approach your stack of chips. Are you wearing sunglasses, headphones, or a fl amboyant outfi t; or are you just another player ready to go to work? Do you seem to be someone who has never felt a real card in his life? Before the cards are dealt, vast generalizations have been made; generalizations that determine how other players perceive you.
The biggest mistake players make these days is in trying to construct a table image. Granted, there may be times to change your image for one reason or another, but my advice is not to intentionally change your image. Generally, the cost is more than the image is worth.
When purposely trying to adjust their image, players often make a play that is not optimal, costing them money. They know that one decision is correct, but they choose a different decision based on the way they are trying to portray themselves at the table. Don’t make a non-optimal decision based on creating an image; instead take your image into account when making your decisions.
Players make this mistake all too often. For instance, sometimes you’ll see aggression occur for absolutely no reason at all. Everything is going smoothly, and then suddenly one player raises and continues to bet until everybody folds or he is called on the river. Whether they call him down or they all fold, he shows a bluff of 5-2 to the table. Why would he do such a thing? He wanted to create an image of being a loose player, so he told himself that no matter what he gets on the very next hand, he was going to raise the pot pre-fl op, and continue to bet it until he could show his hand for the entire table to see.
Well, his decision worked… right? Well, if he won the pot, he did make money. But realistically, his actions just caused him a lot of trouble. The equity he spent showing the wild and crazy image isn’t worth the value that he created. His intent was to get more action when he has a real hand but, unfortunately, I often fi nd that those players often play really tight from that point on — so the loose/ wild image is gone by the time they get their pocket aces. For this type of player, his loss in equity in the hand that created the image is almost always greater than the equity of what he will win in future hands.
This mentality is common in tournament poker. Although it does occur in cash games, players who play cash games tend to be more conservative than those who play in tournaments. So, such a crazy image-building play is even less valuable in a tournament than it is in a cash game. In fact, it is actually more correct to attempt this maneuver at a cash game since you will more often have those same players at the table for hours.
Say you run a bluff such as the one above. You’ve shown the rest of the table your recklessness and hope to capitalize on it. But all too often, you don’t have a chance to cash in on the image you created. You might be moved to a completely different table. You might lose your chips and be eliminated. Even if you are still at the same table, players who witnessed your image play may no longer be there. Do you really think you can bluff again in order to sell your image to the new players at the table? To manufacture your image, you’ll have to constantly remind your opponents in order to mislead them. It just isn’t worth it
First impressions do tend to last, but that doesn’t mean your image won’t change. If you play a couple hands in a row, people wake up and think you’ll play the next one. They will become less likely to fold a marginal hand because they simply don’t believe you have premium hands repeatedly. It’s human nature to question the statistics, and on every hand you need to be paying attention to the information that is given away.
Pay attention to the hands you are playing and how you are playing them. Keep track of what you are showing down on the river. Then, based on the personality you have established, make a reasonable assessment of how your opponents perceive you. That is your image, whether you like it or not. The key isn’t so much to have a certain image, but to recognize what image of you your opponents have in their heads. Use that information to predict their decisions and outplay them.
Playing in major tournaments, like the Main Event of the WSOP, you’ll be bombarded with novices trying to reinforce the images they think they’ve created. See through them and you’ve found the dead money at the table; but don’t let yourself fall for the image trap. If you need to work on your image for this year’s tournament, head to the WSOP Academy Main Event primer, and we’ll be glad to help.
