By accident or design, you have a table image. After several hands your opponents start to see you as tight or loose, passive or aggressive and they’ll act on that knowledge when they play against you in a hand. Once your opponents have a good read on you, your win rate will start to fall.
In order to maximize your profits at the poker table, you have to defy typecasting to keep your opponents off balance and in order to do that, you have to know how to recognize the way others perceive you so you can exploit your image.
Are you ready?
Know Your Table Image
The first step to profiting from your table image is to know what your table image is. Have you been playing tight or loose? Tight aggressive players usually get more respect at the table and other players are more likely to give a tight player credit for a hand. Loose players, however, get little respect. These players often get called and raised because other players don’t believe they have what they’re representing.
Pay close attention to how your opponents react to you. Their responses will let you know how you’re perceived at the table.
Exploit Your Table Image
Once you know your image, it’s time to exploit it. Tight players can exploit their image by bluffing. It’s hard to call a tight player when they raise preflop and follow it up with a solid bet on the flop. With that fact in mind, tight players should make frequent continuation bets.
A tight player may also want to raise the occasional speculative hand from late position since a tight player is likely to win without a fight and the hand will be well concealed if called. If you don’t win immediately, there’s little chance your opponent will give your credit for two pair when you hold 9-10 suited and the flop comes 9-10-A. In that situation, you’ll probably stack a player with Ace-King.
Loose players can exploit their image by not bluffing frequently. When you play loose, you know your opponents will call you with weak holdings. Exploit that fact by betting when you have a solid hand. There’s a good chance you’ll get paid.
Change Your Table Image
After a while, your opponents will notice that you’re no longer playing the same style and they’ll adjust their play accordingly so you have to adjust yours. Pay close attention to how your opponents react to you. If they perceive you as a loose player, play tight and vice-versa. The goal is to keep your opponents guessing. After a couple of Dr. Jekel/Mr. Hyde switches, your opponents won’t know what to think and when that happens, you own them.
Poker is a game of incomplete information. When you play a defined style, you give your opponents exactly what they need to fill in some of the blanks. By becoming aware of your table image and actively manipulating it, you can keep your opponents guessing and keep their money flowing into your stack.
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