Bloggers / Chris Edwards / 19 March 2009 / 1 Comments

Following up on his recent pieces about playing live - Some Basics about Playing Live and Preparing for a Live Tournament - Chris Edwards discusses some aspects of table image.

'If it was anyone else, I'd call,' was the cry of the confident player, contemplating his action after his early position raise was re-raised all in by a massive amount. He duly folds, showing his pocket 9's face up. His opponent, a silent middle aged man who has not been involved in a hand for the two hours the tournament has been running, flips pocket Aces. 'Obviously', the rest of the table agree.

For me, there are two types of 'table image' to take into consideration when playing live poker. The obvious one is your playing style - loose, tight, whatever. Most will know the theory behind this and how play and play against the different styles.

The other type of table image is your actual presence at the table. It's common for the tight and quiet players to get pointed out. Of course, the remedy for this is to loosen up slightly, but I have found that there are other ways to get noticed at the table without playing more hands.

Take time to talk to all the players at the table, especially striking up conversations with the loud 'table captains'. These are the players who are more likely to point out your playing tight, so occasionally take their focus away from your game when your not in hands. Also, getting them to like you gives them less reasons to want to beat you. Agree with the things they are saying, even if its absolute rubbish.

Getting noticed at cash tables

Cash games are even tougher. At least in tournaments the blinds go up and someone can get priced in to call you, but in the side games with the stagnant blinds the good players will take you for a ride if you sit right back, but with the increased pressure there are more fun ways to counteract. As soon as you sit down, inquire about straddles. Ask if you can post a dead straddle, an out of position straddle, anything. Ask if anyone wants to side bet on the flop colour. Doing these things will give you a loose image before you have even been dealt a hand! Then make sure you straddle frequently and even throw in the occasional double straddle to continue your gambling image.

A term I have decided to coin is the 'bluff fold', which is another great tool. When it is your turn to act after considerable action, occasionally agonise over a hand even if it's terrible. This will show players that you are in the game, are getting hands, but are facing tough spots. You have now just 'played a hand', even though it cost you nothing. You will also gain experience of having the whole table focus on you, and being able to observe players when in the same hand. All for free.

A big mistake I see players make when playing tight, either deliberately or just because of the cards, is verbally announcing it. This does bring attention to you, but in a negative way as the players now know your playing tight, or even worse are doing it on purpose. What could be worse than folding lots of hands and still getting no respect when bluffing. If you have told everyone your card dead, then pick up a hand and raise, all it takes is for someone to blurt out 'Ah, he's finally got a hand!' to kill all your action.

The face to face aspect of live poker is often over valued in specific hands. However, the more general psychological concepts such as these can help you gain an advantage over your opponents.

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