Advanced Poker Advice: Knowing Your Table Image

by Smith Collins | Dec 7 2007

In No-Limit Texas Holdem, most people focus on the two cards they are holding and wonder whether or not they are strong enough to play. They read books that tell them about starting-hand requirements and what positions are right for each hand. The problem with this is that the game of poker is like a box that is constantly expanding, so in order to think outside of that box, you have to look at a little more than the two cards you are holding. The truth is that whether you are playing in a cash game or a tournament, one of the most important things to be tuned into is how other players at the table view you. This is otherwise known as your table image. A couple of years ago, it was quite common for almost everyone at the table to have a very tight table image and style of play, making it extremely easy to run these tables over.

Unfortunately, following an explosion of strategy books and teaching websites, those simple days are gone, and many of the players in today's game sport a loose-aggressive image. Both are very profitable if played correctly, but it's extremely hard to play either one optimally until you have a firm grasp on how everyone is viewing you.

The biggest thing to watch to keep track of your image is the hands that you end up showing down and in what position you showed yourself playing them. For example, if you just got caught raising under the gun with 8-10 offsuit and were forced to call a short stack all-in and show your hand, you might want to think twice before you reraise that round without a real hand.

A big advantage in having this image is that if you happen to get a great hand soon after that showdown, you will most likely get a ton of action and win a lot of chips if your hands can hold up. On the contrary, if you have folded for 30 hands in a row and an aggressive player to your right keeps opening up pots, you can choose the spot where you want to reraise him with random rag hands, because no one has seen you play a hand and therefore cannot assume your range is very wide.

The upside to this tight-aggressive image is that while you may seem to be blinding away, you don't have to play very many hands or get caught up in marginal situations. People don’t usually fight back unless they have you beat, and you only have to resteal once every two or three rounds in order to stay afloat.

Whatever image you end up purposely or accidentally having, you have to know exactly where you stand in the flow of the game so that you can manipulate the actions of others who think that you don't know they are watching.

When it comes down to game time, table image is not something you can actually teach someone. It is something you have to observe before you even look at the two cards that are face down on the felt in order to make sure you are playing as profitably as possible.