A lot is made about “image” in poker, and while it’s not the be-all end-all, it can be an effective weapon to have in your arsenal. Your image at the poker tables is a major factor in whether your bet gets called or your opponent folds, and the ability to cultivate an image and then effectively use it during a poker tournament is an extremely important skill to possess. Unlike cash-game players who have likely played against the same players over and over, tournament players are generally pitted against relatively unknown opponents, so in most cases, creating an image for a tournament player starts at Square-One, which somewhat complicates things, but also allows you to create virtually any image you want to.
When you are trying to sell your opponents that you are a certain type of player the ultimate goal is to appear to play as far from your actual playing style as possible. Unfortunately, most players fail miserably, and end up with an image that pretty much mirrors their actual playing style. In this article I’ll try to explain the different ways a player can create an image; how you can exploit the table image you have; and just how important image really is in tournament poker.
A Manufactured Image vs. an Organic Image
There are two ways to cultivate an image at the poker tables; the first way is to proactively develop your image through your play –perhaps playing incredibly loose or overly aggressive in the early stages of the event, only to suddenly switch gears at some predetermined point.
The second way is to be reactive, and simply let your cards create your image for you, and then make the necessary adjustments to capitalize on whatever image you currently have.
For instance, in the early stages of an MTT Player A may decide to raise virtually every hand he is dealt and continuation bet every flop until he gets some pushback, whether he is hitting hands or not. By doing so his goal is to give the table the impression he is a maniac; an image he can later exploit by tightening up a little bit and playing snug when the blinds start to pick-up. You’ll also see this with people who take a super-tight approach to the early levels of the tournament, only to ramp-up their aggression when the blinds become meaningful.
On the other hand, Player B’s approach depends on whether or not she is getting cards. If the deck is hitting her in the face, and showdowns are few and far between, she goes with it, and cultivates an image of an over-aggressive player. If she is getting dealt nothing but J/5 and 3/8 type hands she cultivates the image of a nit. Regardless of the image, her goal is to simply stop playing her cards and start playing her image at some point in the tournament. To pull off this style you have to be very observant and understand how to play a variety of different of styles ranging from Tight/Passive to Loose/Aggressive (LAG).
Exploiting your Image
Once you have spent some time creating an image that’s when the hard work begins. Knowing when to use your image is tricky to say the least, as you’ll have to factor in whether you have invested enough time into creating an image; whether or not your opponent is aware of what you have been doing and has drawn the same conclusions about what these actions of yours mean; and of course if the timing is right to exploit your carefully crafted image.
For instance, just because you have folded 10 hands in a row doesn’t mean a specific opponent has noticed this. You can’t just assume that your opponents have come to the same conclusions you have had you been in their shoes.
The best way to know when to capitalize on your table image is when you notice an opponent has started to adjust to your play. So, if you’ve been card-dead and basically folding hands for three rounds, and a relatively tight player suddenly starts stealing your blinds and three-betting you, you know he has adjusted to your image, so this player is now exploitable. In this case, if you 4-bet this player (even light) you should get him to fold the vast majority of his range, whether you have AA or 56, since he has you pegged as a very tight player.
Additionally, there will be times when you create a certain image, perhaps of a maniac, and you start getting dealt a ton of premium hands. In these cases you want to just keep-on keeping-on, even if your opponents have been letting you run over them. The reason is that your opponents will eventually start to adjust to your image and make a stand against you.
The Phil Laak Conundrum
Besides your play, there are other ways to create an image at the poker tables. One of the ways you can reinforce the image you are trying to portray is through table talk and your mannerisms at the table. Much like the impression you get from someone’s clothes or even their haircut, your table talk can mislead your opponents and help you portray a certain image.
For instance, one of the first people that most people think of when you say “Table Talk” is Phil Laak. Laak uses his quirky table talk and strange antics masterfully; most people see the Unabomber as some wild and reckless player, when in fact Laak is somewhat of a nit. By engaging the table (and doing it with zany talk and constantly talking about hands) people see him as an active participant, and incorrectly assume he is playing a lot of hands.
It’s not easy to pull off the “Phil Laak”, but if you constantly talk about hands (after they have concluded of course) your opponents’ memories might start to get a little blurry, and they might forget if you said you folded J4 pre-flop or if it was after the flop when you hit bottom pair, when the turn and river came running Jacks. Later on they may say, “Maybe I should call, this guy will play J4!” By staying engaged verbally you give the impression that you are an active player.
This can work the other way too, as players who wear headphones, sunglasses, and hoodies and who say absolutely nothing at the tables convey a tight/aggressive, no-nonsense image. It’s hard to “pretend” to be a LAG when you are a TAG if you dress and act this way –although a good LAG who can appear to be a TAG could be helped by throwing on some headphones and sunglasses and never talking.
The Dreaded Table Break
There is nothing worse than spending an hour cultivating a certain table image –getting ready to set up a complete fish that is sitting on your right—only to have the table break and getting moved to a new table where nobody knows anything about you.
There is not much you can do when this happens, but it is possible to find out which tables are scheduled to break at some tournaments. Tournament officials usually know which tables will break next, and you can always get some clues y looking at the structure of the tournament –fast blind levels and shallow stacks mean more bust-outs early on and more table breaks, while slow structures and deep-stacks will give you a better chance to cultivate an image, as players are less likely to be eliminated.
Is Image Overrated
The real question when it comes to table image is just how important it is. In tournament poker creating a table image is often overrated, and I’ve seen players spend way too much time trying to create an image, only to find themselves short-stacked and unable to do anything but shove all-in; or get moved to another table; or seeing most of the original players from their table eliminated.
While I wouldn’t go out of my way to create an image in a tournament, I would make sure I am cognizant of my current image and would look for ways to exploit it; even if I didn’t go out of my way to create an image, sometimes it simply happens organically and in these cases you should just go with it.