TABLE IMAGE
There's a lot of talk in the poker world these days about table image. And we're not talking expensive shades and a new hoody - It's all about how your fellow players view your play.
In the live poker environment, there's many kinds of tells - you actually get to see people face to face, see how they react when they see their cards or the board, how they put their chips in etc, but in online play you don't get all this, and your main read on a player is how they've been playing in previous hands.
The other main difference between live and online is that in live play you generally spend longer on a table with the same players, and there's little else to distract you from the vital job of watching how they play. Online however, people are doing other things, playing more than one table, and there's a lot more table moves etc, so in general people are paying less attention to how people play.
With this in mind, in online poker people usually have a much more simplistic view of other players table image, and decide on this image of your play much more quickly, sometimes from just a few hands. Your average opponent will (perhaps subconsciously) classify your play into one of 4 categories:
Fish - You play badly, making bad calls etc.
Loose - You're raises mean very little, you call with junk a lot, and bluff often.
Rock - You're a tight player, when you raise you usually have a strong hand or the nuts. You rarely bluff.
Good player - You might play loose or tight, but regardless you're a good solid player, and perhaps should be avoided.
These types of table image are also in the order that they are applied in terms of time. In other words it might take someone only a few hands to decide that someone is loose or a fish, but much longer to decide that someone is a rock or a good player. People will also look for reasons to get into pots with someone they classify in one of the first two categories, and look for reasons to get out of pots with the last category.
Interestingly, although people will bluff often against people they consider to be rocks, and less often against good player, which both make sense, they won't bluff less against loose players, even though they are more likely to call. This stems from the fact that most people tend to group together these first two categories. However this is obviously a huge mistake, as bluffing a loose or poor player is rarely profitable.
The most important thing about table image is not specifically what it is, but more significantly knowing what it is. It doesn't matter if people think you're a fish, or loose, or tight, as long as you know which it is, and play accordingly.
Also remember that different people will have very different opinions. On a single table of 10 people it's easily possible to have a couple of people you've played before who know you're a good player, one whose played you once before who thinks you're a rock, and a few people who've just arrived at the table and seen you play a few poor hands or bluffs and think you are loose or a fish.
The most profitable poker comes from people having the opposite opinion on your play to what it actually is. Imagine a player who is playing a couple of hands per lap quite aggressively, but the majority of the table think he is a rock or a good player, and are getting out of his way. He could obviously be picking up a few hands and actually be playing very tightly, but he could easily be playing pretty loose, never getting hands, but taking advantage of his image. If he had a loose image though, he'd be getting looked up or reraised quite often, and thinks might not go so well for him!
The reverse is also true - if you're playing like a rock but have shown a few loose plays previously, you're going to get action even though you're playing quite tightly. You'll find yourself getting paid off by hands that would normally fold, and finding yourself being played back at more often, great if you have the goods!
You can easily effect your own table image in a number of ways - showing down poor starting hands that you shouldn't have been in the pot with will get you pegged as a fish or loose player quite quickly. Only showing down strong hands, and showing monsters when you raise preflop will have you pegged as a tight player, though this might take a little longer. A few comments in the chat box can sway peoples opinions quickly as well.
One thing to note is that in the early stages of a game it's usually good to be playing fairly tight, but be seen as a loose fish, getting you paid off when you get big hands, and getting more action. However towards the late stages of a game, it's generally good to be tagged as a tight, solid or good player, you'll be able to steal more blinds and make more profitable squeeze moves etc.
Overall, pay attention to the table, and make sure to be aware of how your opponents view you, and use it to your advantage.
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