A Lowdown On Playing Poker
There are mainly two types of people who play poker – those who want to return home with their pockets filled with crackling notes and those who just want to have fun while they are there. There are yet others, who play it for intellectual satisfaction, that is they want to become top-level poker players. Regardless of why you play poker on judi poker, it’s important that you will need to have an image while you are at the poker table, referred to as “Table image”. To define table image – it’s putting up an image or an identity of yourself and how your opponent interprets it, and at the same time your opponent putting up an image of his own, for you to interpret his. Table image is important as it leads to your opponent setting up a game plan against you, which is equally true for you as well.
Keeping a watchful eye to help interpret the opponent’s actions
You must have seen how security personnel of big politicians and celebrities guard them against any harm. It’s their vigilant eyes that watch every small action of people around them and swing into action as soon as they spot any suspicious bodily action that can potentially be a threat to their life. To glean every possible information about your opponent’s table image and to help you strategize your game, it’s important that you keep a watchful eye on the opponent to study his disposition and demeanor. Every action and even the style of talking can be a weighty input to your mind to interpret in a certain way. Choosing a posture to sit – cross-legged or erect, the way you are dressed – suit or casuals, speaking manners – talkative, reticent or abusive, facial expressions – smiling, serious or grimacing, are among some of the things that can give loads of information to your opponent or vice versa.
However, be advised that although the points above are all fair inputs, more importantly, it’s your opponent’s playing style that you should be more concerned about to understand his table image. For example, if your opponent maintains a loose table image (i.e plays more) all through the game, you may choose to go for pots with him along with other opponents, because you already know that his starting hand requirement wouldn’t be great after all in the next round. In the same way, if your table image is tight then your opponents may not want to easily go for pots with you, because each time you get into pots, you have a bigger hand. So, there is a sense of fear among other opponents. From this, you can understand that if you perceive your opponent’s table image and interpret it rightly, you can play a better game and your chances of winning increase.
Your previous actions at the table are important
We discussed before how you can capitalize on your opponent’s image and turn the game to your favor, which is equally applicable to your opponent as well. You may think of yourself as an aggressive or a judicious player, but did you sift through your actions in the previous games to really stand by yourself? Your previous actions are direct evidence of your table image and can convey everything about you to your vigilant opponents. Therefore, to be cognizant of what your opponent thinks of you should be of primary concern to you, then how you continue to think of yourself. How you raise and chase, when you bet and fold, are all crucial information to your opponents to form a table image of yours. And so when you have a weak position and you have been caught off guard, no amount of your plans to bluff will be successful as your opponents already know that you have a weak hand. While this may not be good news for you, but there is something you can attempt to even use this situation to your advantage, which is – to capitalize on the negative impression your opponents have about you. For that to happen, you would have to figure out the possible image of yours in their minds.
Use your table image to help yourself
Poker is not only a fun game but a mind game also in every respect from start to end. When you have realized that your opponents have spotted your blunders, you need not panic but keep a cool head and strategize based on how your opponents want to see you. It is likely that your bets may not be taken seriously by your opponents. Be careful about when you bluff because when you have been identified as weak, you cannot sell yourself easily. In such a situation when someone is on the back foot, you should select to chase. And obviously, when you are tight you can bluff.
Dynamic table image
To conclude, your table image will not remain the same throughout the game. You will undoubtedly have weak as well as strong hands in subsequent rounds and your image will change accordingly. Experienced players will make note of how you play, when you call a pre-flop, they can identify after some attempts if you are doing it with strong hands or without it and play in a way that might force you to change your game plan. So, there is no one definite way you can play poker, there are hundreds of them.
