Table Image

[southerndog]

Is there anything more obvious than someone who just sits down at a table and plays there first hand hyper-aggressively to go for the maniac table image? Its also
pretty expensive.

[Al Schoonmaker]

It may be obvious, but only to reasonably smart people. The evidence is literally overwhelming that MOST people make extremely rapid judgments about others, then ignore information that conflicts with that first impression. In other words, it WORKS with less observant players, which includes most low limit players and a surprising number of mid-limit ones.
Regards,
Al

[chesspain]

It's even better when it's your first hand and you actually are dealt a ram-and-jam hand /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[RydenStoompala]

I agree with Al. Think about it for a moment and relate it to your own experience. If someone sits at our table and starts thumping away, it does not mean much to me. He may have been dealt cowboys on his first deal, or he may be trying to impose that vital "first impression" allowing others to stick to wrong impressions for the rest of the session. What you do in the first five minutes does not sway my opinion at all. After an hour, I'll cast my vote.

[onegymrat]

Doc,

I learned this from your book...:)

[LetsRock]

I don't tend to take any small window of a session (whether it's the beginning or the end or somewhere in the middle) as a permanent read or even a session as a whole. But I'm paying attention and note player's tendencies.

Since I'm a pretty tight player, I love getting a "good enough" hand on my post to make a bit of a fool of myself out of the gates (I don't intentionally play garbage, but I'm a bit more liberal with say suited connecters or little PP) just to flash a little wildness.

I don't expect that the solid players will buy it for long (if at all), but hell, we're all after the fish anyway and if they're aware enough to get stuck on any impression, they'll remember the first one (at leaast until you embarass them with a move later in the game /images/graemlins/wink.gif)