$3/6: Table image

[ThinkQuick]

Hi , I've seen a few guys get shut down by 2+2 veterans in old posts asking questions like these, but I thought I'd try anyways.
Umm... what kind of table image is best at a 3/6 table? There certainly seem to be regulars at these kind of games in my city, a few random people, and very few kids. I'm 19 and have played very little at the casino. The people that might remember me there probably think that I'm lucky with poor judgment.
I remember when I first started playing I read Mike Caro online and he stressed that the most lucrative image is the goofy, lucky, loud guy. I haven't had much opportunity to play like that in home games, often because I'm thought of as 'good' and calculating, and I should be because I'm one of the guys that organizes games and settles diputes.
I've had a lot of success playing against players that think I play well and make correct decisions, and I don't think that I'd pick the 'Caro' method even if I had the choice.

Is any way better than another at the casino?
I have a good friend who went in pretending like he wasn't sure how to play, and he got totally busted after dropping some lingo.
I guess my question is, do I want people to respect my poker skill or not?

Thanks,
Jonathan

[gonores]

It doesn't matter what image you try to portray at a real table...as long as you are well below the average age at the table, you'll be immediately be thought of as a loose-aggressive player, and there probably isn't much you can do about it.

Being friendly at the table never hurts in loosening up a few of the players either.

Doug

[ike]

I'm 18 (and look younger) and in a similar position and my experience is that it just doesn't matter. Most people at 3/6 aren't really thinking about who's good and who isn't, many of them think the game is pure luck anyhow. One part Caro does get right, but doesn't emphasize enough, is that its good to be liked. Be nice to the people at your table and they'll be much more cooperative (check more, raise less). In terms of image, I've tried acting crazy, acting incompetent, acting intense and calculating, etc and have noticed no changes in how people play against me. Act natural and focus more on playing good poker and less on putting on a show.
Another interesting "image" note for the younger players like us is that, in my experience, most people over 40 (especially the terrible ones) will never have any respect for your game, even after watching you win consistently for months, just because "i was playing cards before you were born".

[ike]

heh, we said the same thing at the same time. don't you love the old farts saying things like "if you keep raising hands like TT you'll go broke, i've been playing this game for 20 years and I know only to raise with queens or better." then they call you down the whole way with king high

[J.R.]

I think a tight-aggresisve image is good. That's though to get when you are younger, so just keep in mind that the average older player won't repect you as much (both becuase you are young and becuase you are a new face, and most assume new players are bad until proven otherwise), so bet for value and don't bluff as much, as htey will tend to look you up. The best image to have is a tight aggresisve one (IMO), and the best way to get it is to play well.

I guess my question is, do I want people to respect my poker skill or not?

Playing holdem, a game where people frequently miss, making bluffs valuable, that is highly positional, allowng for free cards and control over you opponents, yes.

[ThinkQuick]

[ QUOTE ]
Here is what I watch for in a player’s behavior. The first thing I want to know is how experienced a player he is. A rookie is easy to detect. He does not act in turn smoothly, fumbles chips, does not follow the action with his eyes, and so forth. Such a player invariably plays too many hands, does not bet without a whopper, and calls if within runner-runner of making a winner. Of course, most of the time such a person will be found in a low-stakes game, but sometimes the bigger games will have such a player.

[/ QUOTE ] - Bob Ciaffone Cardplayer Magazine (http://www.cardplayer.com/?sec=afeature&art_id=12687)

Am I to understand from this that a young player (automatically percieved as a rookie), is probably unable to change his image from a loose one?
Do small stakes (3/6) players ever catch on when a 'rookie' dosen't play like that?

Do you have any advice for how to convert the young image into a tight-agressive one (my style),
or alternatively, how a 19yr old Should play to maximize profit?

[surfdoc]

I don't see anything in here equating age with "rookie" status. Your play will speak for itself. What is important here is for you to think to the next level and factor in how the players perceive you. If they think you are weak, check-raise more. If they think you are too loose, bluff less as you will get called down. There are plenty of small stakes players who will catch on that you are playing tight aggressive but in order to "maximize profit" you will need do all the things that S&M discuss (changing gears) to fit the game you are in.

[ResidentParanoid]

My experience at live 3/6 is as follows:

If there are a few experienced players who will take note of your poker "image", despite your youthful face, you should re-inforce your tough, tight-aggressive image with them, so that they don't try to run you over. These should only represent 1 or at most 2 or 3 players at your table. Do your image building heads-up, most often.

Most of the rest are there to have fun, and know just enough about the rules/strategy/terminology to survive for a while. No need to get too tough with them (don't check-raise or get overly aggressive, especially heads-up), or they will stop giving you any action and actually play better against you. But do value bet.

If more than a few players at live 3/6 actually know what they are doing, the rake is going to eat you up. Find another table.

[el_grande]

If you are young I think it pays to act like you don't know what you are doing when it is a no-limit game.

But in a low-limit game you can't really do that because it only helps you heads up. You may get an experienced player giving you no respect, but there will be others involved in the hand too.

In a 3/6 game it's probably best to get a tight/agressive image and steal some pots every once in a while with value bets.

[J.R.]

A rookie is easy to detect. He does not act in turn smoothly, fumbles chips, does not follow the action with his eyes, and so forth. Such a player invariably plays too many hands, does not bet without a whopper, and calls if within runner-runner of making a winner.

[ QUOTE ]
Am I to understand from this that a young player (automatically percieved as a rookie), is probably unable to change his image from a loose one?

[/ QUOTE ]

Play bad, you will be regarded as bad by thsoe p[aying attention. Don't sweat image and deception, its more important to play well in these games, which means straightforward with an extra does of value betting in LL games.

Ciaffone's observations have nothing to do with age. They reflect that a player who doesn't seem to know what is going re: cardroom procedures is probably bad. Just play your cards well, that's all it takes in most LL games.