Best Profiting on Table Image and Respect

[fsuplayer]

I play in a bi/tri weekly home that I host in my house in Tallahassee. Stakes are $.50-$1.00 NLHE and buyins average just under $100.

A typical game consists of myself, two other good players, two or three fairly dencent players and (hopefully), one or two fish. Most nights it is 9-11 handed for most of the time.

Because of my table image, I dont win alot of big pots (unless the other player hits a very good second best hand).
I usually double up a good deal of the time by the time we cashout. I have a good sense of the other players and read most of them pretty well.

Hands like AQ, AJ, KQ and the like are always folded to my raises and if I reraise preflop, AK, JJ and QQ are usually tossed away as well.

My question I guess is this:

If you have a large amount of respect at your regular game, what can you do to increase your profits?
If people are tossing away alot of hands preflop, which type of hands should I begin raising with?

Currently, I always raise with AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, and with position I will raise with AQ and sometimes 1010 and 99.
A couple times a night I will raise with hands like 56s or similar and usually either take it down preflop or with a flop bet. Our game has a mixuture of one or two tight players, a few in the middle, and one or two calling stations.

Should I begin raising more with say 34s and then show the players after the hand until I start getting more action? Or just I just raise more with lesser (but not dominated hands) hands and not show until I have to and just take advantage of my table image instead on trying to alter it?

Does the fact that there are sometimes calling stations in the game change that?

ML4L, I remember you said something about having a very tight table image and that you like it that way. Why is that?

In summary (after all that rambling), is it more profitable in the situation I described to alter my table image (by raising with many different types of hands and showing the players), or to just feed off that image and steal more pots preflop as well as later in the hand?

Which do you players attempt to do in a regular game?

I hope I dont sound arrogent in this post, i am just trying to get some thoughts on a topic that I have been thinking about quite a bit lately.

Thanks for any comments and critiques,

FsuPlayer

[Ulysses]

[ QUOTE ]
Currently, I always raise with AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, and with position I will raise with AQ and sometimes 1010 and 99.

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Does that imply you're limping w/ many of the other hands you play? Sounds like you may be telegraphing your hand strength w/ your bet size, which is definitely not a good way to make money in the game. Make standard opens w/ a lot of hands. If you open in MP for 4BB w/ AA, do the same w/ 77. If you have a tight image and get a lot of respect, you'll take down a lot of small pots when you pot it on the flop and a lot of nice medium/large pots when you pot it on the flop and fire again on the turn.

[Paul2432]

I would steal more but never show. I recommend raising pre-flop perhaps 30-50% of the time you hold a suited-connector in an unraised pot in late position. This may sound like a lot but really is probably only once every 4-5 orbits.

As players notice you raising more frequently adjust your play to them.

Hope this helps.

One final point, avoid this move against short stacks who are more likely to call you down.

Paul

[Richie Rich]

You mentioned that you typically double-up by the end of the night, but how much to the other "big winners" take home? Is there usually one person who cleans house (say 500-600 up), or a couple of 300 ups, etc.? Also, are the winners usually the same handful of people, or do most people win one week, lose the next? I think these are factors you need to factor into the equation.

In short, I think you should mix your game up a bit. Your opponents seem to know you usually have a (very) good hand when you raise it up, so try something else. Raise more often with suited connectors, like 89s, and limp in with AA/KK/AK once in a blue moon. Bluff-raise with your J6o in the BB and show it to the table. Also, be sure to raise more when you're in position.

Considering how often you play with these guys, you should already know which ones are loosy-goosey and those who are weak-tight. So trap and bully accordingly. Don't always play the cards...also try to play the players.

ps~ every now and then, make a bad call on the turn/river and buy "idiot equity"...when you show that you only had the middle/bottom pair, or nothing at all, your opponents are likely to gamble with you next time around. Lose a little to gain a lot.

[TomCollins]

Play position, position, position. And I mean take it to an extreme at first. Raise the first 5 hands you have on the button when no one has raised. And I mean with anything. Bet out on the flop with a pot sized bet like you flopped the nuts. Of course, if its obvious someone is going to call or has the goods, just fold. Probably, most people will fold to you and you will win and never have to show it down. Never try this when you get a call station in though. Sounds to me thats not a problem in your game. If you get called and think they are on a draw, bet huge at the river if they check. You'll pick up enough pots that in case you get called on one, you'll break even. Then when you raise 46os in the BB and the flop comes 578, you can really stick it to em, and no one will expect it.

You are playing too tight, and your opponents know this.


Your other option, since betting half the pot induces many to fold, bet half the pot a lot more often!

But the way I always make the most money is when I have a hand, and get paid for it. Keep this up until you get called down on one, then go back to your normal style for a little. But you should be raising unraised pots from the button a lot more often.

[fsuplayer]

Thanks everyone for all the posts.
I am studying for my last final right now, so I cant respond as much as I would like right now.

Ulysses-
I limp with a good amount of hands in this game, much more than I would at a Party NLHE. With position I am limping alot.
One thing I do make sure of is that I always make the same raise amount, unless there are a huge # of callers, then I might raise it more. My standard opening raise is $6, is that maybe too much?

Paul-
I started last night, and will continue to use my position much more than I have been and I think I may try to play borderline LAG and see how they react to that. I think a couple of hours of that should loosen things up a bit. The last week or so I have had some friends in that game tell me what others thought of me in the game, and it turns out that I have a lot more table respect than I previously thought and several players even told my friends they hate getting into big pots with me bc they dont know whether I have the nuts, a draw to the nuts, or not much at all. I need to use that much more in my play in the upcoming weeks and I will be sure to let you guys know how it goes.

Richie-
There are about three of us in the game who almost always come out on top, (my av'g night of winning is about $120-140...a'vg loss is about $40-50 when it happens). The others trade the rest of the money week to week.
A bug win in our game is $150. Despite the fact that we have some fairly strong players, we are still in college and some guys dont have a ton of excess cash to throw around. That is the main reason that the a'vg pot size is prob. half of a Party NL of equal size and that's the reason that there arent as many pot size bets on the turn and river. Also, there are no real maniacs in our regular group. Once in a while one comes for a night and usually doesnt leave with anything.

Our players tend to call a little too much and not raise enough after the flop. So that has been why I limp as opposed to raise more preflop...but bc of my table image, I think they call me much less than the other players typically playing.

I think I need to use that to my advantage and make some big bets (pot sized or bigger)with some different holdings, then I can bet huge with the near nuts in the same position and cash in.

Aggressive, aggressive, aggressive for the next couple sessions will be my style.


Tom-
You are very correct and I need to start playing the person much more than I have been and react to the man regardless of my holdings. Once or twice a night, I play the hand with out any consideration to my hand and I have had decent success against some of the better players (who can fold a good hand), so I will def. try more of that.

Lastly, whats the consensus, when you take it down with a bluff or semi bluff do you show or not? I'd appreciated any explanations for your answers too! (I am thinking maybe show the pure bluffs sometimes, but never the semibluff.) Just a thought though.

Thanks again,
FsuPlayer (studying for a business law final...hold back the Dutch Boyd jokes)

[Ulysses]

[ QUOTE ]
I limp with a good amount of hands in this game
...
My standard opening raise is $6, is that maybe too much?

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So, you limp w/ your marginal/drawing hands and raise w/ your strong hands. That's easy to read and makes it much easier to play correctly against you. You may also be telegraphing the strength of your hands with your post-flop betting. Be careful of that.

In general, mix up your play a little more and you'll do better.

[fsuplayer]

Ulysses
I will definately try to do that. I need to be a little more creative and keep them on their toes. 80% of my play is online and I try to keep it relatievly simple there.
You are right however, that I should mix things up some and play different in person in a weekly game...point taken.

Thanks again,
FsuPlayer

[TomCollins]

I would rarely show the bluffs. I will show in order to tilt a player when I know I can. Just have to play a lot less aggressive after that (if you can see the flop cheap, do so, and when you hit something, bet it good). But this is mainly online when I do this, a lot harder to give up a tell. If they have no clue if you have the nuts or cheese, they are going to be scared to call. Use this to your advantage, and pick up some pots. In these weak-tight games, I will find I am winning 20+% of the pots in a 10 handed game. If players realized how often I had nothing, I would be subject to a lot more checkraises and re-steals- not good.