Another day with my reputation in tatters!!!

[Firetrap]

I have been doing a bit of experimenting with table image this week.

Basically for the 1st 1/2 - 1 hour of sitting at a table i have been a bit of an animal. Nothing too bad - if i have borderline call or fold, i call; borderline call or raise, i raise and trying to reraise weak players as often as i can get away with on the flop. I also like to show my opponents the "trash" i have been playing. Theyve seen me playing loosely, taking plenty of flops (as cheap as poss), and playing the hell outa marginal hands.

I been keeping tabs on my hourly rate during these periods and as expected i been losing....but only $20 per hour. I gotta say its a lot of fun too - not only do i play a lot of hands but i have been getting heaps of abuse from players WINNING from me as well as the times ive hit the flop good. What is it with people who critique everyones play at the tables??!! If they think im that bad then why try to educate me???

But of course this is not the point to it.....the point is phase 2, when i hunker down. To me the switch between my initial onslaught and when i go into a slow gear is painfully obvious.....but not it would seem my opponents. Once i must have sat for nearly an hour after, folding, only to have a guy call my allin with the nuts saying "had to call cos it was you!!!" And he wasnt the only one!!!

I have had a lot of success this week experimenting with table image and quite frankly i have realy enjoyed the challenges its throws up - like how to do without losing a lot of money!!! It requires far more thought and energy that i would have imagined.

Do any of you have good success fashioning a "reckless" table image? I think i could refine it by taking it easy for a little while when i 1st sit down to see if it is even neccessary - sometimes people will just call ya anyway.

[warlockjd]

why does this remind me of akshawnd?

[bholdr]

I personally find that table image doesn't matter much online (if this was live NL, then nevermind, it's money well spent) and here's why-

the only people that you'll profit from with this strategy are those who are smart enough to be paying attention and making notes, and who aren't smart enough to see through your little ruse or adjust when you change gears. that's a pretty narrow cross section. I wouldn't try this at all until you're at 100$ buy ins or above, ABC is just easier and more profitable at low stakes. aditionally, turnover is so fast online that you'll find al those carefully manipulated players leaving right as you change gears.

That being said, I, too, (rarely) play with my table image, but I never set out to define myself as one particular type of player, i just kinda let the cards come and exaggerate my normal play. If i hit a hot run of cards, i try to look really loose, and vice versa, that way, when the cards even out (and they always do) i can play properly and those that are attentive enough to have watched me earlier won't know that that's what i'm doing, and the poor players still lose to my correct play. ...and it doesn't cost me 20$ an hour.

I also play with my table image A LOT in HU NLHE SNGs, but that's neither here nor there.

[Firetrap]

Had been thinkin about some of the points you make before i started my experiments.

I play 2/5 500 sit down online - i felt that my play was becoming too mechanical and i wanted something fresh from me. Im not saying that players dont come and go where i play but there are a lot of them who stay put for a few hours, and they are observant.....they like to point out things and tell everyone how observant they are!!

I had one day where the cards started to run all over me - i think my 1st 3 hands where AKs, KK and QQ - and i didnt show anything down....like you say in this session it wasnt necessary and i simply played tight as a drum after.

I know myself that i need to refine my approach somewhat and i like your term "exaggerating" your normal play.

For me i guess this is another step in trying to play players and not just my cards and odds.