River hand no. 2

[brad]

'Also, it's quite profitable (one of the MOST profitable images) to become known as an AK pusher.'

could u please elaborate on this cause i have pretty much this image and at times its pretty frustrating when i dont get any cards or make any hands.

[J_V]

I have really put a lot of time into thinking about what image is best, because I believe that that is the key between separating the best players at 30-60 and above. Mason Malmuth and Sklansky advocates a tight image and do a decent job justifying it theory, but in practice it is not a good image. The reason is pretty detailed and I'm lazy, but essentially it boils down to that the situations a tight player finds himself in is not conducive to bluffing. The reason I believe Mason and David say this image is the best is because it is their natural image, and the easiest for them to maintain. Therefore, they have a natural inclination to want to believe that image is best (that's not intended to be a shot). Maybe I just don't know how to use a tight image, thats possible too. Another thing, if an LA, had a tight image, then he would have a gold mine. The problem is you have tight image for a reason - you're tight. I believe another bad image is that of the maniac. I've been here and that image stinks. People take strange shots at you and play you very aggressively.

If you are a tight player, which you seem to be. You shouldn't really ever be bluff AK. But if you have then convinced you do, your overpairs and top pairs really get paid. And thats the only pay you really need, cause that situation is the most common situation for a tight player to be in.

[skp]

"Eventually, some players picked up on the fact that I never bluffed the river after raising preflop. So, they layed down all but their best hands."

I too have made the same observation. Bluffing with AK on the end should be strongly considered against good observant players who may look you up on the turn with the intention of folding on the river if you bet (and they don't improve) because they know that you wouldn't bet Ak on the end on the theory that no better hand will fold and no worse hand will call.

[J_V]

I've never put this strategy in play to a full degree. It's too risky and if the player adjusts you could get taken for many a pot before you realized what happened. I bet the player that was doing that to me, lost more in pots when I adjusted than he saved in bets, but he sure did save a lot of bets.

[Ulysses]

I think you should bet the river. While I agree with most of the posters that "I'll call down w/ any pair because the raiser probably has AK" is a standard result here, I feel that two running overcards is one of the cases where the unimproved AK river bluff often works. I find a lot of opponents willing to call down w/ one overcard on the board chicken out w/ two. Nothing makes me think your opponent has a hand better than A7, which means he has a really tough call on the river.

[skp]

I agree