Poll - How much is a loose table image worth ????

[CHiPS]

My usual approach is to play a fairly tight game. I just let table image happen and do not make any changes in my strategy just to develop a table image. If I happen to be playing a lot of hands then I am aware that in my opponents minds I might be a loose player and I make some small adjustments in close decisions.

One favorite of tight players Im sure is to get that loose table image and then get called for big bets with solid holdings. The best situation to be in is to be playing good cards and have your opponents think you are really loose. So sometimes I am tempted to try to create a loose image at the table. I just dont know how much this is really worth in the long run or how many times I should be willing to make "advertizing" plays. Here's an example:

Party Poker 200 NL game

I have played the last 4 hands in a row. I make a note in chat that I have won 4 hands in a row. Other players egg me on a bit saying go for 5. I pick up K-J unsuited in early position. Normally I would fold this hand, but I raise 3X the blind. I intend to fold if I am reraised. The Big Blind calls, two players.

The Flop comes up Jack high, with 3 spades. I hold top pair and I also have the King of spades - pretty darn good flop for someone that look like they are a nut playing every hand. So I bet the pot. BB minraises. Now at this point I think my biggest problem was in my mind the only thing I was thinking about was my table image. I really didnt think about what my opponent held. But after all if my image is so loose - he could hold anything. I made a big reraise, he went all in - I called. His two low spades held to bust my butt.

So normally I would not play the hand in the first place. And normally I probably would just call the raise from the BB to my pot bet on the flop. Normally I figure I may have lost half my stack in this situation, not the whole thing. But then again I could have caught JQ or 10-J for their whole stack.

So what is everyone's advice ? Did I push table image too far ? Or am I doing the right thing by changing gears and mixing things up and just got caught in a bad situation ?

[Felipe]

i'm new to no limit, but i think that your opponents may not be paying much attention to you. I think you should pay more attention to them, and be aware of what you think THEY perceive. in the long run, i think you're play was +EV because flush hits 35% of the time, and only two overcards could have come to (possibly) beat your top pair, good kicker. villain pairing kicker, and hitting trips, might also cause a problem, but that happens 20% of the time...

felipe

[CHiPS]

Yes good point. I notice a lot of these nuts are playing 4 tables of no limit hold em. So they don't even see the advertizing. Its crazy - I see these guys timing out and having their hands folded because they got 4 tables going and the site is only giving them 20 seconds to act on a hand.

[zaxx19]

Ya, what kind of idiot would play NLH 4 handed....i mean ive even heard some of these guys will play those tables on a notebook in a bookstore while sipping a frappacuinno...........

Oh wait.......thats me you are talking about!!

[beset7]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes good point. I notice a lot of these nuts are playing 4 tables of no limit hold em. So they don't even see the advertizing. Its crazy - I see these guys timing out and having their hands folded because they got 4 tables going and the site is only giving them 20 seconds to act on a hand.

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] this forum is populated largely by multitablers and I can assure you they are paying attention to your pokertracker stats almost exclusively.

I play totally different when single-tabling.

I think image can be important, especially in short-handed games; but, at low and medium limits solid, aggressive play gets the money. I am immediatly suspicious of anything fancy/overly deceptive in the context of small stakes poker.

I vote just beware of how you have been playing and try to be consistent so you're hard to read.

[CHiPS]

I must admit that I am not good enough or fast enough yet to multi table at no limit. I can see it more easily at limit, since you don't have to think about the size of the bet as much. But with only 20 seconds to make a decision - wow - 4 tables at once. If I have to make a decision to go all in with 3 other tables popping up on me that seems hard. It also seems like a grind.

And I see people timing out, with their hands being folded. And I can tell they are playing 4 tables. An important decision has come up at another table and they just let the hand time out.

But some day I would like to get to the point of playing 2 tables simultaneously. Right now, I still consider myself to be in the learning phase of no limit, and I am not that anxious to play as many hands as possible. I think a lot when I play. I just find myself encountering situations where I'd like to think for 10 seconds. I wish I had more time on some of these sites - maybe 40 seconds instead of 20. I like one of the sites "think tank" pool where everyone gets a couple extra minutes in a tournament that they can tap into.
So I suppose I have to tip my hat to any NL multitablers out there who are winners after 50,000 hands. Maybe some day I will get to two tables, but I doubt I will ever play 4.
OK but back to the earlier point, guys at 4 tables are not paying enough attention to make the advertizing plays worth it......

[AncientPC]

I start off by playing TAG, then switch over to LAG, then tighten up once they start re-raising me with mediocre hands to isolate.

You make a good chunk of money stealing raised pots, and with disguised hands can often stack another TAG playing for TPTK or set value.

[edge]

I think I prefer a tight image. Very rarely will you flop a hand that can stand heat, so it's often best to be able to take it down without too much fuss from the other players. If I have a tight image, which almost always occurs, and I identify another tight player, I use my image to steal pots that I have no chance of winning at showdown.

It's boring, but it works well enough for me.

[joewatch]

I think a loose image is very good, but an image should be just that - an image. If everyone thinks you are playing LAG and you are actually playing TAG, that's when you make the big bucks. I think you made a big mistake on that KJ hand by going all-in. You got played exactly the way I would have played you if I though you were LAG - I'm going to pick off your bluff when I think I have the best hand, even if it's not to the nuts. Even Gus Hansen does not put all of his chips at risk with a semibluff.