Does name recognition have any + or - value??

[mindflayer]

I want to know wether I should post/play as mindflayer,
or play/post as two separate names.

[mannika]

My game itself doesn't improve if I'm playing with a known 2+2er, but it does however allow me to play better AGAINST them, generally by giving them credit for being much more capable than the average player.

[Harv72b]

I play & post under the same name, and I know quite a few 2+2'ers from playing on Party. I answered that it does improve my game, but I think the poll is flawed.

I play a very aggressive game (when I'm not on a huge downswing, like now--ugh), and the name recognition does allow me to steal a few pots from other 2+2'ers. I tend to get the benefit of the doubt fairly often from people who recognize my name (except one guy, who seems to delight in capping the turn with A high against me [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]). So I believe that this does equate to a +EV change for me, although not necessarily by affecting my play.

As far as going up against a fellow 2+2'er, it mainly affects how I play preflop. I'm far less likely to get involved in a raised pot if I know the raiser is a 2+2'er. Once the flop comes down, though, it doesn't really change the way I play. I might try a few more bluffs & semibluffs because I know my opponent is capable of folding a decent hand, but I generally do that against unknowns anyway. I am more apt to 3-bet with AQ vs. a 2+2'er, though, whereas I might cold call against an unknown.

[Siegmund]

I consider being recognized at the table to be - (and to be able to recognize my opponents +.)

The more you know about someone, the better able you are to read them. "Typical 2+2er" and "Typical $1/2 player" are two pretty different default categories to be put it when I play my first hand against you, and one is a lot closer to the truth than the other.

More generally, there isn't such a thing as a "good" or a "bad" table image to have -- a table image that reflects how you really play can be costly, because it means people are defending properly against you; a misleading table image is helpful.