Table Images
Sample ImageToday I will attempt to discuss the topic of ones image at the table. When we are talking about ones "table image" we are discussing how the players may view a specific player at any given time. Knowing how you appear to players at any given time is very vital, as it defines which plays we can and cannot make at certain times.

For example, if the players at the table seem to think you enter pots only when you have premium starting hands, they will often times give you respect and fold many of their hands. Conversely, if the players think you entering too many pots, they will more than likely begin to play back at you with more marginal holdings than before. So lets look at some benefits from specific table images, as well as some downfalls.

Tight Aggressive

First lets look at the table image of a "Tight-Aggressive" player. A tight-aggressive player is one who does not enter many pots, but when he does, you can be pretty certain he has a legitimate holding. This type of player will not get as much "action" as a loose player would, however his decisions after the flop arrives will be much easier than a loose player. Also, when portraying this tight-aggressive image, it will enable that player to "steal" a lot more pots postflop, since many players will be giving him more credit than he deserves. One note is this; when playing tight-aggressive do not expect to get into too many large pots, but rather expect to be picking up a lot of smaller pots after making a bet on the flop. For example, a common situation that arises is this; we raise in middle position with a hand like Ace-King, and have one caller behind us. Often times, regardless of what the flop brings, we will go ahead and make a bet of approximately one-half to two-thirds the size of the pot. This is often referred to as a "continuation bet" and is a very strong tool to have in your arsenal. More often than not our continuation bet will simply take down the pot right then and there without any further action.

Loose Aggressive

Another type of player and/or table image would be the Loose-Aggressive player. In my opinion a loose-aggressive player still has rather strict starting hand requirements when in early and middle positions, but their range of playable hands opens widely when they are in late position. I do no recommend this style of play until you are very familiar with the game and have many hours of experience at the table. The reason I do not advocate this style to a beginner is simple. You will be in a few more pots than you should be, often times with dominated holdings, so your decision making will be very difficult once postflop play begins. The benefits of a loose-aggressive player are rather simple and straight-forward. By being in so many pots, it will be very hard for your opponents to immediately begin to put you on a specific hand. This in turn can be a potentially huge money maker, as when we connect and make a big hand, our opponents will not know what we hold and have a higher chance of being paid off. The downside of a loose-aggressive style is rather simple and was stated above. Our decision making process is much more difficult on future betting rounds, our bets will not get as much respect as we would probably like, therefor making it harder to steal pots. Often times, when playing a loose-aggressive style, players will begin looking us up with middle-pair or worse. This can begin to work for the loose-aggressive player however in this sense; Once we have our opponents loosening their hand requirements, we simply tighten our requirements back up.
 
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