Hi Everyone:
The following is a chapter from my book
Real Poker Psychology which some of you may find helpful. It's actually a rewrite from one of my
Poker Essays books.
Best wishes,
Mason
Appropriate Image
One aspect of successful poker is what I like to call “appropriate image.” The idea is to match your image to the game you are playing so that you can manipulate your opponents, allowing you to win more money. As mentioned before, I don’t consider image to be a major part of winning play since it’s my belief that if you play strategically well, your image will take care of itself. However, following is what I think are the best images for a number of different forms of poker. By the way, I’m only addressing middle-stakes play. Games that are very large or very small can work differently.
Before we start, here’s my criterion for appropriate image. Basically, you want to see what mistakes your opponents are making and then encourage them to exaggerate these mistakes. For instance, if your opponents are calling too much, you would like them to call every time. If they are not calling enough, you would like them to fold every time. Also, the following is what I believe to be generally true, although a particular opponent may behave much differently.
Game No. 1: High draw, jacks or better to open. This is a form of poker that I played a lot many years ago, but with the changed laws in California which first occurred in the Los Angeles area in 1987, high draw is essentially dead in our public cardrooms. However, it’s my suspicion that it’s still a feature in many home games.
The major error in this game is that a poor-playing opponent calls too much, especially if he holds the joker in his hand. Since most pots are not too large due to only two rounds of betting, your opponents’ incorrect calls can be significant errors and add a great deal to your profits. Consequently, the best image for you is one of a loose lively player. You should only rarely bluff but somehow make your opponents think you bluff all the time, and one way to accomplish this is to raise with marginal hands in certain positions. An example is to “pop” a late-position opener with a pair of aces and then to draw three.
Game No. 2: Ace-to-five lowball. This is another game that due to the changed laws in California that go back to 1987 we hardly see anymore. And while it may be unfamiliar to many players today, it was once much more popular in the cardrooms of California than the high draw games.
Before the draw, most poor-playing opponents call too much, but after the draw, they don’t call enough. The before-the-draw error is not too costly since the edge between many lowball hands is not that great. However, after the draw, those opponents who will not call when they are last to act with something like a jack or a queen are making a serious mistake. This is especially true because pots are typically bigger than in high draw. Thus the best image is one of a tight player. The ability to steal pots can easily turn an otherwise marginal participant into a significant long term winner.
Game No. 3: Limit Texas hold ’em. One of the characteristics of hold ’em is that you do not flop that many good hands. Also, some flops appear where it’s likely that none of the cards showing have hit anyone’s hand. An example would be the 9
9
3
.
This means that the ability to steal pots becomes crucial in this game. Consequently, a tight image is most important, perhaps more important in limit hold ’em than in any other game.
The exception would be against very weak opponents (who are perhaps new to the game) who don’t yet understand that calling with one overcard with several players still to act behind them can be suicide. In games that feature a number of these players, you’ll just have to show your opponents a hand.
Game No. 4: Seven-card stud. Many players in this game do play too many hands on third street. On the other hand, the pots quickly get so big that it often becomes correct to chase. The exception is when your opponent’s board has become very scary. Perhaps he has paired his door card or has something like a four-flush showing. Again, this means that the ability to steal a pot, even just every now and then, can add significantly to your earn. Since the pots do get extremely large, it’s only rarely wrong for your opponent to call on the end with a weak hand. However, throwing away the winning hand in this game is clearly a disaster. Again, a tight image seems to be what one should strive for.
Game No. 5: Razz. For those who don’t know, razz is seven-card stud played for low. The major error that bad players make in this game is to call on an early street when they shouldn’t. For example, assuming that you started with a good three-card hand and you catch a baby on fourth street, if your opponent has caught bad (either he now has a big card or he has made a pair), you would like for him to call and the best razz players seem to have the ability to gain these calls. They do this through non stop talking that at times can be irritating to their opponents. The conclusion is that in this game, as in high draw, a loose lively image is what one should strive for.
Game No. 6: No-Limit Texas Hold ’em. One important characteristic of no-limit hold ’em is that the bets usually get larger on each successive betting round. Thus the ability to get one or two of these large bets paid off in a session can mean the difference between being a small loser and a significant winner. So clearly a loose image is what you should strive for. This is also true for pot-limit hold ’em.
Game No. 7: Tournament poker. When observing tournaments one of the most important concepts is to take advantage of tight play after the early stages of the tournament when this type of action develops. In fact, when observing the best tournament players when they are in good chip position they are constantly raising when first in hand after hand, and since there are antes usually in play after the first few levels, being able to steal these pots is quite valuable. So at first this seems as if a tight image is best.
However, if you’re raising hand after hand, how can you have a tight image? So this implies that a lose image may be better. This way these players who are trying to take advantage of others tight play might leave you alone which will now give you more opportunities to take advantage of your opponents who are trying to survive by playing too tight.