Be Mindful of Your Table Image

So, I just got home from an 8 hour session where I'm stuck $140. Interestingly, I feel like I played great poker for 7 of the 8 hours. Recently, I read an article in CardPlayer that talked about developing and utilizing your table image. So, it took me about 3ish hours, but I developed a "rock" image... meaning uber-tight play. Every time I raised, everyone folded; and I, still trying to develop an image, would show a premium hand, and complain about how I didn't get any action.

As the night went on, my hands got progressively worse and worse, but I had learned that I could strategically raise certain people, and they would fold (by strategically, I mean that that it'd only work in certain situations). It actually worked out really well because I, being the "tight" player, could bet people off better, and often times winning hands, because they respected my bets and disliked the texture of the flops. There were even times when I had to 2 barrel and 3 barrel some hands because they would be suspicious. Eventually, they would fold and I would rake the pot. At this time of the session, I was up about $160, and really never had to showdown a hand.

Then disaster happened... our table was broken up

So, when I sat at the new table, I was still in the "raise/steal" mode. What I failed to realize, due to fatigue, I'm sure, was that most of the people at the table had no idea about the image I had built at the previous table. So, I would see situations that were similar to the raising situations at the other table, and they wouldn't work. In fact, in retrospect, I played enough pots to have actually developed a "loose aggressive" aura. It didn't help that we had an actual poker elite (for Caesars Indiana) at the table, who was pretty much dictating the action. I ended up donking off most of my stack in an effort to bluff out the pro, who was in turn trying to bluff me out as well... it's just that he had 5x more chips than I did. I lost all of my profits and about $140 to the pro, who was playing very good aggressive poker.

So the moral of this story is: Remember that your table image last only as long as the table remains together. If you move/break, you have to reset, and reestablish your image.

Trust Your Instincts, but Think About Big Hands Also

2 very interesting situations came up this weekend. I was playing $1-2NLH last Saturday evening when a couple sat down at our table. I had seen the guy before, though I hadn't seen his wife. It turns out that the wife is a much stronger player than the husband. I was sitting in seat 7, the husband took seat 8, and the wife took seat 9. So, as the night wore on, I saw seat 8 make some absolutely horrendous calls, say a call with TT (black) on a board with 23577, four diaminds to a raise and reraise. He actually lost his whole stack (~$200) about 20-30 hands before this hand. He went and re-bought for $80, and is down to $75 or so when:

$1-2NLH
SB - $300ish
BB - $325
UTG (Hero) - $350
UTG+1 (Villain) - $75
UTG+2 - $500
UTG+4 - $200ish

Hero is dealt KK

Blinds post. Hero raises to $15. Villain calls, UTG+2 calls, UTG+4 calls. The rest fold. Pot is $63.

Flop: 2 3 9 rainbow.

Hero bets $35. Villain raises all in for $60. Pot is now $158.

I thought, "...well I guess this guy hit bingo..." I guess I had been raising a lot of pots because I my raises were getting a lot of action. At any rate, I was getting 6 to 1 pot odds to call. So I went into the tank and thought about what I could beat.

I can beat QQ-TT, 88-44, and most suited connector combinations. All I'm really scared of is AA, 99, 33, and 22.

Next question; what would this guy call me with? Well, he's looking for an opportunity to double up, and doesn't know how to fold a lousy hand, so he could have top pair with a good kicker, 2 pair (23, probably not 29 or 39), or a set. So, overall, I looked like I was in good shape.

But, there was something about the hand that made me wonder. This dude is on tilt, and he's a bad player, and I don't think he'd slow down if he hit a set. Something didn't seem right. So I did the math if my worst fears were correct. If he had 2 pair, I was a 4 to 1 dog, but I was getting 6 to 1 on my money. If he had a set, which is what I felt like he had, I was drawing to 2 outs, so like a 25 to 1 dog or something.

I folded, and showed my KK. He showed me his 88 and raked the pot. Wow. After "color commentary" from the "poker pros" at the table, I still felt like, and still believe today that I did the correct thing in that I followed my instincts. However, I made my decision based more on my feel of the situation, rather than the concrete facts of the situation. Probably 90% feel. So, had I sat back and thought about the whole situation, I would have probably focused more on the hands that I was beating and insta-called. Bad play for me.

I ended up winning it all back and then some from him before that dude busted out.

Hand number 2. Consequently, the hand I hang my hat for the session. The table I was at had broke up, and I was placed at a new table. I didn't know much about the players before this hand came up:


BB (Hero) - $400ish
UTG - $1500
UTG+2 - $500

Hero is dealt KK (no diamonds)

Blinds post, all players limp. Hero raises to $15. UTG calls, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 raises to $35. All fold to Hero, who calls, UTG calls. Pot is $125.

Flop: J 7 8, 2 diamonds

Hero bets $35. UTG calls. UTG+2 raises to $135. Action to Hero.

So, again I go into the tank. Preflop, I raised, UTG+2 reraised. So, that makes me think, AA-JJ, AK-AJ suited/off-suit. The flop comes, and I take the lead again, and UTG+2 reraises again. So, I think, maybe he's protecting his AA, maybe he hit a set and is protecting against the flush. Not sure, though the reraise tells me that I'm most certainly beat. Add that to the fact that I'm sandwiched between two players, and I reluctantly fold. UTG eventually folds, and the villain show the set. Wow, great laydown for me!

His story was just too compelling for me to think I was ahead. So I was 1 for 2 in big plays that day. Not so bad, I think.