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 Poker Strategy and table image.
In Texas Holdem strategy is vital in order to win playing poker online or in local poker games. I have mentioned table image before now I will go in to more detail as to how your table image can affect your poker strategy in online and off line games this is equally important in online and off line poker. Your image is basically molded by your betting patterns and what cards you play. This is really the same for off line and online poker games so if you are in a virtual poker room or in a real one this strategy applies.
Table image simply put is how the other players see you in the game, do they think youre a loose player, a tight player or are you aggressive. The hard part about table image is that you don?t always want the same image. This varies for example if I am playing in my favorite online poker room and I am sitting in a ring game and it has been the same people for a while or I can ascertain if this table is aggressive, meaning that there are a lot of raises before the flop are there lots of all ins what basically is going on on the table. Based on this I will tailor my image to suit the table or the players I am playing. A good poker strategy in an online or real poker room is to sit out a few hands at first and to get a feel for the game that is played at the table. For example if I sit down at a table and after a while I sense that the table is tight meaning that every time there is a bet everyone fold there are not many re raises. I will come in as an aggressive player. I will try and run a bluff and show it after. This usually gets things going. Now my table image is that of an aggressive player who will bluff and try and steal pots. The reason I would want this image at this table is to get action with big hands like AA, KK or AK. If I don?t do this when I do have these hands the chances are that I will not get callers. I may continue to bluff here if they don?t loosen up I many not show many more of my bluffs after thatt depending on what I am trying to do. Now if I sat down at a poker table in an online or off line poker room and after sitting out a few hands I see that people are going all in with A5, or that they are going crazy after the flop with marginal hands. I will stay tight. I want these guys to think that if I am in the hand I have it so they will fold or respect my raises. I know I am going to get action here because these guys will call with almost anything. So I don?t need to loosen up. I can bide my time and strike when the moment is right.
So this is what I mean by table image. If you play a certain way people will re act to you accordingly. Try and see yourself in their eyes when you play a hand. After the hand think about what information would a player have gathered about your playing style by the way you played that hand.
Ok so not that we have talked about this let?s talk about mixing up your table image. What you will find playing poker off line or online that if you sit and play one way for a while at the same table the players will start to get a read on your playing style. That is exactly when you mix it up. If you are playing tight for a while and you see that you are not getting any action. Run a bluff or take a stab at a pot and see if you can take it down and show your bluff. This will keep the other players on their toes now they have to re Asses you. Why did he decide to steal now or bluff after being tight for the last hour. That is what you want you never want your opponents to get a read on you just when they think they understand your playing style you mix it up going from tight to aggressive to somewhere in between. When you can take your poker game to that level you will make money playing poker online and off.
Lets go over table image once more for online or offline poker rooms. You want to adjust your table image depending on the table. Then you also want to switch your table image up after players think they have you pegged you switch over to a more aggressive or a tighter playing style. After a few minutes you may switch back to aggressive. Or you may stay aggressive for the first hour and then tighten up for the next thirty minutes. This is where experience will come in to play. The best thing is to go and play in your favorite online poker room if you do not have a local poker room available and play some low stakes games and experiment with this and find what works for you.
I hope this helps you understand another important part of poker strategy. If you have any input on table image or think we need to add something here. Please contact us and we will do our bet to accommodate you. I always enjoy hearing different points of view when it comes to poker strategy for online and off line poker rooms.
Good luck now go rake some monster pots.
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