Using Your Table Image to Your Advantage

It’s imperative to understand that your table image is one of the most important factors in online poker.

As opposed to live, reads and tells are harder to come across, so your opponents will look at factors such as betting patterns, aggression both post and pre flop and even things like timing tells to gain their reads.

Understanding your table image is a great way to manipulate players throughout hands and take lines that will put them in tough spots giving them tricky decisions as the hand is played out.

It’s a solid decision that early on in your game you assess how your table is playing as a whole and create your image from there. The earlier you can do this, the more chance you have in taking the advantage at the table.

The aggressive image

An aggressive image allows you play a lot of hands and really put your opponents under a lot of pressure.

However, to do this successfully it’s important to be competent with your game and also be able to take advantage of opposing players weaknesses by putting them in tough spots both pre and post flop.

Over time however, players will pick up on the fact that you’re playing an aggressive game so will start to play back at you and defend lighter. This is exactly the response we are looking for and after playing all those less valued hands early on, you can really be creative with your bigger valued hands to get the maximum from them.

Aggression can be overcome with recklessness, so picking your spots and timing your plays is an important factor to overcome the dynamic that you can spew off chips if you over kill your aggression.

The tight image

A tight image means that people will play back at you a lot less and give you a lot of respect when you show signs of strength.

So if you’ve been sat tight for a fair while at the table and just generally not got involved in too many hands or at least showdown the goods, then when you eventually do decide to perk up with a 3 bet, you will at least have some respect from opponents who will be unlikely to come back over the top in an attempt to get you to fold.

After forming your tight image it’s time to pick up some pots cheaply. Look to put the pressure on people more often without going crazy, thus accumulating chips as you go.

Again, select your opponent wisely by looking for players that will recognise your tight image. These players will often be regulars or people who you have deemed competent in the game so far. It’s unnecessary to do this against the fish, as you are likely to get paid off with your higher valued hands in any case.

The passive image

A passive image can be obtained, but only in very specific circumstances such as if the table is full of maniacs (or at least really aggressive players) and they are looking to bully you off pots.

It can be much easier just to let them take the betting lead and bleed all there chips into you as they fire three streets with air.

These kinds of scenarios require you to just sit back and take the heat, before eventually, taking their chips.

One online poker offering plenty of tournament in all poker variations is PokerStars. They have more games and poker variants than at any other online poker room.

When you register, you can use bonus code PSP8181 to get a 100% up to $600 sign-up bonus. You will be automatically enrolled in their Club VIP offering more perks, cash back bonuses and gifts.