Posted by The Captain | Filed under The Pros Speak
One of the most entertaining aspects of live poker is the banter at the table. Just mentioning certain players immediately elicits comments about their style and, invariably, their personality at the table. But how much of what we see accurately reflects the player in question? For that matter, how important is “table image” when you get right down to it?
Rather than trying to put a fine point on it ourselves, we recently had the chance to listen to Gavin Smith’s thoughts on the subject. While his antics might lead folks to believe that he’s a reckless madman at the table, that’s far from the case. In fact, people’s perception of him is just another edge that he’s able to capitalize on. Here’s what he had to say about image and how it fits into the picture for him:
How important do you think it is to have an established table image?
I don’t necessarily think that it’s the most important thing to have going for you, but it’s certainly very helpful. When you have a certain image going into tournament, you can exploit it. Switching things up a bit throws your opponents off guard – that’s pretty important.
In general, do you think that one particular image works more effectively than another?
As far as things go, I definitely think that playing looser will help you win more often. A loose image doesn’t have as much to do with your game as it does with what you’re trying to get people to perceive. So even though I’ve got a very, very loose image, I’m really not as loose as people think. I’m very loose pre-flop, but after the flop I’m quite a bit better than they think. That’s where the concept of your image comes into it. You don’t want your image to directly reflect exactly what your game is like.
I guess it also depends on how you play. Regardless of this, it’s important that you’re always aware of how people perceive you. You’re better off going with an image that suits your personality rather than trying to act like something you’re not.
People have seen you play on TV, and a lot of them probably think that they know how you play – how do you deal with that?
It actually works out pretty well because I’m generally aware of what people think of me, so I bluff a lot less than people think I do – and I get paid off for it. I also get people trying to throw crazy bluffs at me when it’s not going to be very effective for them. I definitely think that the image I’ve portrayed on television has helped me in poker.
How could someone best play against an opponent with your table image?
The best way to play against someone like me is to call frequently from position. That’s where I’m going to have the most trouble – it’s going to force me to tighten up pre-flop.
As far as all of this goes, you can’t easily change your image, but you can change the way you play – that’s an important distinction. People are going to believe what they’ve seen or think about my game for years. I can’t change that very quickly, but I can definitely change the way I play and throw people for a little bit of a loop when I want to.
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