Using your image

One of the most important aspects of pokerstars is knowing what way your opponents are playing, and what style they have. However, just as important is knowing what image your opponents have of you, and knowing how to use your image to gain an advantage over your opponents.

Knowing your image

The first thing to realize is how your opponents perceive you. This is so you can use it to your advantage. Do they see you as tight, loose, aggressive or passive? Do you always bet on the river, or only when you have the nuts? Do you always continuation bet or do you usually just play the hand you have? You need to study your game as much as you study your opponents. If you know how your opponent sees you, you will have a much better understanding of your opponent.

Switching it up

After you have worked out how your opponents see you and have an understanding of what image you project, you can add it to your arsenal. If you switch your play at any point from your standard play, this will through your opponent – which can cause them to make a mistake. If you occasionally do something you usually do but with an out of the ordinary hand, it gives you advantage over your opponent.

For example, if you are perceived as being very tight and poker player who rarely raises, you can get away with a bluff much easier than a player who is loose and will bluff with a wide range of hands. Say a player in mid position raises and you with a tight image re-raise in late position, the original raiser must put you on a monster and will be forced to fold unless he also has a monster, which you can now get away from if he calls. On the other hand, a loose aggressive player can actually use his image to his advantage as well. For example, he can get away with over betting when he has a big hand, as he will be called with a wider range. This can mean he can gather a vast amount of chips fairly quickly.

The thing to remember is, if you do something different know exactly how you would have previously played it to get the same results as you want this time. If you re-raise a tight player who had already raised, it is likely he already has a big hand and is less likely to fold. However, if you can get a read on your opponent and know what they think you are going to do, you can control a table to your liking and pick up chips as you like.