In-game Poker Image

The poker game that relies on creating an image is in another dimension than rule or tactic-based poker, although all of these are essential to a good game. Image concerns everyone at the table and is the total of all you know about your opponents and all you let them know about you. Image-making will sometimes cause you to make moves which your opponents perceive as odd or ill-conceived.

Whatever it is you do or don't do at the table produces an image for your opponents to observe and analyze. There are players who attempt to project nothing. Everyone at the table must play the cards dealt him. An alternative playing style is to make a big show of activity to disorient and confuse opponents thereby obscuring your method of play.

Bluffing is usually undertaken to increase your advantage (and earnings) for a few bets. Image creation, on the other hand, will probably diminish the advantage of a few of your bluff-style bets, but will enhance your advantage in the long run. An example: make a few weak moves in a certain circumstance. You will probably lose this round, but in the same situation in the future, when your hand is strong and your play is good, your competent, unbelieving opponents will think you once again have a weaker hand, while the true experts cannot fathom what you are doing at all. Just a seemingly idiotic play like this has long lasting effects on your opponents and give your strong hands much more value.

Chess is known for its image-based strategies. The players whose strengths are either well known or unknown make credible bad moves or what appear to be oddly ridiculous moves. They will sacrifice pieces, fail to defend their positions or to take positions. This is disorientation by deliberately making bad moves. This player will then use his "bad" strategy to make a quick swoop or attack a weak point that was previously not in his line of focus.

The main idea is the same in both games: you sacrifice current advantage in order to seize greater advantage later in the game. Instead of playing every concrete hand the best way, you envision less palpable but likely future possibilities. The move seems for the present to have put you at a disadvantage, but the game allows you to recover later and when you are ready to recover with a vengeance, your image will be your primary means.

You need to learn to project a variety of images and use the image that best befits a given situation. You will also learn which "dumb" moves to use to fake out your opponents to best achieve whichever goal you have in mind. You may want to use your image to disorient only with regard to a particular skill set. There will be times when you want them to see you as a weak player, or at least wonder if you are or not, or to think you are just a big bluff artist.

It is probably better to generate the image at the outset of the game, when the bank is still small. Otherwise, a few consecutive "bad" moves with a big bank may cost more than the eventual win.

The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Victory Rakeback as well as Cake Rakeback.

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