Not many new players know what it is, and even fewer understand the importance of it. Let’s be perfectly honest here. Nobody would want to sit down at a poker table and see the likes of a Phil Ivey or a Greg Raymer sitting across at you. Not only are they great players, they also have the right table image to run the game. This is what every player has to learn. You want to be the person at the table that everyone else is thinking about. You want everyone to respect you, maybe even fear you, but you want them to still give you play when you need it. It gives you room to make plays at the smaller pots and chip away at their stacks until you can bust them. Here are a few ways to accomplish this.

Play Aggressive. This can’t be stressed enough, especially when you are in late position and when you have a big chip stack. If you catch any piece of the flop and it is checked around to you, make a play at it. Even if you get a caller, unless the next card helps them or they have a really strong hand, they are going to lay it down.
Mix it up. Don’t play the same hands the same way. If you throw in a raise with a moderate hand every now and then, they are going to have no clue as to what hand you are playing.
Show a few hands. Only a select few though, and never show the same thing. It’s great to show the nuts one hand and show the players they made the right move, then come back a couple hands later and show a stone cold bluff. The other players are going to respect you but still give you the play you want.
Use small pots to your advantage. To obtain your aggressive poker table image, you have to use small pots as your testing grounds. If players are seeing you as to tight, and you want to loosen up your image, use small pots to show a bluff. If the table is seeing you as to loose, then use small pots to show a great hand. You want to have control over what others think of you, and small pots are a great way to do it without having to risk a lot of money.

You will find your poker playing much more profitable once you learn how to run a table. You don’t want the other players thinking you are a weak amateur, this will only lead to you getting run off the table. Show them you mean business.

Written by Jason Bisnett

Jason is a very experienced Poker Player. We are very happy to have him on our staff. To ask Jason a question, visit our Forum our email him at JBisnett@stackspokeronline.com