When you play poker, just like in real life, image is everything. In the real world, people know whether you’re gregarious, short-tempered, generous, smart, and funny. They know that if they pull an April Fools joke, you’re not likely to get upset. How do they know this? Your friends, family, and neighbors have all picked up on actions you’ve made that determine your image. In poker, it’s exactly the same process. What you say, who you bully, what cards you show, and the percentage of the time that you raise and fold are all part of your table image. It’s important to understand what your image is when you play and then use it to your advantage every single step of the way. Here are a few tips to help you build and exploit your image.

Understanding Your Image

It’s critical that you understand your image at the poker table. That is, you need to comprehend how other players view you. If you were judging yourself, what kind of player would you say you were? Are you tight? Are you loose? Are you a calling station? Do you raise a lot? Do you fold? Do you talk constantly in the chat? Do you raise everyone’s big blind?

If you’re wondering how to figure out what your table image is, it’s easy: Watch how other players act against you. When you’re in the big blind, do they raise? If so, you might be considered a tight player. Do people fold when you raise? If so, your actions are respected, which means you can exploit this trusting attitude later. It’s all about observation, which means you can’t slack off at any moment.

When you understand what your image is, make sure to stick with it. Yes, you can mix up your game, but once you understand what your table image is, you can easily figure out how to exploit it. It’s important to note that “changing gears” doesn’t mean switching up your image. Rather, it means using your image to play differently. Just like everyone else at the table as his or her own image, so do you. Some common images you’ll find include loose-aggressive (LAG) and tight-aggressive (TAG). People around you might be calling stations, steam-raiser, and perennial folders.

Exploiting Your Image

Mixing up your game is the way to exploit your image. If you’re known as a tight player, raise with something like 7-4 if action is folded around to you. Why not? People will believe that you have a hand that’s far better than that. If you’ve shown down nothing but the nuts, raise it up with junk and play it like it’s the nuts. Remember, your image is what poker is all about. Use it to your advantage each time you’re able to.

Taking Notes

When you’re dealing with people you can’t see, taking notes on their play is extremely important. Every single major online poker room (such as PokerStars, Party Poker or Full Tilt Poker) has a way for you to take notes on players. Typically, you can right click on a player’s name at the table and start typing your thoughts. Use it constantly. Write down whether a player is loose or aggressive. Take notes on what they say. Just like they’re trying to figure you out, determine what kind of player they are. You’ll be much more successful in the long-run understanding the tendencies of your competitors.

The true way to take advantage of your image is knowing what the images of others at the table are. If you know someone is tight, play at them. If you know someone is loose, go after them when you have a hand. However, you’ll never know how another player acts if you don’t take notes.

So look yourself in the mirror. What is your image?