The first thing I do when I join an unfamiliar poker game is feel out the players at the table. I try to point out the suckers and see who the nits and loose cannons are. I’m not the only person that does this, so with that being said, representing a deceptive table image is a good strategy to winning big pots. It is important to know that your table image is not based entirely on how you play, but more specifically on how your opponents see you playing.
It’s a pretty basic concept so here’s a scenario; let’s say you get dealt a reasonably shitty that n experienced player wouldn’t normally play, such as 
. Someone opens up the pot with a raise. You call pre-flop and the flop comes 
. You have nothing and the player who opened the pot throws out a continuation bet, you then call. The turn is a 
giving you 3rd pair on board, no type of draw, basically nothing. Your opponent bets again, representing a pair of Aces or a reasonably strong hand. Check your cards a couple times, take you’re time like you really have a tough decision to make and make the call. The river is dealt 3h which is a complete dud. The opponent then puts out a value bet, knowing his hand is best since he’s representing an Ace with a good kicker and appears to be valuing betting the river. At this point you call and without hesitation show the weak 3rd pair you made. Obviously you’re going to lose the pot and some of your chips BUT consider it an investment. Think of what the other players at the table are thinking about you and how weak of a player you made your self out to be with that play, “wow this guy is a fucking moron”. You called a raise preflop with a K9 os and the flop with absolutely nothing, you made a pair of 9s and called it down to river thinking it was the best hand. This is information that will be used in your favor with later pots you’re involved with and you’ve just increased you’re chances of actually being paid off for the big hands you make.
Table image is such an underrated aspect of the game yet I see the same people playing their ultra tight game at the tables and I know never to get involved in pots with them with a weak hand, since they peddle the nuts (only play big hands). These players are usually easy to take pots off, but if they do call you’re bet you might as well give up on the second or third barrel and check it down. Most of the time, you should concentrate on playing your cards correctly and using whatever table image you happen to acquire. However, under certain circumstances, you can take advantage of opportunities to intentionally cultivate a deceptive image.
First, this entry needs to be spell-checked…:-D
Second, I think in looking at the merits of making an advertising play, one big factor is having a stack that can absorb a 3 barrel bet from someone that will have the best hand 95% of the time when you’re flatting his bet on the flop with K9o. You can find cheaper, better spots to advertise maniac play without having to stack off a significant amount of money.
I’m not so positive advertising that you’re a donkey right off is such a strong move. It can limit your options, in particular your ability to get rid of people with a well placed bluff might be diminished. Another player holding a drawing hand might just assume you’re an idiot and call. If enough of them do that often enough they will hit their draw, or worse their existing cards are good enough to beat you.
Plus, maybe you should make it a bit more believable, I’d be highly suspect of a player that did the move you describe.
Yes this is a good strategy, but it must be carefully used. When you’re selecting your opponents you’ll want to make sure that you choose the guy at the table who is not the tightest player. You’ll want to give the action to the player who is an obvious regular, and likes to give different action to different players. Think of it as playing against yourself for instance.
My setup is different, and I’m a successful $10/$20nl player in Las Vegas. I like to start playing really tight then loosen up after about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the run of cards I’m receiving. When I open up players already given me a tight image so I don’t have to bet as aggressively, therefore risking less chips. I’ll do 3x raises that will take down pots consistently. I’ll also get the advantage of position a lot of times because I’ll be opening up more closer to the button. Every once in awhile I’ll throw out a 3x UTG with a suited connector like 56s, which by the way is the best hand to have against AA should you run into it.
This is good an interesting move but I agree with BigT it could prove an expensive proposition and will only prove positive if good cards come your way after and may stymie any moves you need to make at a pot in later rounds.
i prefer to play very loose at the initial stages winning as many pots as i can before eventually having to show down. Therby creating the image of a loose player before reverting to my normal tight game.
Doing this at the initial stages with low blinds and a decent stack does not cost so much and will eventually pay dividens.