The Illusion of Action

I play a fairly nitty style of poker. "Nitty" meaning that I rarely put much money in the pot with a weakish hand (unless bluffing). I take great pride in being able to check fold without a second thought all day long.

Now sure, I raise a lot preflop, mostly just to take the betting lead, but if anyone calls me even once, I pretty much shut down. My main plan is to take down a bunch of pots uncontested with continuation bets, and if I pick up a hand, well lets just hope that someone else did too.

Now at a first glance, when playing against me, it would seem as though I'm a rather loose player. Since I raise frequently preflop, I inevitably will show down some trashy type hands. And thats the first type of thing that a bad player will notice - "hey this guy just raised with J7o, I should start calling him more". And thats generally what happens. But what they don't notice, is that unless I flop big, I barely put any money in the pot. So while they wait for sets and overpairs to slowplay vs me, I'm there picking up the small pots and, more importantly, not paying them off when they do hit (hopefully).

Ok, blah blah, I know all this, why am I still reading you ask yourself.

So while this cycle continues for a while, good players (and eventually even bad players) start to realize that I'm actually not giving them any action when they flop big. They see me folding to their check raises and overbets and they start to get a little upset that they aren't getting paid off. So they stop playing with you. They stop trying to call you down because they've started to realize that you always have the goods. Then you stop getting action on your big hands as well. Then the whole fuckin' game degenerates into a nitfest where the only way more than $20 is getting into the middle is if both players flop a set. This is especially relevant in long sessions where you end up playing with the same opponents for hours.

So what do you do? While sitting around waiting for coolers and other big hands can be marginally profitable, its certainly not optimal, especially if you are a good player. And while I'm definitely not the greatest player around, I still win money, and am always looking for ways to improve.

So heres what I do. I try to create the illusion of action. In order to keep most bad players satisfied and playing, you not only have to let them win occasionally, you have to let them catch you bluffing. Call them down with a marginal hand from time to time. Even if you know that they are so passive that they would never bet anything but the nuts, it might be worth your while to give them a bit of action to let them know that you aren't a complete nit and that they can make money off you. Just make sure to do it when it is cheap. A lot of bad players will bet their big hands small because they are afraid of losing a potential caller. Use this situation to give your image a cheap boost.

Bad players tend not to focus on bet size a lot. A bet is a bet to them, no matter the size (within reason) and if they end up winning a pot by them betting and you calling, then they are all the more happy, regardless of pot size.

The same is true for bluffing. If they never catch you ever bluffing, even bad players can stop calling you down. So from time to time, pull a semi-hopeless bluff on the river, provided that the pot nor your bet will be too big. The bluff might work and if you are called, oh well, your image can use the boost.

These image plays I've found are best used in a blind vs blind scenario where the SB has limped into your big blind. Because the pots here are going to be very small, you can use this opportunity to make a cheap -EV play for image purposes.

These plays are also not limited to just bad players. Even the regular multitablers will have a read on your nittyness, and if they don't see you bluffing or calling down light from time to time, they are much less likely to play with you when you are doing the betting.

While multitabling online, I often forgo even considering my image at the table, as most of the play at the lower stakes doesn't doesn't require much image manipulation. But once the sessions get long, even the most unobservant players remember particular hands. Hopefully they will remember those small pots you bluffed at in the times where you have the nuts and are considering a call.