A Perspective on Respect (Inspired by Jerzey)

[Insidestr8]

Poker is often a game of opposites and of psychology. One of the more interesting players that I found in our league is Jerzey. He’s not the shy type about speaking out ;) so I don’t mind using his name in this example.

Now the following is just my opinion of his style so maybe I’m all wet on this. If I am wrong then he’s done a great job of creating a misconception in my mind and that is all part of the beauty of poker.

The way I read Jerzey, is that he’s the type of player that tries to demand respect at his table. He will often show his hands after he’s made a big bet/raise and the hands that he shows are usually very strong starting hands. He will also not hesitate to criticize a player that calls one of his big hands with a marginal hand and ends up beating him. I don’t think he’s doing this just to be mean, or to show off, but I believe he is trying to intimidate players at his table to play very tight poker and as a result to become very predictable.

If the players at your table become predictable and become afraid to take chances, then the game of poker becomes much easier for you. For starters they are less likely to raise before the flop so you get to see more cheap flops and start limping with more drawing hands. On the occasion when they do raise, then you know that they have a good hand and you can bail early. If they call your raise, then again you can expect that they have a great hand. So basically you have created a situation where there is a greater respect for your hand then it would normally have. Players become intimidated and start laying down hands that they would normally play.

To me this is a very aggressive way of trying to demand respect. It will grate on other players’ nerves, but it can be a very successful strategy and you will often find Jerzey’s name at the top of point ladders.

I did mention the word “opposites” at the start of this, so I’ll give you a bit of an opposite view on this type of respect. I find that a player like Jerzey becomes very predictable in his play so I tend to respect the cards that he most likely holds, but I don’t tend to respect the player all that much and to me he becomes a bit easier to beat. The players that I respect for their play are those that I can’t read that well. An example of that type of player is Hockeyboy who I find constantly changes gears throughout a tournament and challenges you to use your imagination.

One last point on respect comes from a compliment that a top player (Buzz) gave me a couple of years ago when he was folding to most of my pre-flop raises. He told me that he was folding out of respect for me and I believe he meant it as a compliment for my tight play. His words did make me re-evaluate my game and made me think that I had become a bit too predictable. As a result I started to mix up my pre-flop game a bit more.

In addition my earlier comments about the importance of trying to figure out other players, I think its always important for us to look at how other players see us. Once we become too predictable in their eyes its time to change things up a bit.

[codemaker]

I find this assessment to be pretty much on the mark with just a slight addition on what I have observered. I do feel the motive behind Jerzeys table talk and actions are intended as you discribe but I have noticed depending on the player involved it can cause the oppisite of its intentions. Some players who generaly play fairly tight will loosen up due to the desire to add to their stack chips that were Jerzeys.

Now that leads us back to the subject of reading the player Jerzey now has to figure out who is driven to do so and instead of improving his ability to control others play can instead make them less readable.

Maybe I am all wet in this opinion but my view of games I have played at the same table as Jerzey leads me to think this.

[Insidestr8]

Code, that also introduces another aspect of managing your table image. Take two pros like Daniel Negraneau and Mike Matusow. Daniel is basically the all around good guy and fun to be at a table with. I've heard him speak about this and in addition to just being a nice guy, he finds it to be a competitive advantage to have other players like him. He feels they have less anger towards him and are less likely to make an angry call to try and knock him out of a tournament.

On the other hand, a Mike Matusow, especially in his earlier years was known for his abusive verbal behavior and mocking of other people for being donkies, etc. This did let him achieve some success at intimidating a table that he was at, but it also painted a big "bulls eye" on his back with players loving to knock him out of a tournament. As such players were more likely to make calls against him with only draws in the hopes of knocking him out. I think that's a risk that you run if you choose to have an abrasive personality at the tables or if you can't control your aggression.