Deliberately making enemies online
 

I have witnessed more than a few times(of course on party, but probably elsewhere too), a player chatting acting drunk/idiotic and backing it up with his bets and then proceeding to tighten up and make back a much larger sum than he invested trying to look stupid. Has anyone else noticed/tried this? Do you consider it an effective strategy?

Often see it late night on ladbrokes.com it tends to me drunk peeps or just complete knobs trying to get a reaction and an edge.

It does seem to work on some people, making them play hands they shouldn't touch just becasue they are wound up and ready to explode.

Same thing happens in live games all the time. Back before Phil Gordon got all famous, he and his buddies were this group called the Tiltboys. Google that name, and read their trip reports...great stuff. Couple of the guys would always go out of their way to make people tilt, it was just part of the gameplan

Helmuth talked about it in his book. One player would join a ring game, raise in the dark before the flop for one full orbit, and then tighten up. The table often became wild and called with hands they wouldn't normally call with, even after the guy tightened up. He would usually lose a lot of big bets in the first orbit, but the damage to the other players psychologically had already been done.

Heck, I often do this myself at O8B limit to varying success rates.

I've seen this done a number of times. They key is to follow through with it. some players have too much pride and eventually admit what they are doing, which ruins it.

I've tried it a few times myself with mixed results. It goes against my general personality, so I don't really like it.... but you do get more aaction. That's for sure. People will be gunning for you.

If you're tight all the time, people will catch on and everyone will get out of your way= no chips. If they immediately see you as a maniac, it is hard for them to change that perception.

Against good players that's true. But I play in a B&M, straight 2 limit, and I play tight. You would be amazed at the people you get calling you, even though they know damn well that if I'm in the pot, I've got to have a better starting hand than them. I mean, you're flopping the nut flush and you've got 3 people calling you down to the river.

It's amazing how people do not pick up on your "style" at the lower limits.

The strategy might work, but low-mid limits it is absolutely not needed. The general crowd in those games wont notice one bit if you play tighter than a little schoolgirl. So why waste the money playing like a maniac and then try to make it back when you could just start out by making money, and then winning some more?

Defendant

this strategy definitely works.

i havent really done it online, but i assume that with player notes people will definitely pick up on it.

in a b&m this works really well for me. if i drink slowly at the table, people will assume that because i am a young male who is drinking, that i am going to be playing substandard hands, and they make some really bad calls. creating a favoravle table image can be very beneficial wherever you play.

ive never seen this happen on partypoker... ive seen my friends do it to people in real life games with some success, but online.... its funny that someone would attempt that.

It takes an attemptive crowd to pick up your table image, especially online...which you dont have at low limit online games. At higher limits? Sure, go for it.

Defendant

I don't know, guys. I hve played low limits on UB before (one of the sites known for weakies, IMO), and they have even commented before when I have decided to take a flop, with things like "fold" before I decide, or "you're suppose to fold, lol" after I call or raise. I remember that one time in particular. It was a sitngo and not a word of a lie, I had missed the past 40 flops (my blinds were being raised), before I took a flop. Once they said that, I knew the rest of the table would note me as a tight player, and I ended up winning mainly by just stealing blinds the rest of the way in late position. Just shows that you gotta watch what you say, don't want to scare people off, but don't want to let someone know how they're playing, cause if they're smart, they will change that in a second.

this is OT, but do people say 'knobs' alot in england? a friend of mine says it here (in california) and i thought he invented the word lol... just wondering

-jB

I've never done this, and in live games, I think it's pointless around here. I mainly play with friends, and they wouldn't pick up on that stuff.