table image

i was wondering what kind of table image people find the most desireable. it seems like pro players will often say that they want to have a tight, or conservitave table image, that is to say that other players assume that they only play good hands, and seldom bluff. i understand the merits of this, especially in tournement play, as it can help you steal pots. i had an expirence a few months ago that made me think otherwise.
i was playing heads up in a small tourny, and two very similar hands came up, but i played them very differently. I had a queen high off suit both times. the first time i was in position and i was betting. i bet pre flop, bet on the flop, the turn and the river, all with nothing but the queen high, and got called every time. my opponent had top pair and beat me. the second hand i had the queen high again, check in the big blind, on the flop and the turn, and he checked behind me. on the river, i caught a queen, and checked again. i probably should have know it was the best hand, but there was at least one overcard on the board, and after the last hand, i decided to just relax, and i check. my opponent checked behind me, and it turned out the queens were the best hand and i won. after that my opponent said to me, or rather wrote, as it was online, "Huh, you bet with nothing, and you check when you have a hand. Very interesting." and at that point i knew i had him beat. there was no way he could beat me, thinking that about my game. sure enough, a hand or two later, I had an ace high suited in the hole, caught a flush draw on the flop, bet it and he called, caught my flush on the turn, bet again, he raises all in, I call, he doesn't even have top pair and i win the hand, game over, he curses at me, and i feel like i had finally figured something out. had he thought i was a tight player, he would have had a much harder time calling and raising me like he did with a possible flush on the board.
here's my thinking, with an agressive table image, players will often let you see cards for free when you check, allowing you to make your hand, and they call or raise when you bet assuming you have nothing. if you have a tight image, you might be able to steal more pots, but you won't get paid off as often when you have the best hand. i don't necessarily consider myself to be an agressive player, but i think there are times when an agressive image comes in handy. maybe my thinking is totally off about this, or at the very least (as i have been accused of doing before) i am way over anazyling a pointless situation. i was just wondering what sort of table image you guys would prefer to have

-n

I agree that image is an important factor as anyone can win a hand with good cards. The image displayed is certainly dependant on the table you're playing at and you need to be flexible. I was playing a few weeks ago with a person that saw maybe 1 or 2 % of the flops. When he played he had the cards and never bluffed. I was agressive and showed a bit of a recless image and finally caught this fella when he had pocket queens and I had aces. He made the assumption I was on a draw and I naileed him for nearly all his chips. Other times you want to be the tight, conservative player as it allows you to control the table regardless of your cards.

The mistake the overly tight players make is that they never use this well built image to steal any pots or win with less than perfect cards. I try to adjust to the table and use the style that gives me even the slightest edge. The bottom line is the cards are rarely if ever consistantly good enough for you to win without the occasional bluff or steal...

a tight table image to me is best...you can steal alot of pots that way without showing...its hard to have the best hand all the time..

I'd rather start out with a loose image and play tight, so people keep calling you down when you have big legitimate hands than start out with a tight image and get no action.

You want to have a tight image later in tournaments so you can steal more blinds without getting called or re-raised preflop.

Mike Caro agrees with you. I don't.
Mr. Caro states that when he sits down his goal is to lose $1000.00 as fast as possible. Then tighten up. His argument is that the table will continue to play with him, and never notice that he is turning over premium hands... and it works.

I however do not do this and probably couldn't. I prefer to win as money pots as possible without showing a single hand. Its a slow grind, but safe. My few bluffs tend to be successful. I increase the frequency of hands until I get called down too much, then tighten back up. A bit defensive, but solid profit and loss.

Bill