Social Masks, Does it Apply?
In society we wear different masks for different occasions. Not literal masks, no these masks are the kind we put on called our personas. We act differently in front of our boss, than we do in front of our girlfriend or wife, or in front of a total stranger. So this leads me to ask the question, does your social demeanor spill over onto the felt? I think the answer can be yes and no. A white haired gentleman you may assume to be a passive rock or calling station, but in reality he may be one of the best no limit online poker players you’ve ever faced (Doyle Brunson comes to mind). Or maybe you have a meek and quiet type that you would expect to pay like a rock and super tight online poker , but he starts to bully the table, playing super aggressive and taking down pots and stealing blinds as if it’s going out of style. These anecdotes are a simple way of saying don’t judge a book by its cover. The grandma that you think might be a pushover, may walk away at the end of the day with all your chips. Regardless, it’s inevitable that with new opponents that we can see we make an immediate judgment of how they’ll play online poker. But this can be a fatal mistake. Instead of looking at the title of the book and tossing it into the memory bank, why not take a second to read the book for a while, and see if that player fits the cover of his or her book. It’s a much more profitable strategy, as you never know how a newcomer is going to play. So be wary of making that first impression of a new player based solely on looks. Play a few hands first and get a feel for them, then make that judgment.
