Table image for Begginers

Dealing in a tournament yesterday, I started to focus on one player. She did not play many pots, but seemed pretty easy target, she was woman in her 30's, seemed new to the game, and was drinking heavily. She got called on all her big bets early. (3X-BB or more). She had no respect at the table. After she showed AA, AK (Flop 2 pair all-in), another AK with top pair, and a 2 pocket pairs she flopped sets on, all in the first 1hr of the tournament. The players started giving her respect, treating her big bets like the nuts, and not wanting to risk their stack. What they were doing is playing her "Table Image"

How to use this to your advantage in a free-roll or low buy-in tournament. Make big plays with big hands early. Fold all your crappy hands. A sucker is always a sucker. i.e. if you try to suck-out once and hit, no one will forget it and keep calling your marginal hands.

The beauty of what this lady did was starting to raise her marginal hands (A-8S, K-Qo - 4-4) and was getting players to fold. Too bad she wasn't smart enough not to show every hand. But even after showing top pair, 8 kicker, players were still folding because they knew she old raised with a legitimate hand.

Beginners confuse table image with a read on a player, so try to see if you can use this to your advantage in the next free-roll you play!