"table affinity"

[Chief 0]

My style thrives on a phenomenon I like to call "table affinity."I wonder if other people have encountered this while playing NL. Table Affinity -- more or less, is how much other players at the table like you. I am dead serious this is if not a big chunk of my game a quantifiable piece of it. I am a funny guy. I like to think of myself as a likeable guy. I sing songs while I am at the table. I talk to people because I am interested in their stories, in who they are. And I geniunely want to be friends with them. For table affinity to work in your favor, you must geniunely want to be friends with everyone at the poker table, exclusive of wanting to obtain their chips. That's right. I don't feel, be it karma or something else new-agey, that if you try to buddy-buddy with people just to get on their good side and obtain "Table Affinity," that it will work. It will not work. It will make you seem fake. In fact while you are at the table and you are acting like a goofy clown or acting friendly a lot of people are put off by these antics to begin with.If you think this is a load of bullcrap, I don't blame you. I just thought about this concept while I was in the shower just now. Otherwise, read on. Who do you want Table Affinity from?-- You want table affinity from the people that are going to put you to the toughest decisions post flop and/or the people that are generally going to pay off your big hands the least. you do not want table affinity from the people that are going to pay you off. this is something you need to gauge from table to table. This does not mean you shouldn't be friends with someone because they are a fish Just don't actively seek to cultivate their favor in this manner.[group I] tricky TAGs. these are the people you want table affinity from the most, it's more difficult to get at their whole stacks when they don't have the best of it.[group II] tricky LAGs. here is a judgement call on your part because on one hand their ruthless aggression with a wide range of hands is troublesome when you possess marginal holdings, but on the other hand they often meet aggression with aggression, which is helpful for when you are made.Groups you do not want table affinity from:[group III]weaker TAGs, TAPs, LAPs[group IV]drunk people/fish[group V] econ_tim[group VI] (hit by the badugi bus) -- AkishoreEx: I am sitting on a stack of 500. Player V has me covered. He is a Group I player. I hold AA and raise under the gun, Player V calls. The flop comes JJ9. Player V says "Get out Chief!" in a very serious tone. There is no question in my mind whatsoever Player V has a Jack. In fact, if my table affinity is high enough, he just might show me the Jack after I fold. If it is very high, he will show me the Jack before I fold my hand. 8) The benefits of having high Table Affinity:+ saves you money when you are beat+ bluffs are easier against people who assign you lots of table affinityThe downsides:- getting paid off is much harder from these individuals :x Table Affinity doesn't work for everyone however. Some people I find want as little "respect" as possible at the poker table. And that works better for them. Acquiring table affinity is an arduous process. Losing it is much easier, eg:The next time a drunk fish sits next to you at your local B&M, remain cordial, but maybe chat up his girlfriend or something. :wink:

[The Bwaves 0]

Basically I use this strategy live also.All you do is make people like losing to you. Example:Playing 3/6 lhe, there was a guy who kept on straddling every time he was UTG (the only place you can straddle). This lady to the left of me kept saying under her breath, what an asshole. So I used this to my advantage everytime action got to me and he straddled I would say damn I want to call I know he has nothing! Then I would shoot a look to the lady and she would just give me this, shit I know exactly what your feeling.Anyway I flopped a flush on her, and bet the fuck out of the hand and she's was HAPPY to give her money to me. She even said after the hand, she's glad she lost it to me.So I believe intently in Table "Affinity"GPThe Bwaves 2 4

[NoSup4U 0]

Phil Gordon discussed the flip side of this on one of the recent FOX broadcasts of Learn From the Pros. Basically saying that while for some people like Phil Hellmuth and Mike the Mouth being a jerk at the table works in their favor, for most people you want to just fade into the background and not be disliked. You don't want people not to like you and target you specifically. I think the way you put it Chief makes a lot of sense. I find that good players often can be manipulated into an 'us vs them' kind of mindset. Generally in an effort to increase what you call table affinity I will:- Compliment a player on how he played a hand a few times- try and make eye contact if you both aren't in a pot, and give the 'rolling eyes/shaking head' combo when some fish makes a dumb call or something to show that you know he wouldn't ever do something like that.- whenever you win a pot against him, to keep him from feeling like you are trying hard for his money, apologize on the river with a 'man, I"m sorry, I had to raise there when I hit that flush right?' or if he folds to you, either show him a good hand or muck and tell him you had QQ or something.Basically, keep him playing tough against the table but not against you, because you're 'teammates' so to speak against everyone else.I don't play live as much as most people here I'm sure, but that seems to work for me in general. *shrug*Nice post OP.Mark

[macphec 0]

Nice post. Definitly something to your theory Chief. Especially the part about not wanting affinity vs players who will pay you off.

[Chief 0]

All you do is make people like losing to you.

Couldn't agree more.

- Compliment a player on how he played a hand a few times- try and make eye contact if you both aren't in a pot, and give the 'rolling eyes/shaking head' combo when some fish makes a dumb call or something to show that you know he wouldn't ever do something like that.- whenever you win a pot against him, to keep him from feeling like you are trying hard for his money, apologize on the river with a 'man, I"m sorry, I had to raise there when I hit that flush right?' or if he folds to you, either show him a good hand or muck and tell him you had QQ or something.Basically, keep him playing tough against the table but not against you, because you're 'teammates' so to speak against everyone else.

Very good addendum. Maybe I'll add a "tactics" section later.

Nice post. Definitly something to your theory Chief. Especially the part about not wanting affinity vs players who will pay you off.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[econ_tim 0]

nh fish

[Chief 0]

nh fish

u know what i am going to make a special section on this chart for you.PS- guyz, i called tim down with king high...and it was good.(out pipped his ass) that is all.

[Chief 0]

Tim check it out Aseem got hit by the props bus

[akishore 0]

i am alive, i promise!!!you clowns. JOPKE. i take all your mobney all day every day baby.aseem

[macphec 0]

i am alive, i promise!!!you clowns. JOPKE. i take all your mobney all day every day baby.aseem

Good luck aseem. We can dodge nuclear missiles baby!!good to have you backpost some sh.it

[tufat23 0]

nice thread. i like it when someone brings something i never thought about conciously.i've noticed i tend to strike up banter with the better players at the table but with no real focus to it.

[TJ_Eckleburg 0]

Generally speaking, I agree with you.My plan is to be nice to everybody, but make sure they all know (after the hand) that I play my best all the time and against everybody.Daniel more or less feels the same way.

[Theraflu 1,035]

i've only played at the casino a handful of times, but i think i tend to do the nosup4u theory of affinity kind of naturally...whenever i have a tough hand or "bet the flush on the river" i give my toughest opponent a look and just kind of hope he understands that im a good player on his level (as i hope he's a good player on my level) that ill be able to take pots from here and there and that i wont confront very often. I think these people are pretty evident at any online NL table of any sort after 30-45 mins, just with minimum intelligent chat and a few decent shown hands. In MTTs setting up relationships based on your style of play can pay huge dividends later on if you get lucky and get to sit at your table for a while.

[navybuttons 15]

this is a concept i use (it comes naturally). but it backfired.typically, i play 6/12 omaha8 with a full kill at a local B&M.I had 2235.on a kill pot i turned the nut low. first position bet and me and 3 others called. the river was a 2 and i knew i was gonna scoop. first guy bet again and again, me and 3 others called. when i showed the best hand i apologized and said sorry, i already had the low. (he had top 2).then later another guy said not to apologize for catching inside staight draws saying "sorry i had the flush draw too". aparently the guy with top 2 in the other hand was mumbling something under his breath.i play with these guys nearly every night but when you act as nicely as possible (because that's how you are) it is easy to feel burned when someone doesn't like you. it could be because no one at the table is less than double my age and i take thousands off the table a week. but if you play for hours and hours and no one likes you it can be depressing.

[NoSup4U 0]

Ok, here is some table affinity for you:$500 NL game live:I'm holding QQ and have been very friendly at the table. Early pos raises to $30, I bump to $80, he calls.Flop all rags. I check to him, he bets $70, I raise $200 more, he moves all in over the top of me.While I'm thinking it over, he tells me: If you have aces, you have me beat, and then SHOWS ME HIS HAND! (holding KK)I tell him how well he played it and fold. (trying to reinforce this craziness)Thats some table affinity, where players let you off the hook by showing you their cards when they move in over you.Mark

[Chief 0]

Ok, here is some table affinity for you:$500 NL game live:I'm holding QQ and have been very friendly at the table. Early pos raises to $30, I bump to $80, he calls.Flop all rags. I check to him, he bets $70, I raise $200 more, he moves all in over the top of me.While I'm thinking it over, he tells me: If you have aces, you have me beat, and then SHOWS ME HIS HAND! (holding KK)I tell him how well he played it and fold. (trying to reinforce this craziness)Thats some table affinity, where players let you off the hook by showing you their cards when they move in over you.Mark

nice onedid you show him your hand?I probably would have showed him and said "yeah, no way I can call your push with that right?"

[NoSup4U 0]

nice onedid you show him your hand?I probably would have showed him and said "yeah, no way I can call your push with that right?"

Oh yeah, I showed him, and he was happy to see that he put me on the correct hand. I think the concept that he had just lost $300 more dollars did not cross his mind. He tells me: I knew you didn't have aces when you checked the flop. (which is weird to me, because I think if I'm checking a flop its more likely I have aces.) But anyway, he was just proud of himself for reading my hand correctly, and he liked me so he said he 'wasn't trying to be greedy' when another guy asked him why he showed me.Mark