Playing the Victim

  Poker is a highly psychological game. More important than any amount of luck, the psychological persona you project at the table can greatly affect how your opponents play against you and what choices they make in the course of the game. Developing this persona is an important part of developing your game: in doing so, you create the character your opponents will interact with and protect and disguise your real personality and plans.  One personality that can be useful to develop for the poker table is that of the victim. Victims garner strong psychological responses from those around them. Most people feel sympathy, but others, especially at the poker table, try to take advantage of the victim.  Playing the victim gives you a few advantages. First of all, it allows you to play off of people's natural sympathy. Caring players will feel bad about tearing you apart and jumping on your mistakes. Second, it allows you to pull more sinister players into traps. Those that are thinking they can take advantage of you can be lead into compromised positions, where you can turn the tables on them and take advantage of their own mistakes.  The personality you present at the table can greatly affect how the other players interact with you. Choosing the correct persona to create leads to successful play.