Play Just Like Me
By Arthur S. Reber
Most of us like ourselves, and that includes poker players. We also tend to like people who like us. And, of course, we tend to like people who are like us, folks who remind of ourselves. Like does attract like, in poker as in the life.
And, as any good psychologist can tell you, we can push the envelope on this tendency with little prodding. We not only look for others who are like us, we tend to endow these others with traits are familiar to us, ones we feel comfortable with, ones that we have. In technical parlance this is called projection. It means simply assigning traits, characteristics, moods or tendencies that we ourselves have onto others. We "project" these characteristics of ourselves onto others.
Sometimes this tendency is benign and, in fact, can be useful. If we're upbeat and feeling good about life, we are apt to see others that way, which works for the benefit of all. We also can use these psychological tricks to smooth over the rough edges of interpersonal interaction as when we pass over a certain edginess in an acquaintance probing for the warmer moments that are more like ourselves.
Freud maintained that projection had another, more deeply rooted function. He viewed it as a defense mechanism to protect us from unwanted truths about ourselves. If we are angry and defensive we can save ourselves from acknowledging this by seeing others as angry and defensive. If we are frightened and cowardly we can disguise these uncomfortable truths by endowing others with our traits and seeing them as the wimps.
These tendencies of ours are well known and well documented. Also well known and well documented is the painful fact that projection, like all defense mechanisms, can have a downside. When we deny reality, which is what is going on here, we can put ourselves in situations where we make poor choices and decisions and these can have distinctly unhappy consequences. We can fall in love with the wrong person (repeatedly), misread the motives of others, trust the untrustworthy.
Okay, so I can hear you screaming, "What has this got to do with poker?" Actually, a lot and we can avoid some very difficult and expensive situations if we understand this mechanism and how it operates at the table. To do this we need one more principle and it's the key: Projection, like all defense mechanisms operates largely outside of consciousness. When people pull off these little psychological tricks to defend themselves, they typically are unaware of what they are doing. They honestly believe that the other guy is angry when it is really them. They really act as though someone else is frightened and timid when they're the ones looking for the door.
I hope you're beginning to see the relevance. At the tables projection is manifested by an irrational belief that others play "just like me." Players who tend to be a bit weak-tight in their play view others this way. Those with a fondness for bluffing typically believe that others bluff more than they do. Calling stations frequently fail to recognize this tendency in themselves but will often project it onto others.
I have a distinct tendency to think that other players are solid. I often give them far too much credit. Sometimes it takes some time before I truly grasp how bad someone is playing or how weak some aspects of their game are. In my experience, this occurs most often when the person seems to be "just like me." They look like experienced players, they dress appropriately, have the right mannerisms, joke a lot or riffle their chips or toss bets in with a devil-may-care insouciance. I often find that I have made several mistakes with opponents like this because I erroneously endowed them with traits that are mine. It is a classic case of what happens when I want someone to be "just like me."
But this kind of blunder isn't terrible. A good player assuming incorrectly that someone else is better than they really are isn't awful. It is relatively easy to recover from this mistaken judgment once the truth about your opponent's game becomes apparent. The real problems that projection can cause are those having to do with those "expensive" moments where you have to make a singular decision about whether to make or call a large bet. It is in pot-limit and no-limit games that a failure to appreciate projection can be lethal.
Poker players with a fondness for bluffing often believe that others are bluffing when they bet or raise. Those who have built their game around aggressive pushing of strong hands frequently interpret others as strong when they raise or check-raise. Players with a fondness for making "moves" have a tendency to see such moves in the play of others. In short, they tend to project their own traits, emotions and dispositions to another --- and, fascinatingly, all this takes place with little or no conscious awareness.
Okay, this isn't terribly controversial, I hope, but is it bad? Is it good? Well, of course, it's both, as we noted. Defense mechanisms protect us but only when the circumstances are appropriate. Projection will work just fine if you're right. If your opponent does, indeed, tend to bluff often, then you, the inveterate bluffer, are more likely than most others to catch him at it. If he's going to blow off his chips, you're going to get them. The same goes if your opponent plays in any of a number of other ways --- so long as they match yours. The trapper will be less likely to get trapped and more likely to detect a move by an opponent who is a bit of a trickster. But, you do see the danger here? There are so many ways to play, so many different kinds of moves to make, so many varied strategies to engage that it becomes less and less likely that your "projections" are correct. And when they're not, you're going to be in trouble.
I regularly play with someone who loves to bluff. He has become a fairly steady "contributor." The solid players have, of course, snapped this guy's more obvious bluffs off on numerous occasions. But the real problem is the calls he makes in situations where my read on the hand calls for "instant muck." Because he bluffs so much, he thinks that others do as well. He's not a classic "calling station" because his overall game isn't that bad. But he sure has this one big leak.
So, how can we deal with this problem? First, get a good appreciation of your game and understand it, for its strengths and its weaknesses, deeply acknowledging that this is your game. It is not necessarily anyone else's even though they may play in ways that feel familiar. Second, be aware of the styles of others and the extent to which they may project their own tendencies onto others. It is a clich顴hat the good players play the player, and this is an important part of it.
Next, try to get a sense of how self-aware they are and adjust your game to fit. When facing a bluffer who is projecting his style onto others, don't try to steal, wait till you've got the goods. He'll pay you off. Trappers who over-estimate the likelihood that others are trapping can be manipulated with well-timed raises and check-raises. These are the ones who can be bluffed off the best hand. Finally, be careful of the strong players, the ones who know what their style is and do not assume that others mirror it. A bluffer who knows he is a bluffer, and appreciates that not everyone plays this way, is a lot tougher opponent that one without this personal insight. The take-home message here: know thyself, then judge how well everyone else at the table is listening with their own inner ear and make the appropriate adjustments.
