Avatar and Screenname Selection

When you sit down in a brick and mortar casino or your local home game, what kinds of things do you notice about the other players at the table? Age? Gender? Whether or not they’re decked out from head to toe in poker-themed gear? All of these traits contribute to the overall impression of a player and their style of play. For example, as a young female, players I encounter (the male ones in particular) tend to make assumptions about how I play cards. They presume I am a tight player, that I can be easily bluffed, and that I always have it when I bet.

Needless to say, I do my best to use this image to my advantage. In a live setting, this practice is not uncommon at all. Most people would agree that visibly apparent characteristics plays a role in developing a table image at a live table, but similar discussions about online players rarely if ever occur. People don’t often analyze what an avatar or screenname says about an opponent, but they nonetheless play a role in creating our impression of that player. The typical discussion of avatar selection is usually a tongue-in-cheek forum post about which Full Tilt Poker avatar is the “luckiest”, but I would like to suggest this is a subject matter that deserves a little more consideration.

One explanation for the one-sided nature of the discussion is that there are simply less visual cues to draw from. Other than a screenname and an avatar, there isn’t much else to go on and even that is highly unreliable information. This is probably why most online players spend the bulk of their energy focusing on more concrete and objective indicators of a person’s playing style like betting patterns.

Just because avatars and screennames aren’t 100% verifiable doesn’t mean they go completely unnoticed though. Would you rather call the all-in of a player whose screenname is “iheartaces” or “CrzYTilTMonstA”? Online pro Luke “IWEARGOGGLES” Staudenmeier has said in interviews that he picked his screenname out of a desire to get more action when he played. A friend of mine had a picture of a girl as his avatar for a while and he would often be mistaken for a female player. If so many people are drawing some sort of conclusion about your table image based on these factors, may as well take advantage of it.

When it comes to selecting your name and avatar, the most important thing to consider is what kind of table image you are trying to develop. Unlike live settings, where you can’t conceal your physical appearance, the internet allows you vastly more creative license in how others will perceive you. Here are just a few general tips to keep in mind as you craft your online identity:

- The goofier the name or avatar, the looser your table image. Players who opt for more straightforward names are often presumed to have a straightforward style of play. If you are looking to loosen up your image, an avatar of a monkey doing karate may just be the trick.

- When in doubt, go gender neutral. Most would agree that people play differently against men than women. If you are a woman who is tired of some of the stereotypes I mentioned earlier, a gender-neutral picture and/or avatar allows you to completely transform your table image. On the flip side, picking a feminine sounding name can induce more bluffs from your opponents or heighten their aggression when you are involved in hands against them.

- Pictures of children and animals make you look amateurish. Personal photos of pets and kids are frequently taken to be signs you are a recreational player and can lead to skilled players going out of their way to play in hands against you. The same goes for pictures of the biggest name pros and cliché photos of pocket aces.

- Don’t be afraid to go without an avatar. As this discussion indicates, avatars give away information about a player. Granted, it may be false information, but it is still something else for your opponents to consider and use. If you are of the mindset you should never show your hand unless you have to because you are giving away free information, the same should apply for your avatar. By choosing an unmemorable screenname or avatar, it becomes easier to change your table image from game to game.

There is a lot more to developing a table image than your screenname and avatar, but it is worth taking a few minutes to consider what your online “poker face” says about you as a player. Even though it is a small facet of the game, something as simple as an avatar can reveal something about the player it represents. After all, as the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.