Table image and opponent profiling

By observing the tendencies and patterns of one's opponents, one can make more educated guesses about others' potential holdings. For example, if a player has been playing extremely tightly (playing very few hands), then when he/she finally enters a pot, one may surmise that he/she has stronger than average cards. One's table image is the perception by one's opponents of one's own pattern of play. One can leverage his/her table image by playing out of character and thereby inducing his/her opponents to misjudge his/her hand and make a mistake.