Out of all the pros most known for their 'intimidating' presence, John Juanda can probably be marked down as the player most likely to play a whole table without ever showing his cards. John Juanda's play over the past few years has built his renown as one of the most solid and dangerous tournament players on the circuit, so much so that players are almost afraid to tangle with him for fear of giving him their chips and mainly just getting outplayed. He is the ultimate definition of using 'table image' to your advantage.
I thought of the idea for writing this profile on John Juanda after watching an episode of the World Poker Tour where Juanda was the short stack. Juanda essentially had one move: all-in on any pot he was interested in playing. There was never a time that I saw anyone call his move. In one instance, the player known as 'KrazyKanuck' (who turns out to be the very opposite of crazy play) laid down an unsuited Ace Queen to Juanda's all in move, a bad decision based entirely out of respect for the player (Juanda had a weak ace). Any other player would have been called in that spot and probably busted out of the tournament. But Juanda's careful construction of his table image, not just in this tournament but all others, allowed him to win a pot with the worst hand against a strong hand on thought alone.
So how does one build a table image as tough as Juanda's? Well, a lot of it comes from playing solid poker. Anytime you see Juanda showing down a hand he usually has the goods. Of course, playing tight aggressive isn't exactly a speciality sport. Anyone can wait for big cards and push them around. What makes Juanda so frightening to other players is his ability to push smaller cards like they are the big cards, and have absolutely no difference in expression. I've watched Juanda play 7/8 suited like it's Kings, and make people fold even when he misses.
The trick to play 'weird' hands and winning with image alone, I think, comes from not pushing the envelope too hard at the wrong time. Players like David Williams and Josh Arieh and so on tend to get little respect when they try to make moves similar to those of Juanda, primarily because they push so hard so often. A lot of Juanda's moves come out of knowing the exact right time to pounce, not just pushing for the sake of reckless aggression. You will never see Juanda risk his entire stack on a move unless he has the goods or is 90% certain that his opponent will lay down.
Juanda is also feared for his ability to trap players by slowplayigng hands that others would not and allowing his opponents to try to push him off. Usually when a player has a tight table image and they check, this is a great cue for other players to try to bet with nothing and steal the pot. By forking the action with his big hands, it not only makes it that much harder for people to steal from him, but even more frightening when he makes plays with nothing.
As I've mentioned in previous blogs, there's not much value to a tight table image if you aren't able to exploit it. Juanda is perhaps the master of putting his claws in at the right spot, and milking the idea in his opponents' minds that he usually shows down monsters. It's not so much aggression that wins these pots, but more well-aimed aggression, towards the right player in the right spot.
Out of all the pros most known for their 'intimidating' presence, John Juanda can probably be marked down as the player most likely to play a whole table without ever showing his cards. John Juanda's play over the past few years has built his renown as one of the most solid and dangerous tournament players on the circuit, so much so that players are almost afraid to tangle with him for fear of giving him their chips and mainly just getting outplayed. He is the ultimate definition of using 'table image' to your advantage.
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