Phil Laak AKA 'The Unabomber', for the most part, is most well known for his theatrics: the donning of the hood, the excited jumping around and good natured table blabbering, not to mention the fact that he is married to Jennifer Tilly. But just as important in his reputation is his mathematical style of play and 'rocky' demeanor, meaning that he plays strong cards strongly and very rarely puts his money in 'bad.' Laak could serve as an excellent example to 'rock' style players everywhere for the way he not only works the numbers, but for how he uses his image to his advantage in more than a few ways.
Poker, at its heart, is a game of math. You are betting odds and numbers against one another, coupled with outside forces such as reading other players. Online poker especially seems math-related, as there is less outside info used to influence the game. Pot odds, odds of making your hand, odds that your opponent has something that beats you: all of these are the calculating features that go through the head of most any winnning player.
Playing 'solid' poker, or mainly being selective in your starting hands and only playing 'junk' when it is mathematically in your favor, is, according to most poker books, the way to win in the long run. Despite the play of many popular pros like the ones profiled here last week (by trashmen such as Gus Hansen and Sam Farha), it stands to reason that if you play the numbers over the long run, you will come out ahead. Phil Laak is the numbers player of all numbers players: he is known to very rarely put his money at risk without the best hand. He is capable of making big folds that other players would never get away from, thus putting proof in the idea that money you didn't lose is money you won. Phil likes to be in charge of his pots. He does not like to call down. He is taking the strong road against the gamblers and the drawers and for the most part, he comes out ahead.
This is not to say, though, that Phil Laak is without his tricks. Because of his extremely strong style he gets a lot of respect at the table and he is very capable of putting his tight image to work for him. Though a lot of the players never know it until they see the tapes way after the game, Phil is extremely talented at reading weakness in other players and discerning the right time to bet with nothing and make it look like he is betting the big hands he is known to show down. Taking down pots with image alone is an important feature in really beginning to make money in poker when the cards aren't coming your way on their own. If you are known play tight and selectively, it is easy for saavy players to give you credit for a hand based on how you bet rather than what is in your hand, and Laak is excellent at choosing these spots. Tight players who never try to steal can be easily pigeonholed and avoided and so without these kind of gear-shift moves, it might become hard to win money when playing with people who know you. You have spent time and money creating your 'rocky' image. Now put it to work for you like a hired hand.
Phil Laak AKA 'The Unabomber', for the most part, is most well known for his theatrics: the donning of the hood, the excited jumping around and good natured table blabbering, not to mention the fact that he is married to Jennifer Tilly. But just as important in his reputation is his mathematical style of play and 'rocky' demeanor, meaning that he plays strong cards strongly and very rarely puts his money in 'bad.' Laak could serve as an excellent example to 'rock' style players everywhere for the way he not only works the numbers, but for how he uses his image to his advantage in more than a few ways.
Poker, at its heart, is a game of math. You are betting odds and numbers against one another, coupled with outside forces such as reading other players. Online poker especially seems math-related, as there is less outside info used to influence the game. Pot odds, odds of making your hand, odds that your opponent has something that beats you: all of these are the calculating features that go through the head of most any winnning player. 
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