You've been card-dead for an hour and shown down only premium hands - the table sees you as a rock. A loose, active button raises to steal, and you look down at A♣9♦ in the big blind.
A rock image, and a loose button raises to 600 (3 BB) to steal. You hold A♣9♦ in the BB. Best?
WhyRe-steal. Your rock image is a weapon: a three-bet from a player who 'only plays premiums' represents exactly that, so a wide-stealing button folds most of his range. A-9 offsuit has some backup equity, but the fold equity your image generates is the real reason this works.
What happensYou three-bet to 1,900 (9.5 BB). The button, expecting a monster… calls. Pot: 4,100 (20.5 BB).
Flop
Flop: Q♦ 7♣ 2♠ - you missed, out of position against the button who called your re-steal.
You missed; he called your image-backed three-bet. Best on this dry flop?
WhyContinuation-bet. The strong story continues: your three-bet plus a c-bet represents the big hand your image already sells, and a single barrel on this dry board folds out most hands that floated. Keep leveraging the image - for now.
What happensYou bet 2,400; the button calls again. Pot: 8,900 (44.5 BB). He isn't going anywhere.
Turn
Turn: 5♥ - a blank. The button has now called your three-bet and your flop bet, and isn't folding. You still have only ace-high.
He's called twice. Fire a third barrel to keep the story going, or…?
WhyGive up. Image buys fold equity, but it isn't magic: a player who calls a three-bet and a flop bet has a real hand and has shown he won't fold. Firing again just pours chips into someone now reading you for a bluff. Recognizing when your image has stopped working - and stopping - matters as much as exploiting it.
What happensYou check and give up; he takes it with K-Q. You lost the minimum by reading the situation.
Your tight image bought fold equity for the resteal and one barrel, but reading that this opponent had decided to call you down meant knowing when to quit. Image is a tool with limits - and the read tells you where those limits are.
Your table image is a weapon - a tight image makes your bluffs credible - but it only works until an opponent decides to call you down; read that, and stop.