Table image is crucial because it shapes how opponents perceive your playing style, influencing their decisions against you. By understanding your image, you can adjust your strategy to exploit their expectations—appearing tight to set up a bluff or aggressive to get paid off on strong hands. Manipulating table image involves consciously varying your play to create specific impressions, like showing down strong hands to appear solid or making aggressive moves to be seen as loose. Effectively managing your image allows you to dictate the action and deceive opponents, maximizing your advantage.