What's In An Icon?

I'm not too much into poker player icons where a site may let you choose from a predetermined list, or allows you to upload one yourself. But given the opportunity, I will select something.

Some will tell you that you can gain a lot of information from a players icon, stating that you can get some kind of indication of who's behind the remote mouse: an aggressive player may choose to show something violent or intimidating; or a softer player may chose to have their kid or dog (my dog happens to be my PokerStars icon). Some choose not to show anything for various reasons, but even when not choosing one may say something like you don't want to give away information.

I wouldn't read too much into any of this as some players intentionally try to mislead others, proving you can't rely on any reads you may think you have from a picture, and simply becuase sometimes a pic is just a pic. The best thing to do in getting a read on another player is betting patterns, and what have when they show down.

The below is my player icon; read into it if you may...