Showing bluffs

I was just wondering what peoples takes on showing bluffs are? It worked really good for me the other day. I was in a 5$ MTT and i had been at the same table for almost an hour, i was getting almost no action on any of my hands because the table was picking up on my tight style. So thats when i decided i needed to change my table image a little bit so when the this hand came up i saw it as a perfect chance. I was in the BB with about 20k in chips and my hand was 10 3 off, everybody folded except the SB who limped in (he had about 15k in chips) i checked my option and the flop game JD 2D 5S, i checked and he bet 500 (the min) so i decided to make a play and i raised it to 1500, he smooth called which tells me he almost certainly has a draw. The turn was a 7C and he led out 500, so sensing that was trying to see a cheap river i raised it to 3000, once again he smooth called. The river was a 9C, at this point the pot is pretty big and i figure he has missed a flush draw I am also aware there is a small chance he is slow playing a set, so once again he bets out 500 (into a over 10k pot) so i then let the clock run a bit and then pushed him all in, he insta folds and i pick up a nice pot. Normally in this spot i don't show my cards because i dont like to make people feel bad, but since i was getting little action at the table i decieded to show my 10 3 offsuit And did it ever work! like 20ish hands later an agressive chip leader limped in and i checked my 4 7 off from the BB, the flop came 4 4 3 and i check raised the exact way i did on my bluff and he shoved on me, i made the call and he showed AJ (no flush draw) my hand held up and i was the new chip leader! . So the moral of the story is sometimes when you are getting no action you have to take matters into your own hands, also that when you bluff you should have a decent idea about where your opponent is at. sorry if this sounds more like a hand anylasis then a strategy thread.

I only show my bluffs when the table is ultra tight and i want to get paid off when i hit a big hand...this works well in tournaments for me .... everyone can't just sit there and trade 100 chips around until the blinds get high and your low stacked. I want to win not just make the money!

I think that was a great strategy post..and a great explanation of how to pull it off.....Nice hand....good job...keep it up.

Good post. I think players need more information sometimes to get an idea of you play. I for the most part never show my cards. I always want to give out as little information as possible. Keep them guessing. When I run hot I always get some to call. Or if I am in a dry spell I play very tight and make a big raise with a premium hand to get some to call thinking I might be on tilt for not haveing played in while. Just my idea.

i think showing your hand works best on a generally tighter table but if you try to bluff two times in a row like that you will get caught....
good play in that tourny

i show my hands every now and then whether it be a bluff or a huge hand.....it helps to mix in the good hands and the bluffs to always keep people guessing.

Showing your cards, bluff or not, all depends on the type of players with you. If there is a maniac and you bluff him out of a pot obviously show them, then they are playing even more dumb than before and soon they will be gone and you can get back to poker.
But I also show the bluff just at odd times to show that I'm not just waiting around for the bingo hall to open

I agree with PaulWall. You should only show when it will get you more action. Otherwise you lose your ability to steal loosly.

Agreed. I see so many people show bluffs after they've already established themselves as maniacs. I think they do this just to say "haha I outplayed you" when all they're really doing is telling us something we already know -- they're maniacs. Either way, you still know that you can easily felt them when they pay off your monster hand.

That being said, the only time I'll show a bluff is when I've already established my Harrington-like tight image and want to advertise that I can mix up my game too.

I never show any hands because i turned that option off since i`m too lazy to click muck/show hand and people should muck 90% of their hands which means majority of the time i have to click that MUCk/show hand which i`m too lazy to do so.. just turn it off... let them play the guessing game...

There will be ALOT of debate about this. As a General rule, I do not show my hole cards. It gives away too much information. However, I do show bluffs from time to time or even call min raises with loosing hands to get "caught" playing weak if I am at a single table SNG and its early.
Getting someone to lower their guard about you is a good way to make alot of chips later.

I only show the cards if i intend to get a psychologicaly weak players to tilt. Otherwise i have 100% auto-muck, i dont give away free information.

I'm with you Cowboy. Nothing wrong with "getting caught" early. As much as this is predictable method it works well and much fun when it works well.

I think I'm one for never showing my hole cards. No ticky .. no laundry. I wil confess I have broken that rule in our home game with our regular group setup. I don't know if it is a tell or not but rubbing it in a bit for kicks and giggles is a blast.

I think showing bluffs is an excellent idea, I would encourage everyone to show as many hands as possible. I assure you it will put your opponents on tilt & baffle em with an overload of information. Poker is a game based on making decisions with limited information, so clearly providing your opponents with information they do not have access to otherwise is a great idea. Show em a bluff & they will infer from that exactly what you want them to, also occasionally show a big hand that no one would play with you, this also will cause them to react as you wish.

As a rule for me personaly i dont show my whole cards but you did make a great point i might try it sometime

I personally show my bluffs when I know my opponent had the better hand and it'll put him on tilt. That way, next time he's in the pot with me he'll be more likely to call my bet when I hold the NUTS!!! :-D

I think this is the main reason I auto-muck... I can admit it... I am lazy...


However, I must say I agree with cilder... if they want to see my cards they should friggin' call!! NO FREEBIES!!! LOL

Although, there are those rare times when I want to mess with someone's head (someone who thinks they know how I play) and I will then turn off the old automuck and show the odd hand here and there just to confuse or lead them.

For me, I don't show my cards often. I almost always have auto muck on. The only times I ever show cards is if I have played more pots than usual due to a card rush I might show a big pocket pair. I mostly play low limits or freerolls so getting enough action is not a problem. I want them thinking I only play top 10 hands.

Early in a trny I like to "get caught" bluffing...tends to be profitable later.

Late in a trny I'll show a bluff to drive someone mad, and also, again, make that big profit later....card gods willing!!

I usually don't like to show either way (bluff or takeown),the less info the other players have the better, but in your situation 10crow10 showing the bluff was a good way to get some action. Well done

I cant resist sometimes showing my bluffs, even though i know i shouldnt and it might mess me up later, i just love the feeling of HAHA i bluffed your azz =)~ especially when the player is ultra aggressive and has been taking mine and other players blinds for awhile, but i definately need to work on that part of my game, also sometimes i let my emotions get the best of me and push all in so fast w/o thinking about it at all, just believing i have the best hand no matter what when i know i can easily be beaten, and usually i do something like that after ive played the tournament for 3 or 4 hours and played sooo well to get there and be in a solid position to win =/ but im still young, just gotta work on that part of my game, id say about 15% of my tournament losses were on plays like that, which i think is WAY too high, but anyways lol

dnt show your bluffs. period.

The only time I ever will do it is when I'm up huge in a cash game or among the chip leaders in a tourney and want people to think the big stack is bullying...too many times in the past I showed a bluff and suddenly I'm getting everyone and their dog calling my pre flop raises for the next hour.

BMO im confused, you show your bluff only when your doing well and then everyone calls your preflop raises for the next hour, imo that wouldnt be such a great thing, cause then you have a really good chance of having a solid hand like AK or AQ cracked by 78 suited or pocket 4s after floping top pair since now they think your just bluffing and they chase you down or get a really lucky flop vs you, so i would think that showing your bluff like that when your up big in a tourney would only hurt you later in the game, but also every single game and situation and table is always sooo different, even sometimes if your playing the same guys but on a different day. So i guess it just all really matters on the situation at that exact moment, but in my experience id have to say that showing my cards has probably been more useful than not for me, but it has definately back fired before, but more often than not though it works to my advantage, especially since i like to talk a lil smack once were down to less than 10% of the total players left and then when i show a bluff i can REALLY get into peoples heads and put them on tilt vs me and sometimes easily take all their chips =)

Sometimes I will show my bluff it depends on.. And when I have a real hand they will call me, because they will think I am trying to bluff again..It works for me...

I never show. I think if you show you have a target on you. It just happened to work out for you this time next time you might not be so lucky.

I only show my bluff if im trying to piss someone off... other than that i'll never show my bluff it shows your opponents how you play..... and your probably not going to be running into monster hands all day .......... so you need people folding to your bluffs to steal pots.........

i agree gordon, i love being able to piss people off and put them on tilt if at all possible, but it sure can back fire on you when they go on tilt and crack your Js or Qs with Ace rag


oh wait it was suited, nvm thats a monster, see it says right here lol

Gotta totally disagree as i am making the assumption you're making a joke

Great play 10crow10! I might try it some time. (actually I did try it but the person had slowplayed me and i lost the tournament ....)
Showing bluffs is good to make your opponents loose, but not just loose also a bit steaming. They can make bad plays in future cause they are slightly on tilt. They will want to bust you, take it personal, call with less then mediocre hands. Also it shows u are capable of anything, so it shows some respect and the next decisions (when u make a raise/reraise) wont be that easy for them.

Nice and it will even work on some CC members tho i think i need to show some of them. your table image is the key to doing it, i have been doing it in freerolls when i don't get a hand
Good job,
See i am working on redoing how i play oh if you play AK just right you can make players think you have AA,

Poker is a game of information. I'm not sure why you would want to give any away. Even if you are trying to change your image, a lot of people are smart enough to figure that out too.

If you want to see my cards, pay me.

(Too many people think they can tilt another player into giving away their chips. I blame Rounders for that.)

Poker is definately a game of information gathering, but sometimes giving these young ultra aggressive players too much information can only work in your favor, its an information overload, they cant handle it a lot of the times, especially when your showing bluffs and monsters to them and talking crap to them at the sametime, you get in their heads, if not put them on tilt your at least going to have a good chance of them calling your somewhat oversized bets on draws or middle or top pair, but i dunno, i havent played poker in the last 2 years or so very much, so perhaps its changed, but back when i played i was constantly puting internet players on tilt, either with my bluffs or just by running my mouth to them and completely irritating them to the point where if they went all in vs me and lost they wouldnt care as much cause at least they dont have to be on the same table as me anymore lol

haha i like that. nice post. I love showing off a good bluff when im sitting high with chips because it gets them angry, therfore more likely to call you the neext time...when u have the nuts!!!

i show sometimes cuz it allows your image to seem like a risky occasional bluff.. this sometimes causes others to make the wrong play.