When to show them?

So what is the rule of thumb on showing cards after a hand. I have seen many people do it to make the opponents feel ignorant. But I've also seen some show them to show that they did indeed have the nuts. So when should you show them, or should you never show them. I have a tendency to not show them at all. . .ever. Is there any time when it my be prudent?

You can manipulate your image by showing. If you show good hands, you accumulate more folding equity which increases the chance to pick pots. That can be good in tournaments.

If you show bluffs, I think this is bad in tournaments since you will get called more often and lose more often in the future. If you don't get that one big hand in time, this costs chips.

But if in doubt, don't show.

People do it for a few different reasons:

- To try to establish an image
- To put their opponents on tilt
- To encourage others to show their cards

The last one is more common in live games, a "C'mon everyone else is doing it" type of thing.

I might show a hand live, for any one of the above reasons. But I don't even have the option set up online.

In my opinion its not a good deal show your cards when you are playing online, but depending how you are perceived at the table you can occasionally show them exactly the opposite type of cards that you are suppose to be playing, for example: if you have a tight image its not a bad deal show them some bluffs, showing them that u can change your gears at any moment of the game.

Generally, never show.

I however enjoy seeing any Royal, and I think I probably have shown all mine, and appreciate when others show theirs. Showing a Royal is nothing other than a social grace. It takes no talent whatsoever to get dealt a royal and so showing it will not affect your table image other than it might get others thinking you have a 4 leaf clover in your pocket.

Once in awhile playing live I'll show Aces or Kings, particularly if I'm in the big blind and get a walk. I'd show a royal... if I ever got one.

Other than that - I never show on-line because I keep the auto-muck on.

Every time you show your cards, you give your opponents valuable information. Why give it to them? You might think your projecting a certain image but you opponents my not be buying it. Do you really think that your going to get ALL the other people at the table to think the way you want them to? Not happenning. It takes just one to gather another piece of information on your game to take you down.

I gave to disagree with you tpb.

Showing cards is giving the opponent information however we can use this to manipulate the opponents perception of our play.

For instance I have a number of super LAG players at our local site and if I show a couple of my big hands, not only do they stop those ridiculous all in bets with average hands, but I can get them to fold more often than not. In this case giving them "information" gets them to label me as super tight and they change thier play to my advantage.

However with saying that , showing your cards should only be used as another weapon in your arsenal or a social grace (nice wording DJ :P) and + to Sasskesse - if in doubt, don't show

i normally only show if i have a big hand. in the long run, showing too much can help your opponents as much as you. make em pay if they wanna see.

I rarely show because IMO it is better to keep them guessing than to give out information however, if I am on a tight table, and doing a lot of stealing, I will occasionally show a premium pair. (If I get one.)

NEVER!!! unless its a friendly game and you wanna be nice. Showing bluffs does no good, unless they are tilting already, which then maybe, but be careful they will start calling you with zip

i show everynow and again because it can help change your image or just tilt another player for making such a bad call in folding!

I believe you should show you only in cash games not tournaments..because they might be able to catch you later..i personally like to do it when i get them so bad and i want them to suffer. haha..but yea..thats when you show i think
Take Care
Ray

You should never do anything at a poker table if you can't give a well reasoned reason for doing it. In my opinion at an online table it's virtually impossible to peg your opponents level of thinking, so it's virtually impossible to know how your show will affect all of your various opponenets. Also, if you're multi-tabling it's nearly impossible to keep a mental rolodex of player levels, if you can peg them, and how you've used them all. Sometimes in a live game if I'm feeling like I'm in everyone's head well enough I'll use a show to manipulate image, but it's important to remember that if you have thinking opponents who are giving you credit for being a thinking opponent then you might not have the desired effect, which could be very very bad if you assume that you've outfoxed people and blow off a stack on a bluff, or overbet and make them fold because they didn't just think you were a donk like you'd hoped. All the thought that goes in makes me inclined to say just don't show, at least not if you can't give a well reasoned reason for doing it to say more than half of the opponents at the table. And remember who you don't know what effect your move has had, and watch, and maybe learn what effect, which will give you information on how they are playing beyond just that. Hope all that was clear, game theory has a nifty way of convoluting things.

online i don't even have the option set up to show
in a live game sometimes its fun to show just because you have an interaction with the other players, but online, forget it.

Playing live, I will show my hand in the early stages only - and only where its the nuts or close to. Will never, ever show a bluff, I want that fold equity.

showing cards with the intention of 'manipulating' your opp is kinda difficult, you''re not even sure it will have the intended effect. if you show your bluff to a bluffer, will it prevent bluffs or will it make him bluff more? unless you really know how your opponent will react to it, it would be better not to show imo

I mainly show good hands when I'm playing at an agressive table and want to keep m y opponents at bay. Otherwise I don't tend to show that much

For me it completely depends on the table: is it loose/tight/conservative/aggressive? ; how have the opponents been betting? ; have any of them showed their hands/what where they?/How have others reacted toward it?.

Basically, for me it really doesn't matter what my hand is. I really won't show any hands down for a while after joining a game until I can figure some of the questions out and get a general feel for the table.

Also, if I am playing with a bunch of people that I play with often. Many times I will be able to skip a lot of those questions and what I try to do sometimes is show the cards that would indicate I was playing the same style as the last time I was playing with them, but play the opposite. It will usually work for a little while until they catch on, but I only do this every once in a while.

If you are a tight player and have caught unusually good cards and played many hands in a tournament you could show your cards if you once decide to bluff or half bluff. In that case you might seem to be an aggressive player which hopefully will make your opponents run into one of your monsters later when you don't bluff. However, I think it's a little 50/50. Personally i auto-muck.

generally you shouldnt show your cards but if you are at a tight table nobody is calling you when you get good hands then show if a bluff worked. that will show other players that you dont play too tight and its more likely that they will call you when you get a good hand.

I like to show a hand when I have to raise a lot of pots in a row, just to let people know I'm just not being a jerk

I agree with the above statement. I won a $500 freeroll on bodog, probably because when it got down to about 25 people or so, i would only min. raise preflop, then show my hand. I did get quite a few monsters there at the end too, and I showed most of them. After it was all said and done, I had people congratulating me and telling me how even though they lost I made it a fun gaming experience for them, since I didn't try bullying or any other of the common tactics used to take pots. Anyways, to each his own, and it's all about luck anyways...or is it?

I NEVER show... Unless the table's very tight, to get some action i'll show a bluff occasionally.

the only time i show , is when i get a few good hands in a row and pick up some big pots to show i'm not bluffing , so when i do bluff , they will back down hopefully and i steal the pot

I never show hands online. Just for the simple fact that there is no reason giving opponents more information than they already have. There just doesn't seem to be any point in showing. Then again I play cash games so...

I will generally only show a bluff, because since I bluff relatively rarely, it makes my image appear more aggressive than it is. Also, it makes it a lot easier to get people to call with marginal hands when you hit a big board.

i think it's good to show the cards after important bluffs, not all blufs(if u show them always ur cards after bluffing,there will be a problem for you).this way u make him angry and make him play worse...
this is what i think.of course, nuts after big pots are a good way to say chill out partner!

Keep them guessing is my play. I do understand the reason some people show too either try and tilt you by showing bluff or get perception of a loose player and too get a perception as a tight player by showing big pockets. I think this is a weak tool though I don't put much stock into people showing me their cards. There are better ways to influence perception and mostly showing cards is amateur.

I like to show after a good bluff if I want my ops to loosen up a little but I am very careful after that knowing they may be more willing to call next time. In heads up I will show a really crappy hand if I'm given a walk. I personally don't think its a good idea to show the nuts, keeps em guessing.

I sometimes show after a big pot if there is o nly one other player in the pot with me.If I think the other player would off showed me if I folded than I might show that player.

only if you are trying to set up the table. If you make a solid play then you can show your hand. If you do that two or three times and the table sees you had a good hand and won the pot with the best hand then later on you can bluff easier. The table already sees you as playing only good hands and showing them so when you make the same type of bets you can get away with it even if you dont have the best hand. Bluff....it is all about setting it up by showing earlier on.

Usually I never show my cards. For one showing the cards gives the other players additional info that they really should pay to see but if I do show my cards, It is under the following circumstances

Freerolls. Only when we are deep into a tourney and they just switch my tables. When I am dealt a nut hand and bet big to protect it due to how the board falls ( ex: flop a str and there is a flush draw out.)

Buyin tournies - They move me to a tables with player that i have not played or when I have respect for another player that I have played before but have not come across in a while

Rarely ever show, every play you make at the poker table should have a purpose. If your gonna raise, you have a purpose, if your calling you have a purpose, so if your gonna show the cards you better have a purpose.