to show or not to show?

whens the best time to show your cards after winning a pot? a friend of mine (HI JOOSEBUCK) says that when bluffing is the best time to show, to make people think you're bluffing later, but really holding a monster. i think the opposite, that showing a monster will allow you to setup future bluffs. opinions???

i say don't show unless it's a friendly game and you want to show your friend that they made a good lay down, or rub it in if they didn't. otherwise any info is probably too much, and is as likely to hurt as it is to help

-n

i show stone cold bluffs

I don't believe showing is a wise play. I will very rarely show when I get heads up and think it will put the other guy on tilt but as I said that is very rare. As nate said, you are giving away info. The good players will gain advantage against you and you will not gain any advantage against the bad players because they just don't pay attention to such things.

I think cards should be shown very rarely, but you and your friend are both right -- it can work either way. In strategic situations where you may want adjust your table image one way or another to set up future plays, showing either a monster or a bluff could work to your later advantage.

I never show. The only exception is a forum I am a member of where we agree to show uncalled hands from time to time. The idea is that we learn from one another about the frequency of bluffs and when we really have something.

E

I usually only show when i just did a complete bluff with no draws or possible cards to come to give me the win.

Never, in my opinion. Poker is a game of information, and by showing you're giving your opponents more information than you absolutely have to give.

Not that I'm completely innocent here - I sometimes show in friendly games just for a giggle, or will occasionally show in a shorthanded game if I think showing a bluff will tilt someone. The latter case here is the only time I can really see showing to possibly be +EV.

I think you are making a mistake here. This is a game of information but also misinformation. Showing cards has their place in the game. The question is, do you know when to show them and for what advantage do you want to get from them?

Holdem is big game about lying and hiding and springing traps. Do you want to be the springer or springee? Showing cards, if done right, will give you an advantage at the table.

A strong, thinking player will never take things at face value. If you show him a bluff, he will not think "this player always bluffs", and you're playing a dangerous game assuming that he will. He is more likely to think about the thinking behind you showing the bluff ("Is he showing me this to set up a play in the future? Let's make a note...").

A stupid player will be too busy wondering whether 52s is a good hand to play UTG to even consider the cards you've just shown. You'd be giving him too much credit by trying to set delayed traps on him.

Remember, at a full table there will be 9 other players. Even if you're trying to set a play up on one particular player (he may be prone to tilt and you're trying to push him over the edge or something), by showing you are also giving the 8 other players at the table the same information. Are they all going to react in the same way to your (mis)information? I'd suggest not.

I usually don`t shot my cards after the buff just to still have my tight image. It really helps because later u can bluff as well

The thing is, most people will not remember while playing online. The are doing 2 or more things at once. They are only focused on their cards, not tendincies of other players. The ones who are interested have tracking software that will remember it FOREVER, so you can decide.

You see a monster hand at the table that shows for free and I think, wow he got lucky and hit the hand perfect but did not bet it right if he did not get a caller to force him to show the hand.

Poker is a game of information. You show for free and you are giving free information. You want them to keep guessing, never show what you have. Then they will not know if you are a bluffer or stone cold till they call you. I want them to pay to get that information not give it way. You will have to show me 3-4 bluffs with really bad cards like 7-2 offsuit before I will think less of a player.

I know Im in the minority here (pretty much means im wrong ) with this one, but those that play with me here know that I show my cards a lot. I do it much more in the friendly CC games, but I also do in games with strangers. I change my game up so often in a tourney that I think I will either give my opponents a false read or they will realize that I dont play the same type of hands the same way each time and that they better be careful when they get in a pot with me.

As one lesbian to another , I agree with you.

LMAO