Showing Cards Even Though You Lost

Sometimes when I'm the first one to show what I had when the betting is over. The guy I was up against said that beats me and then throws his hand in the kill pile. I asked to see what he had, he told me he didn't have to show me if he didn't want to and asked what's the difference. My question is, if the winner request to see his hand, does the loser have the option not to show them or has to show them when requested. I say he has to show them, the winner payed to see them regardless whether the winner won or lost.

This is done so that when you lose you can hide your hand because you could be bluffing or not. This also hides your down cards so that others cannot pattern your way of betting and so on.

You see in live poker you can watch your oponents eyes but in cyberspace you have no way of knowing but to watch how one player plays his/her hands.

so should you be able to see losing hands in live poker then?

I say no sometimes I want the other players at the table to see my strong hand or bad beat , but most of the time I want them to wonder. In some cases I was in on a bluff and some a draw some times I just have a prity good hand but don't belive the person betting has the hand they are reprisenting . I some times show my bluff (whether called or not ) just to set the sucker up for the times I have the monster. It's my opinune that you have to make thsoe calls for your self but i like to mix it up

In early tourney play i play really tight and show my hands all the time. Win or Lose. This allows me to play i think later with more respect to my cards and I can bluff with a better result.

If the player first to act has a better hand you don't have to show yours. Of course there are "house rules", if the guy running the game says show your hands then you need to respect his rules and do as he says. If you are smart you will ask, before the game, about any procedure issues you are concerned about. I always ask a ton of questions before we start playing that way there is no confusion. When money is involved make sure everything is clearly stated. There will be disputes. Make whomever is running the game have the final decision if you and the other players can't work it out.

It all depends on where your playing. Majority of casinos have the rule that if the hand was paid for, person involved in the hand can request the losing cards to be faced up. If it's a house game or a location other than the casinos, like xdmnans007 said, you should find out the rules before the game starts. Hopefully this was helpful for you.

Hi - On online poker - I never, ever show my hand. I don't want them to know I had Aces or 2's or 7/3 os. Keep them guessing. I want them to think either I was bluffing or I had a huge hand and keep them wondering. Never give them an edge.

I love when someone show's their bluff - it gives me lots of insight into their playing.

on ultimate bet and full tilt if there is a showdown even if the players arent all in you can check the hand history after the hand (you must be sitiing at the table to use it) i almost always check it cause it gives me great info on how ppl play im not sure what other sites have this feature but i think it helps when it comes to tough call situations

No, he doesn't have to show...I think you only have to show your hand if you win (to show the winning cards of course). Next time wait a second and see if they will show before you. I never show my cards if I don't have to....don't want to give anything away....unless I want to play a little psychological warfare and let people think I'm a bluffer, or a tight player, then mix up my play after that. However, if I was in a heads-up situation where there was heavy betting back and forth, I might show just out of courtesy...because I know I would be dying to know what the other guy had! lol

i think that in order to see a hand you have to pay for it, so if you win a hand, everybody that's in on it should show their hands, because everyone paid...

Poker rules state that a hand is only required to be shown to determine a winner after all betting rounds have been completed...at the "showdown". If someone folds a hand prior to the showdown, they are not required to reveal their cards. Nor are they required by rule or by etiquette to tell what they had, if asked. Of course, it is never acceptable to show your cards while the hand is still being played out.

Poker strategy varies from player to player as to the voluntary showing of cards, winning or losing. Some players will show to set up a later bluff, or to agitate their opponent into tilting. (A classic example of this was James Sousa at the 2004 WSOP $5K NLHE Championship. Six straight all-in's with no callers, each time showing the table monster hole cards. Stole a huge pot from Thomas Keller when Keller folded to the seventh all-in. Sousa showed him rags.) Others staunchly refuse to ever reveal their cards unless someone pays to see them in a showdown. When playing online, count me among the "automuckers".

I've noticed lately on televised poker matches that in head to head play at the final table, one player will sometimes hesitate to turn his cards over at the end of the hand. If the other player shows first and wins, the loser will muck his cards. I haven't seen this ploy being objected to, but I was under the impression that both hands had to be shown at that point. Can anyone clarify this for me?

I show my cards if I will have good card...if I have bad cards I won't show them...

The best practice is to never show your cards. This way your competition can't read you at all. Because once you show, you'll be telling them how you decide your bets and how you decide whether to call or not.

I personally, like to show really good hands. At the same time I also do the unheard of and show when I bluff them out with at 2,7 offsuit. I don't care if it tells them anything -- I like toying with other players.

never show as ppl pick up all ur habbits when u show u are playing to win and u give too much away when u do this

i never show a lost hand.i think thats because i shouldnt have plaied it.
on the other hand when i bluff and get away with it somtimes ill show.

This all depends on how you play.


If you're playing tight and you bluff them out, give them a little peek at what you have. Then when you get something, bet the same way you did before and they may call you thinking you have nothing.

It's a good way to squeeze some extra cash out.

Sorry dude but this question is so silly.Why will someone bluff if he must show his cards .There is no logic in this if he loses 2 times and both times he bluffs everytime he puts money in the pot he will be paid so unless he begins hitting monsters he is doomed.
no bluff=no game (limit-hold`em=BORING)

I assume that I am competing with good players & never show.

I don't like to show because I like to bluff, and sometimes you just feel stupid for trying and it save some dignity to throw the cards away. for me anyways.

if you through over the winning hand then do you really care wat the other dude had the pots yours

There is lots of logic, it's all about perception, what you want someone to think about how you play, especially if they've never played with you before.

some people are very weird about showing. I'll show if I have good cards but not showing bad cards keeps 'em guessing.

I never show my cards, only when im forced to at the end of a showdown will you ever see my cards.


Forcing to show your cards would take away from the game, everyone would be aware of ur bluffs if one is shown.

Its not that big of a deal!

I can see where stategy would be the issue in showing cards if you were already beaten.As a rule i dont show my hand if beaten

First, you did not pay to see his cards if you won, he paid to see yours.

Second, by showing you his cards he shows everyone else at the table his cards, which is free info for them since they weren't involved in the showdown.

Third, Be gracious. If the guy was on a draw or attempted to bluff, and got caught, let him pay you and get to the next hand. There's no need to rub his face in it. Seeing his cards wont change the fact that you won or can it?

Once, at a house game the button showed top two pair, the Big Blind, who showed down with the button said, "Beats me." The button asked to see his cards...the big blind turned over the winning hand. He had misread the board and caught a straight. If the button hadnt asked to see his cards he would've gotten the pot.

The are only two times cards have to be shown. One is in a tourny and someone moves all-in. second, when you go to take the pot. Thats all.

I will never show my hands... I played earlier to show when i do bluff to catch later when i not making bluff, but... is not a verry good ideea...

You probably shouldn't show your hands even if it was a good one. All it does is just provide people with information about your play.

Yes, you are allowed to ask to see the cards, but I think people abuse this rule - I think this was originally used to verify that there wasn't colluision between players to buy the table. At my local casino, it seems that every other hand people are asking to see the cards. I have never asked to see another's cards as I view it as a poker etiquette, but if another player is in a pot at the end and is suppose to declare his/her hand first I will make them show or muck their hand prior to seeing mine.

Most reputable games will require the loser to show regardless... If anyone at the table paid to see his cards then they should have the right to do so.