To show or not to show...

[marvinas]

Just think what are you showing and to who when you show. I would show only to change my table image, for example to show I'm not always bluffing. Otherwise why do that, people did not want to pay to find out, so why give them that for free?

 

[RedskinRunner325]

I don't even give myself the option to show my cards. Why give your opponent any kind of advantage? they saw how you played the hand, let them wonder in mystery if you really had them out-kicked.

 

[hidr0ksit]

when i win with a weak hand, especially when i do bluff, i show my hand. this movement shows me a fish and the other players generally re-raise when i raise so i win big if i win with a major hand, i always muck my cards. i want other players to call, if they want know what i have.

 

[housebreaker]

I may show my cards to a player that I have beat out of a few hands, if they are folding, because this person will think I'm bluffing them off the pot. If not ,this same person will then call my bluff when I am bluffing. So it's to my advantage to show a winning hand. Though it is rare that I show.

 

[left52side]

Well for me this goes for live as well as online,
I personally never show(well about 99.9% of the time).
The reason for this is that I want my oponents to have as little information on me as possible.
I dont want them to know that I was bluffing or that I had the nuts.

 

[Leo 50]

I turn OFF auto muck but I usually muck my cards.

Sometimes I will show a powerful hand just to keep people guessing, especially like showing those quads.

Sometimes I will show a good bluff but only when I am hitting cards.

Good Luck out there

 

[perry]

Once or twice in a game if I take down the pot without being called I will show Monster cards. ON the other hand if I bluff on the button and take down the blinds I don't show any time. My opponent doesn't need to know what I had then. I think to show or not can be argued either way so you takes your choice and live with whatever the consequences are.

 

[Tom1559]

Sowing your cards is only of benefit if it helps you. There are lots of different theories. Personally I only show them if I have just stolen the BB with a good hand. I want the guy to know for sure I raised because I had a good hand. I want him to believe that when I raise it is because my hand justified it. Lots of guys show there cards after a bluff. There is nothing wrong with this but personally I prefer not to because I have respect for the other players. Chris Ferguson does it occassionally and it is acceptable I just prefer not to.

 

[Wonka22]

I think it was in Harrington on Hold'em Volume One (amazing series of books it's really helped me improve my game) that I read that if you're aggressive and playing an amount of hands that would make it seem like you're bluffing a lot that it's okay to show up your big hands. It's like saying "hey look I know I'm playing alot of hands but they're actually really good". He said players remember what they see.

This is the onlytime that I show...Right now I'm playing mostly on FTP...and Automuch is still in effect. So, I'm not showing anything.

 

[zek]

This thread is talking about the muck button. What do you all suggest would be a good time to show what you were holding, and when to just muck them into the pile? Is there a general rule of thumb about mucking? Mucking etiquette? lol

I auto muck all hands.

-Raymond

 

[shoshaku]

I leave the automuck on, but I've only just started playing games other than holdem and was wondering about for other games

for instance showing a a bluff in badugi to get paid off the next time?

 

[rwilson]

If I pull off a large bluff I may show the person to try to set them off. But I'm more inclined to show the other way around. I tend to be a bit loose agressive and bluff regularly, so I'm more likely to show a monster hand to gain back some fold equity. Like most, I muck 99.9% of the time though.

 

[kidkvno1]

i tend to show some hands, that i bluffed, but not all of them... i want them thinking all the time.... It does make them mad, and even makes them more madder if they try a bluff and it don't work

 

[luckytvguy]

i tend to show some hands, that i bluffed, but not all of them... i want them thinking all the time.... It does make them mad, and even makes them more madder if they try a bluff and it don't work

that is your own thought,and it may be dont work.people like show some cards to make opponents mad.like big bluff.but that make the showing become an complex skill.does that skill work? i dont think.sometimes ,people will find weakness from your showing.but you dont know,still thinking make them mad.

 

[Poker Orifice]

I would only consider showing if I figured it could be to my advantage later on in the game. You see many players showing their hands as part of an ego thing (ie. the great laydown they made, etc.).. bad idea.

If I'm playing a sng with good players nearing bubble I will never show. If there's an abundance of LAG donks on the table, I might show my KK I just shoved with to have them re-consider calling me down light with an A-rag or something.
I might also consider showing a complete bluff if I figure it'll be to my advantage (ie. putting opponent on tilt, or looking to get action on my good hands) but still very rarely,... occassionally on tables with weak players or ones who aren't paying much attention to the kind of hands you might have been showing down.
In other words.... 'only' if I think it'll somehow be to my advantage to show the hand. In most cases... never show.

 

[thepokerjunky]

I believe channing73ny has things a bit mixed up here... Ofcourse if you
show your good hands they will respect you, but all the hands you dont
show are assumed to be the ones you bluffed with. You have to take into
consideration what the opponents think of every one of your moves. I
believe that, overall, its better not to show at all. Someones people think
that by showing your bluff or good hand that you can make the person go
on tilt, but these are rare occasions... usually the person gets back on
their feet and has a bit more of an edge than he or she did before. The
only onnllyy circumstance would be a huge bluff... when a lot of money is
in the pot and the bluff was just sooo big that the person would kill himself
with hate. That happened to me once in a game and i ended up taking the
dudes money, but these are rare circumstances indeed.

 

[Nickmond]

I never use it, there is no need to give anyone any information. I know when I get bluffed and people show it, it doesn't get me mad or throw me off, as I know anyone can get bluffed and anyone with half a brain can bluff...I always just laugh it off as they don't know if or when I bluffed them in the past, but they gave me a blueprint as to how and when they might do it.

 

[shoshaku]

Not to be overly paranoid--but even if you had a reason to show could not your advantage gained that session be offset by giving up an extra hand of info to poker tracker etc. which would hurt you longterm.

 

[LuckyChippy]

I never show my hand unless it has been paid to be seen why give free information unless you have played very solid poker and won a big hand off a stone cold bulff and thats a very rare thing to do indeed especially in a freeroll at least until late tourney but even still all that will really accomplish in general is to make people mad

I lol'ed at this, i'm sure making people mad is one of the main aims in poker?

 

[kidkvno1]

that is your own thought,and it may be dont work.people like show some cards to make opponents mad.like big bluff.but that make the showing become an complex skill.does that skill work? i dont think.sometimes ,people will find weakness from your showing.but you dont know,still thinking make them mad.

I have been messing with bluffing in real cash, and yes you need to pick the right time, and the right players.... <<<<< And i don't say you should even try, so Don't try it, As to i have lost to being traped.
I have been messing around with bluffing in play cash games, and freerolls... It is just as hard in both as i learned in a CC freeroll.... Though i do also show wining hands to, but i don't show all of them, i don't want them knowing my hand range.
Though use some spaces next time.

 

[HomeBrewer]

NO! I don't care about any arguement that has been amde...why give information to an opponent? You get for a reason, and it was to protect your hand... Plus you really think that you could show a bad player any cards that would make him play any worse?

Even if you want him to have information, doesn't that come across to him if you are at all a solid player? Anyways, it never makes sense to show your cards if you aren't REQUIRED to.

 

[rugby0]

I agree with the muck-muck rule. There is one oppertunity that i like to show.. If you get a big hand in an unopened pot and get the blinds only. I will show to encourage more sb and bb folds.

 

[nevadanick]

Only time I will show is in a friendly type game where it's more about the friendship and fun, not the payouts. I always anticipate that a player has good hands and can/will bluff.

If someone wants to give me free information to stroke their ego (as Poker Orifice said it so well), then by all means - do so. If you want my information, it is 'for sale'. I haven't won enough at the tables yet to be a charity donor or a philanthropist ...

 

[darc11]

I always muck as a rule. I will break this if I feel the a good reason though. Sometimes if I think I`m playing alot of hands I`ll show the nuts just to let the table know I`m not just donking it up.

 

[Stu_Ungar]

I think at low levels it is pointless for 2 reasons.

1) in order to alter your table image significantly you have to b playing against opponents who will interperate the infomation correctly.

2) You are showing your mistakes for all the world to see. You may have played horribly but caught a lucky card and won.. but you don't see it that way. Also, what will you want to show? quads and royal flushes? the problem is that mostlikely you played the hand in a predicatable fashion.. so a more thnking player might start raising you more and then folding, figuring that you will only keep betting with a decent hand.