To Show Or Not To Show

I have heard some people say you should never show your cards. Showing them they say is giving them information, and as poker is a game of incomplete information any little info garnered is an advantage to your opponent.

Where do people lean here on whether to show their cards? I have seen people show their cards after a bluff, is that a good thing, it rattles me thats for sure, annoys me and psychologically gives them an edge on me

Trev

[mdeck]

I choose to sacrifice whatever marginal edge showing might give in favor of consistency. As a general rule I never show, unless I'm playing live and the act of doing so would keep a friendly game friendly.

When playing (primarily) for money I don't see any benefit in giving out information.

[goofball]

Every single time someone shows me their cards I'm glad they did. Based on that and that alone I almost never show. The one time I can think of is if someone I'm playing with is very bad and showing me their hand a lot, and that's giving me a lot of good info into just how htey are bad, I'll show them to encourage the showing policy.

[sully4321]

winning pots with continuation bets when i miss flops has been a large part of my success... and i believe it's because i only show a hand when i had what i was representing... this leads people to believe i am weak-tight and only bet or raise when i have something. therefore, i think showing is okay if you have a purpose.

[tripdad]

i occasionally show a stone bluff to set someone up for a future takedown. the takedown may not occur for another week or month, or even six months, but it does come.

cheers!

[JC_Saves]

I might show if I am on the button and raise 3BBs and people fold then I have a monster. This leaves in their mind that I raise with power.

Also if I raise on the button or cutoff and the flop comes all overcards to my pocket pair I might show just to let them know that I am raising with real hands and they better not risk calling with crap.

For the most part, I do not show cards ever. If you do, you must have a reason for doing so. Don't be like these idiots that show hands all the time, because you are giving away too much.