showing hands

Showing hands...is it ever strategic or just plain stupidity..i have found myself showing lots of hands lately and it seems to work sometimes and other times it turns around on me and someone catches me in a bluff..i have showed some bluffs and then i find myself waiting for the nuts to play again because people have been calling me down because im liable to bluff. if you are running bad i guess its good to have a tight image. i was just curious on what other people do and if its effictive...

[XXXNoahXXX]

I find that until you really have a handle of what you are doing and when to show your cards, it is best to never show when you don't have to. Once you have a stronger handle on the game, if showing a bluff means they'll call your river bets when you have made hands then by all means go for it. This also means they might be more likely to call your bluffs as well. By far most effective time to show is on a river bluff in a very large pot, because theres a decent chance the guy you tricked will go on tilt, then you can tighten back up and play your solid game while hes tilting and making poor decisions.