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I honestly feel that this can help your game. But not the way you did it. If you tell people you're playing blind it doesn't help you. Instead, don't announce it and try to outplay them by not looking at your cards. Try to figure out what they have and what bet size will get them to fold. Also try to figure out if they're married to a good hand and get away from yours as cheaply as possible.

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Yeah, I agree that the way I do this isn't the most productive way of learning how to read players. I do find that a player's tells are amplified if I make the announcement before the hand is played though. There's a look of dread that comes over a players face when they know they have to call me down with A-high because they missed the flop. Similarly, they tend to perk up a little if they make any kind of hand. I look for more subdued versions of these reactions when I start looking at my cards again.

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It should be noted that me doing this started to piss off a few people at my home game. Mostly because I was being a drunk jerk and kind of rubbing it in. They'd ask me what I had and I'd tell them I didn't know because I never looked.

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Yeah, this is one of the things that really prevents me from trying this more than once a night. I always show because I want to avoid being thought of as a complete A-hole. I also find that players will continue to give me action even when I start looking at cards again.