Showing your hand

[BrettK]

Talking about who will think what about whom when you show your cards is an exercise in futility, as it becomes a game of second-guessing. If you didn't major in Psych, I'd stay away from thinking along these lines. There's one fact that is very hard to argue against. Showing your cards gives your opponents information that they shouldn't have.

Brett

[Eder]

Ya I think you're right....never show...I gonna stop now

[BigJer]

[ QUOTE ]

Quote:
I never show as there are players out there who can read my actions better than I can read theirs. Until I develop my knowledge and skills I will continue to not show.



and

Quote:
Indeed I tend to ignore other's showing their cards too



Aren´t these two quotes contradictory?

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Martin - I'm not sure that they are contradictory. Can you explain to me why you think that? I'm genuinely interested to know why that is. In fact I think they are complementary....in that until I am more developed in other areas of the game I will not be giving away information, nor acting on any given.

[Martin Aigner]

BigJer,

you wrote "Until I develop my knowledge and skills...". Part of developing the skills is getting into the minds of others. The way to get into the minds is to see what hands they are playing, how they are playing them and to try to get to know why they are playing it that way.

If someone gives you information of a hand (either foreced at the showdown or voluntarily) you should try to take profit out of it.

Then you wrote "Indeed I tend to ignore other's showing their cards too", and that was what I think to be contradictory. Of course you have to take into calculation why somebody shows you voluntarily, but nevertheless you gained information, and by ignoring that information you won´t gain any knowledge of the other players thinking.

Maybe I just got it wrong, but the way I read it I thought it to be contradictory.

Best regards

Martin Aigner

[BigJer]

I see the point being made here. Don't get me wrong, I observe the cards shown in a showdown, I like to know what I got beat by and trace back the raising/checking patterns etc. And if someone has a point to prove by showing a losing hand then so be it. But when someone wants to show a great bluff after stealing a pot, for example, then we start to get into the realms of reverse psychology: you could get burned by acting on it, or get burned by purposely ignoring it.

I think I need to check the psychology postings for this subject.

Cheers.

[slogger]

I believe that you lose little or nothing by never showing.

It's providing free info for your opponents. IMO, without a very specific purpose and a very reliable read (maybe once every 50-100 SNGs), that's always bad.

[AliasMrJones]

I agree with the many people who said never show. I have the auto-muck box checked and never show. If you show sometimes to let them know you really had a hand, the next time you don't show they're going to think you have garbage. So, great you say, now they're guessing. How is that any better than not showing in the first place? Why give the other players any information you don't have to? Besides -- Mike Sexton says to never show. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[WC64]

I would say 90% of the time I do not show.

When tourney gets down to the final 4 and I am shortstacked and I raise all in to the chip leader I will show just to let him know I am not trying to just steal his blind. Maybe this does nothing for me but I do it so hopefully it keeps the big stacks happy rather than getting irritated by me going all in.

[BigJer]

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe this does nothing for me but I do it so hopefully it keeps the big stacks happy rather than getting irritated by me going all in.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would've thought you'd be looking to get them irritated so as to induce them into making a mistake by calling your strong hands in future. But surely keeping them guessing is more often than not the best ploy regardless of the circumstance.