Showing your hand when you don't have to

[uw_madtown]

In a SNG tourney (the bulk of what I play) I'll show when it's getting down to 3-4 players and I'm in the BB and everyone folds. I haven't played the hand at all, so they aren't gaining any information on my play. So sometimes I'll unclick the Muck Losing/Uncalled Hands just to show an uncontested hand like that.

If I've played the hand at all, I won't show.

- UW

[felson]

If you show your hand when everyone folds to you, then you're not doing it for strategic reasons. Are you trying to be friendly?

[Fiery Jack]

Interesting to see mixed opinions on this. I'm still undecided...

How about this scenario:

You make an outrageous bluff with nothing. A guy with only an average hand makes the mistake of folding and you win quite a big pot.

Show your cards to him or not?

On the plus side:

- It may make the guy go on tilt.
- It may make him call more with worse hands.

On the minus side:

- He now knows you are capable of bluffing, you won't be able to make that move again
- It may make him play better, which isnt what you want

On balance I think to show your cards is bad here.

[Cpt Spaulding]

Like I said before strategically showing hands...Not everytime just when I want to show a monster hand...I don't show every hand just a select few.

[esknights]

[ QUOTE ]
Garbage....Giving away specific info to mislead others is very important. It is about just showing every hand..Strategically show hands. Make them think what you want them to think about you, so you now have more info on them by knowing what they know about you and your style of play. It is all about strategy and manipulation

[/ QUOTE ]

Good players know what you are attempting to do when you show hands and bad players just don't care or pay attention. Therefore I choose not to show hands.

[Cpt Spaulding]

Or you show...Couple hands later you have a great hand...He has a decent one...you follow your same betting pattern from the hand you mentioned. He might think you are bluffing once again and then you drop a monster on him...Really doing this all depends on the players at the table and the general mood and flow of the game...Hard to say exactly what I would do....

[Cpt Spaulding]

We all have our own style of play...If that works for ya...Go with it..Hope to see ya at a table one day and can put our theories to the test...

[Moozh]

I think you're mis-applying the reasoning behind your decision to show or not. At most levels, the only people who are going to be affected by your decision to show hands are the ones who can make good use of it. The people who are going to be susceptible to your 'trickery' are the ones who are so bad that you don't need to bother trying to fool them at all.

Depending on your opponent, two things may happen:

- You show a good player extra information that he is able to use against you.

- You show a bad player extra information that makes him play slightly worse against you.

As far as EV is concerned here, I feel this is very strongly a negative EV decision of yours. Most players I know who actually pay attention to cards that other people show know you're trying to do exactly what you say you're trying to do. By showing your hands it lets them get information about you that they would not have had otherwise.

Again, the only people who are going to be affected by your decision to show are the ones who will gain an advantage from it.

That said, I've shown my hand once and only once.

It was in the middle of a SNG against a player who had been raising almost every hand (he was immediately to my right). It was working well for him and he had built a respectable stack. In my small, he raised again and I immediately pushed. He folded and I showed trash. I showed to let him know that I'd be willing to play back at him. To be honest, I just wanted him to stay away from me so I could continue to play tight. It worked as he rarely rasied on my blinds after that, even folding his small to my big twice in a row after.

[DocMartin]

Showing only your good hands to create that 'tight' image really cant be fooling many people. What is to stop them from assuming all the hands they dont see are junk? You are actually giving them more information since they will know what percentage of your hands are good since they are the only ones you show.

[CarlSpackler]

I love it when other players show me their cards. At worst, it doesn't hurt me and I gain nothing from it. Most of the time, however, I will gain useful information (i.e. this player raised x amount pre-flop with this hand, he will attempt to steal the blinds when in late position, etc.) I never show my hand willingly, only during a showdown. The less information my opponents have about what and how I play, the better, especially online where the number or reliable tells is drastically reduced.