Showing your cards when people haven't paid?

[David]

Hi all

I had this argument with a lady at our table, during the Sunday game at the Highlander.

She said that it is NEVER an advantage to you to show your cards after winning a hand, when someone else hasn't paid to see.

I (and everyone else on the table) said that it, on some occasions and if used properly, could be used to your advantage.

She was shown 3 5 off suit after a hand that she folded on, and another guy had bluffed her. In her opinion, he did nothing to benefit himself, as she now knew how he played.

I said that she just proved my argument.

Thoughts?

David

[bennymacca]

thats exactly right david - maybe the other player wanted her to know that he was quite willing to bluff the hell out of her.

if this then puts her on tilt and she calls everything against that certain player, then job done. but it also means that the other player would wanna be wary of trying another bluff.

so it can work both ways, depending on table image, the looseness of the game etc etc.

if you want to maintain a tight table image, then no-show. but if the table is very tight, then showing a bluff might entice more action.

[David]

Agreed.

Her point, though, was that there IS NEVER NEVER EVER EVER a good time to show your cards, and that it's an a disadvantage to you if you do.

She was from W.A. though.

[Bob B]

It works both ways I think as I sometimes like to show that I wasn't bluffing and show my winning hand.

Hopefully next time they will fold to my raise as I try to cement this in their minds that I play tight and only raise when I have something.

You really need to pick your moment tho.

[Brett Kay]

It is called Creating an Image.

Say you want people to respect your bets and raises, you will show down those strong hands, so that people have a fair understanding that if they are in a hand with you, and your betting then you most likely have them beat.

That is called a tight image.

The opposite to that is a loose image. Now if you are showing down hands like 3,5 or 2,4 hell even Q,6. People are less likely to worry about you in a hand because more often than not you have no piece of the board. Unless you have managed to fluke a straight.

With both of these is a process called changing gears. In which the loose player tightens their game up. And plays the good hands that are solid winner (more often than not). So with this kind of change he has a lot more callers. Because everyone considers him to be starting on pretty weak hands. And he will win more money out of those players.

The tight player goes a little different, He starts to raise a lot more pots. And a lot of the players are folding to him unless they are playing with premium hands. This happens because the perception is that he has the better hand. So, he is investing money with less risk of being drawn out against because of the respect of the table.

With the loose player, they are getting the draws to call because of the lack of respect. However it is a more risky proposition because sometimes people are going to hit the miracle three outer on the river.

And that is how you play your image on a table. As long as no one knows what you are doing at the time. You have the chance to get more chips out of the other players.

[BigPete33]

Expertly said there Brett!

With respect to the NPL level of poker though, there's already a large lack of respect for a raise so my advice would be to be super careful about what hands you show the other players.

[rcon]

I would have thought it was fairly standard practice - only show if you think that you can gain an advantage from it.

Trouble is, that "gained advantage" is rather subjective. It depends on what you want to gain from it. If the guy who showed in the first post wanted to give that information to everyone, then he certainly succeeded. If the lady being bluffed thought that she was gaining an advantage from being shown, why would she complain? I love it when people rattle on like that - trying to show how much they know, and the other person doesn't!

I don't like being shown a bluff, and I REALLY don't like it when I've got a decent part of the board too. I've had poeple use that aginst me before, and I've done it to others. Always try and use it to your advantage I'm over it now, so dont try it either

Well that would be my 2c worth anyway.

[Nathan Butler]

As Mike Sexton would say (and i agree); Even after the execution of a successfull bluff it is still prudent to muck your cards.

Although creating an images can have its advantages, it also has its disadvantages. Ultimately the more infomation you give your opponent the more likely they are to adapt a way to beat you. Even if you select certian infomation to share, like a bluff, you are only showing your opponent that you have the capacity to do so.

The next time you use the same betting pattern maybe you will have the nuts and trick an opponent into calling but maybe after you have been card dead for so long an opponent will call you knowing that you could have bluffed. Showing cards does have advantages and disadvantages.

If you never show your cards, they will always be guessing.

Nathan Butler

P.S - I love to show a really good bluff, but only to tease!

[MATTY G]

P.S - I love to show a really good bluff, but only to tease!

do you? do you really? i never new this!

[Garth Kay]

When Nathan says "show down a really good bluff" he generally means:
"I have just been caught with my hand in the cookie jar, I can't believe that guy called my all in bluff on the river with top two, i was playing the flush draw the whole way. Now I have to show my 9 2 off suit and show them all how much i am willing to bluff".