[Closed] Is showing your hand ever a good idea?

Originally posted by luitzen

Originally posted by Berzerger

Originally posted by D4NNYP
I like showing my 72o when in the BB and its folded round to me......ok maybe i did it once

I never do that. It sends out a message to your opponents: look, I had a bad hand and would've folded to any raise. It's like an invitation to raise you more often, and considering how often you get good hands it's best not to provoke people to raise you more.

That's BS cause showing 72o in the BB when everybody folded to you doesn't mean you have 72o everytime you're in the BB.

Just because it's true doesn't mean your opponents know it. Besides, you don't get good enough hands to defend your blind with very often, so most of the times you have to fold to a raise regardless of what the opponent raised with. The last thing I want to do is to provoke the opponents into stealing more often, which is about the only thing you accomplish by showing 72 when it's folded to you.

Exactly what Berzerger said. Thats why i show AA,KK etc in SnGs...hoping people dont call when i shove with 89 because they think i am tight...

But when you push 89 and don't show they can get an idea you're pushing with since you always showed premium cards before...

It goes both ways.

Berkstajger- Thats only if you are thinking. Around 60% of players are not thinking. None of this makes any difference if the players are thinking. But there's a benefit to showing AA/KK if people are not. And also a harm to showing 27 off in the blinds .

If you push with AA you want people to call. If you push with 27 you want people to fold.

Originally posted by Prabhatallin
Berkstajger- Thats only if you are thinking. Around 60% of players are not thinking. None of this makes any difference if the players are thinking. But there's a benefit to showing AA/KK if people are not. And also a harm to showing 27 off in the blinds .

Well, you're getting into contradictions. You say 60% of players are not thinking (here I think this percentage depends greatly on the level you play) and hence if they're not thinking, they wont have reads on you and their decision isn't affected by the AA you showed couple of hands back.

But in the end if it works for you, that's fine. I don't have nearly enough experience to discuss the more complex psychological backround of poker. In my opinion revealing your cards is giving away just to much information to be profitable for a non-pro poker player. If you're good enough to play psychological games with your opponents, you're probably a great player anyway and can use this move profitable.

Well of course the trouble is I will never be able to actual compile any statistical data (nor will anyone else) on whether this "works. Because I have no idea what cards my opponents fold and whether those folds have anything to do with my showing or not showing.

And by "not thinking" I meant not thinking very rationally. Short of a chimpanzee randomly clicking push/fold everybody is thinking at some level or the other. If your opponents are predominantly bad their illogical their thought process MIGHT run "He is running hot and he is aggressive, I will fold my K 10.

If that's even a possibility for some opponents I don't see why showing AA/KK after a raise and everyone folds can be harmful because pretty much anyone raises these hands (at least 80% of the time), so it doesn't really give away any information that everyone didn't already have.

Originally posted by luitzen
If you push with AA you want people to call. If you push with 27 you want people to fold.

So?

Originally posted by Prabhatallin

Originally posted by luitzen
If you push with AA you want people to call. If you push with 27 you want people to fold.

So?

So it's a pointless discussion.

I would show AA or KK to someone who folded a biggish pot to me and thought it through because I want them to feel good about the fold and folding to me. I wouldn't do it often or to anyone but specific opponents who I want to appear to show "respect."

Originally posted by alejandrosh
showing the bluff knowing someone is about to tilt can be a pretty good idea.

however I have auto muck going on , better to multitable

ya i think this tbh...

i never really wanna show because thats like "facts" as information - although sometimes i will speak in chat about what i had. There i can choose to tell the truth or lie and then they have to decide wether its the truth or im actually lieing

-Jack

i think early on when/if you have a couple of decent hands and raises are folded, its often a good idea to show a couple. it buys you that extra ounce [yes i can still use ounces in the EU, lol] of respect that can sometimes buy you one extra pot. in that circumstance, it can be worth it.
i never show bluffs or semi bluffs though, that invites trouble from every direction.

with regards to psychological games, i tend to find messing with peoples ego's works a treat. I dont suggest doing this often, and you've really got to pick your moments, but one particular type of player i like to pick on is the Incredibly Loose, Incredibly Aggressive (maniac) player. Reasoning behind this, in my opinion, their style of play revolves often around their own ego. Give it time, and a little patience (and a couple of shown bluffs), i find that these types of players tend to get frustrated if your josteling with them for position. After all, a loose player wants free rane on the table, keeps others guessing. My personal fav is showing a bluff, remembering exactly what i did in that hand, then repeat it when i've got a monster, but considering that it is very rare that I actually get a "monster", patience is an absolute vertue.

If anyone has any mods to my post, or a disagrement, please post. Always interested in another perspective.