Excerpt from Verbal Poker Tells

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The question “Will you show if I fold?” is a commonly heard one. Most players have heard this question many times and will have a stock response to this phrase, like “Maybe” or “I don’t answer that,” or they will just keep quiet. For this reason, most responses to this question won’t contain much information.

(The general meaning of an unprompted “I’ll show you” is covered in the chapter “I’ll Show You”.)

Sometimes, though, answers to this question will reveal how relaxed a player is. Let’s look more closely at affirmative and negative responses.

“I’ll show you.”

Affirmative responses, like “Yeah, sure” or “Sure, I’ll show you,” can have a wide range of meanings. Many players are capable of answering affirmatively with a wide range of hands.

For this reason, there aren’t many good generalizations that can be made about a willingness to show cards. Information gathered from this response will mostly have to depend on player history and situation. For example, some players may tend to say “yes” to this question more when weak; others may tend to do this more when strong. 

Sometimes affirmative responses will be accompanied by extraneous phrases that might clue you in to a player’s comfort level. Extraneous phrases will be more meaningful than the affirmative response. For example, a player is asked, “Will you show if I fold?” and he replies, “Yeah, sure. Why not? But you’ll owe me one.” His willingness to speak more than is necessary may be an indicator of relaxation.

Negative or irritated responses

Negative responses to this question are more meaningful than affirmative responses. Negative responses are more likely to be indicators that a player has a strong hand. This is because some negative responses can be interpreted as unfriendly or goading, and bluffers usually don’t want to risk making an opponent upset. Most bluffers want to stay friendly and conciliatory. Usually, if a bluffer is asked this question, he’ll either stay quiet or answer “Maybe” or “I don’t know” in a neutral way.

This pattern is especially reliable when negative responses are accompanied with irritated or angry ways of speaking. A bettor who’s willing to display irritation when asked this question is unlikely to be bluffing. (See the chapter Irritation With An Opponent.)

Uncertainty and looseness 

As with uncertainty and verbal looseness in general, responses to this question that seem hesitant or uncertain will likely be signs of relaxation and strength. Players who are bluffing generally want to convey certainty, while players who want a call have a motivation for seeming uncertain.

People who ask this are usually folding

Looking at things from the other player’s point of view, a person who asks this question is usually planning on folding. The person asking it is just looking for some last minute piece of information that might change his mind. (Most pieces of information that can be gained from a response to this question are indicators that a player is relaxed, so it’s not surprising that nothing ends up changing most players’ minds.) Also, players who ask this are often already certain they’re folding but just want to increase the chances they get to see their opponent’s cards. 

Knowing that an opponent who asks this question is probably folding might sometimes impact your behaviour. For example, if you know an opponent is probably folding but you want a call, you may try to get a call in some way (however you think that might be accomplished).

This was an excerpt from Verbal Poker Tells by Zach Elwood. It was featured this month in our SideKick Winter Raffles.