Showing Hands?

marston06

I just wanted a general perspective on showing hands, particularly online. Last night, I was heads up at the end of a £150 guaranteed, and my opponent showed me the first couple of hands, which he had hit well. He then proceeded to show me almost every hand he won whether it be monsters, bottom pairs or stone cold bluffs. I thought this was brilliant, as it was just giving me free information, and, despite having under a quarter of the chips, I knew I could just play to his weaknesses and was confident of a win.

Personally, I never show hands, live or online, but I was wondering what the general opinion is.. Is it ever good to show hands, and when?

Cheers

Sky_Dave

I think on the whole it's a bad idea to show - you're effectively giving away free information about your game that they didn't pay to see.

There's a VERY definite exception though. If you're up against an opponent who you think you can tilt or indeed calm by showing the hand, then go for it. What do I mean? If I am on a cash table with a guy I know steams his money away, I'm more likely to show the bluff* to get him to blow the rest of his chips around the table. My hope is I get enough of them to warrant it. Also, if a player suspects you of nicking pots and is getting aggro against you, showing him you had the goods can sometimes restore your image and subdue him slightly so you can get back to the pinching.

On the whole though, avoid doing it unless you're certain the tilt/image restoration benefits above are worth the information sacrifice....

* - not that I ever bluff.

AMYBR

I think If your playing at a table that is unlikely to break up for a long time showing a very rare hand can be beneficial, if you want to propagate a certain image, but overall I agree isnt a great idea.

HYPETING

In Response to Re: Showing Hands?:

I think If your playing at a table that is unlikely to break up for a long time showing a very rare hand can be beneficial, if you want to propagate a certain image, but overall I agree isnt a great idea.
Posted by AMYBR

+1.

Maybe good to show a bluff one time, but not all the time.

grantorino

I have rarely seen a good online player show a hand

As a rule, generally dont do it. It could be ok an odd time, but be sure you can affect there play more than they can use the info. tbh I think you can start levelling yourself rather than villain very easily

marston06

cheers for the replies, I assume his idea was to try and tilt me, as a lot of the hands were bluffs, but to be honest, I was just rubbing my hands thinking of the chips coming my way when i got a decent hand!