When (if ever) do you show bluffs...?

Dub13

I tend to show my bluffs to much,I no allot of people never show there hands unless they have to but I find showing bluffs can help in the long run.For instance in the 100 game last week only a few hands in I had a monster of a bluff and I turned them over just to keep the old timers in check Another time in the 20 game I turned 3 bluffs up in a row and on the 4th hand I got some poor chap to go all in and he walked into Pocket As


When it gets short handed I never show my cards.So your thoughts on the pros and cons of showing a bluff...?

mewso

I think you need to know your opponents and if showing a bluff might tilt them a bit then by all means. Showing a bluff to get a call later with a monster will only work against bad players. A good player will know what you're up to. This poor chap. Did he go all-in with nothing or a hand? If he had a hand then it's not proof that your display of bluffing prowess was the cause.

Dub13

musician wrote:

. This poor chap. Did he go all-in with nothing or a hand? If he had a hand then it's not proof that your display of bluffing prowess was the cause.

He had a low pair 3s or 4s.Dont get me wrong I dont bluff to often only the odd time.

Iago

I very rarely show my hand, I'm not convinced that the information I'm giving is worth the potential for later on. As muso said, a good player won't get lulled into that trap unless they have a reasonable hand which they would bet anyway.

Occasionally if I've taken a number of pots without showing a hand I might flash that hand to show that I do have the cards, I think the more hands you take without showing cards the more likely you are to get called next time around.

Few and far between though

Lafortezza

In something like the €100 game or €250 game, sometimes its best not to show your bluffs at all.
I know DeV has talked about this a few times before and I've found it to be the same, that all the older players see me as a bit of a rock, I play tight preflop, only bet with good hands and show down strong winners.

I bluff more these days than I used to and the only reason I get away with it is because they look at me and remember all those other times when I showed the nuts.
If you start showing bluffs then they'll realise you are more of a gambler and you might get called when you bet big (great if you have a good hand and aren't bluffing, not so great if you're on a steal).

And sometimes when you show a bluff in the freeroll, people will tap the table and say "nice hand".

DeVore

I do a lot of table-image control. That is, I want to be sure I know how the table views me so that I know where I stand. Its a little like betting second pair to see where you are

If you have a number of "gears" to your play then you can drive your table image one way and play away from that to your benefit. As Luke says, the better players will know what you are up to but then again you might be able to use that too

Mostly I dont show bluffs as a rule, I'll either show big cards or nothing. Sometimes I'll show big cards simply because I DONT want the table to go on tilt. I want to show that I had a hand so that the NEXT time I steal I dont get called

Controlling your table image is important and I think a lot of people dont get that it goes hand in hand with your preflop hand selection. I've made quite a bit of money playing suited connetors lately because as one guy said to me "Tom, you never play with anything that matches that board" when I flopped top straight

DeV.

Hyzepher

I actually have the image - in the fitz - as not being much of a player at all. In fact I tend to come in under the radar most of the time. OK people here know who I am but I am pretty much faceless in the fitz.

I never show my cards, ever never, never. Dont see the benefit to it. Other players are more likely to try and extract what you had afterwards by asking etc and I feel I have more control over them if they play it that way.

Hyzepher

Waylander

It is very rare I show my cards. If other players want to see them that badly, they can pay to see them.

Hectorjelly

I show my cards from time to time, usually in tournaments your not looking for a caller, even if you do have a good hand, so showing some good cards at the start can help later. I play omaha most nights now and I show bluffs constantly, because I want to make it very hard for people to fold hands against me.

TwoShedsJackson

I never show a bluff. I also apparently never bluff

careca

Hyzepher wrote:

I actually have the image - in the fitz - as not being much of a player at all.

Spot on.

Dub13

Hectorjelly wrote:

I show my cards from time to time, usually in tournaments your not looking for a caller, even if you do have a good hand, so showing some good cards at the start can help later. I play omaha most nights now and I show bluffs constantly, because I want to make it very hard for people to fold hands against me.

You have the same idea as me....Its different for people like DeV who are in there alot they have an "image" so they can work of that,me on the other hand most times I sit down in tournaments I am playing the people for the first time so I want to keep them guessing on edge and not knowing how to play against me.

DeVore

My image won me a lovely big pot in the cash game and sent Pat O'Neills head into orbit even though he wasnt in the hand! I've a nice rock image which is mostly deserved but anywhere I can sneak a cheap flop with a hand with *some* potential (ok, bring on the Q3 jokes!), I'll take a flier at it, especially in a cash game. Last night I limped with 56o, pretty mucky hand that wouldnt normally fall into my play book but I had a table full of limpers so I felt like it was likely the blinds wouldnt raise (I'm on the button).
Sure enough the board obliges me with A34 with some action ahead of me. Lovely. I call for 20 with about 4 players. Turn is a glorious 7 and I call, river is a queen and two of them go all in and I call. Paddy O'Neil says "he's dogged yis on the river lads, two pair here I'm betting. AQ!" I turn over 56 for the stone cold Macademias. The belief was expressed around the table that I had to have a big ace because I dont play with the type of cards that would otherwise have made a hand. Even then Paddy figured me for AQ as it was all that made sense to him! I think the others made that mistake two as they all had two pair or trips and all expressed shock that I'd played 56. Paddy wouldnt stop going on about it, he reckoned he was in the twilight zone!

DeV.

nesf

I rarely show cards, but then I rarely bluff outside of heads-up situations. When I'm heads-up I'll show big hands occasionally to show a good fold by a poor player with the hope of bluffing him the next time we're heads-up. Against a good player I never show cards most of the time. You want to put good players in a situation where they have to pay to see what you have in the hope of them paying off a legit hand.

][cEMAN**

So far I don't unless I get called on it and lose. There's probably some table etiquette that I might miss out, but considering i'm playing over the net for play money and rarely see the same people again, i'm not bothered.

I play too long though. Run up a nice stack then keep playing till I can't even see what cards I have and lose it all again.