To Show or Not To Show
Marcus Bateman
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Marcus Bateman /
09 June 2009 /
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As poker is a game of incomplete information, purely from a game theory perspective there are very few situations where you should be showing any of your hands.
Dealing with players who habitually show you their hands can be an extremely taxing and annoying experience. People play poker for a variety of reasons, be it to make money, relax from their usual routine of life, or in the case of most players who constantly show their hands, to massage their ego.
As poker is a game of incomplete information, purely from a game theory perspective there are very few situations where you should be showing any of your hands.
These basically involve situations where you think the merit of showing a hand will tilt an opponent to such an extent that it is worth giving out this precious information; or in spots where you are trying to create a friendly atmosphere with a weak player, by trying to open up a situation where both players are regularly showing hands, as a skilled player will be able to use this information to a much greater effect than the weaker player will be able to.
Most players who show a lot of hands are not trying to do either of these things, and are, on the whole, simply doing it to show how well they outplayed you on that particular hand. As poker is a game where the result of any one hand is largely irrelevant, these players are effectively giving out valuable information for little or no reason, and against a solid player who will not psychologically respond to these taunts they do themselves a massive disservice.
The key thing to remember about these players is that no matter how frustrating their taunting shows are, it is key that you do not respond to them and start readjusting your game plan.
The information they give out is usually gold dust to a good player, as it starts to show all the nuances of how these players bluff. From how quickly they tend to make their actions, all the way to the bet sizing, people who show a lot of hands are really asking for trouble in the long term.
Keep stable and focused, ignore the frustration that these moves can bring, and utilise the free information as well as possible when playing.
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