Showing Your Poker Hand

When you are playing online poker should you show other players your winning hand? If you are on a big bluff and pull it off, should you show your cards to everyone else at the table or just put them into the muck? You will get different opinions on this question and we’ll look at both points of view.

The best advice you can get about showing your hand at online poker sites or at local cardrooms is to not do it. Usually there is no advantage to showing your cards to other players. Some players think you can set people up for a future hand, but how often is that helpful? Should you show your hand after winning a big bluff?

Some people want the rest of the table to know they were bluffing with nothing and got a big win. They think this serves a purpose the next time they hold a big hand. The problem with doing this is that you did show your opponents something. You are probably better off keeping your opponents guessing. Let’s say you really do have the cards and want to show everyone what you have. Why do you want to tell people what you had in the hand?

If you show your cards then everyone will know you had the winning hand, but if you muck them, then they are kept guessing. Anytime you can keep your opponents guessing you are better off.

Let’s look at other possible reasons for showing your cards. If you are really trying to annoy people at the table and put them on tilt you might want to show your cards. Sometimes you are going to run into those players that are annoying. They always want to criticize a play or run their mouth. You might just want to show them up a bit and show your cards. It is still best to put you cards in the muck but many times it is just too hard to resist putting the cards in their face.

One of the biggest reasons people muck their cards at the poker table is that it keeps your opponents guessing. You should not want to give your opponents any more information than you have to. If you can keep them guessing as to what you are holding then it is to your advantage. Keep yourself in control and avoid the temptation of showing your cards. You are better off in the long run keeping other players off balance and always wondering what you had.