Quote:
Originally Posted by DalTXColtsFan
Is there any legitimacy to the thought that there's actually value to occasionally showing the nuts to keep bad players at the table and happy?
Yes. Show things that either reveal nothing interesting or things that confirm the image you want to have (loose, bad, whatever).
The reasons people give for not showing are usually kind of paranoid or bad logic at the low stakes.
* "They will have extra information!" -- Sure. But will they do anything useful with it?
* "Make them pay for the information!" -- This *totally* is the type of image you want to project at the table.
* "They'll adjust to your play!" -- At low stakes? It's pretty much not going to happen.
One thing I would do at a tight-passive table (see $10/20 Hold'em at the Mirage in its waning years), is to fold bad hands on the button face up if the blinds chopped. This reinforced the idea that I don't raise from late unless I actually had something, which pegs me as more of a straight-forward player. I also made comments about being lucky/on a rush if I'm raising a lot, and try to show a strong hand (if possible) to "prove" that I'm not just going aggro.
That being said, you don't ever NEED to show anyone anything you're not obligated to show them. If for whatever reason you don't want to do it, then don't do it. But it's not like showing a hand every now and then is a terrible thing to do.