Question: Is there ever a time to show your hand if you don't have to? Does being a lady at the table factor into your decision to "show the bluff"

I went to play last Sunday at MGM ($1/2 NL). I forgot to eat before I left the house (too excited!).

Sat down UTG next to a big stack in BB. First hand I looked down at AK. I hadn't gotten my poker nest made yet. No chips, needed my eyeglasses, lip gloss, headphones, etc so I just limped from UTG. Table folds to BB who raises $10. I call and we go to flop of 672. I check, BB bets $15. I don't believe him. I call hoping to float turn or catch an over card.

Turn comes 2 and we both check.
River comes J I bet $30.

BB thinks for 30 seconds or so and says "Your hand was shaking when you bet. I know you got it sweetie. I'm not going to call you. I know you have the ace." and he folds. The he asks..."Did you have it?" My canned response to this question is always "A lady never Tells".

I pull pot and I was thinking "was my hand really shaking when I bluffed river?". I usually don't shake until after I'm stacking chips. Then I looked at my hands.

Yep...shaking...Not cause of the bluff, but because of the fact that I didn't eat and my sugars were running really low (it happens to me). I didn't show my hand and let him think I had the A.

It was hard to get action from him for the rest of the session.

Should I have shown?

No. You really don't want people to know your capability or what you have in your arsenal.

+1 Mirrion!

I would coyly hint that I had it and use it as an excuse to become laggier.

Generally giving any extra info is -ev. However, I sometimes will prove that I'm capable of a bluff because my image is almost always tight/nitty (in cash play), so if I think I need to generate more action I'll show down a bluff or two if I think my image is TOO tight.

Tournament my image is very different so there's pretty much no reason for me ever to show, IMO, although sometimes I will because I can't help myself.

While I agree in general with the concept of don't ever show anything, there are situations where you can use showing to manipulate your table image. It's picking your spots carefully.

Usually I have a fairly tight image and will show a lot of my big hands to reinforce that, even though I'm actually bluffing a fair percentage of the time. For some reason people seem to overestimate how much of a nit I am and I don't want to change that.

This is especially true if I've dragged a few uncontested pots in a row. If I can show a big pair to make it look like I'm on a rush instead of just stealing everything I can get away with, it slows players down from looking me up.

If I show some junk, it's usually because I've already decided its time to switch gears and tighten up. Change my table image to a bit looser when I know I'm only going to be playing good hands for a while.

This is against run of the mill donks, I adjust to level 2 or 3 thinking when I believe thats where the opponents are at. It's all about keeping them guessing.

The shaking hand tell is a classic, btw. If you can do it on cue, you can bluff some observant opponents.

Shauna

i agree...hell no...don't tell....especially because it's your first hand...later after playing a while, after you have set up your image, maybe yes....but if you are doing it right from the get go it hurts later when you really want to do it.

just my thoughts

I have the exact same false tell, my hands are just naturally shaky as hell and get commented on all the time, I'll be pissed when it gets someone to call a bluff because of my "nervous shaking".

Usually it works like it did in your scenario though and they tell me I must have a monster, I'm generally aware of it now that I'm careful to consciously try not to shake when playing.

Oh thrasher...I'm just the opposite. I would love to be able to have shakey hands when I want them and smooth as silk when I don't. Imagine how much we could all steal if we could control the shakes. It would be a blast!

I just try to take deep breaths and be as relaxed as I can if I notice my hands getting really shaky, though this usually doens't help completely and they still shake. My hands are never smooth as silk but moving my chips into the pot quickly and keeping them placed on the felt while thinking keeps them from appearing super shaky.

Obviously if some player at the table has commented on my shaky hands as being a good hand then I'll let them shake all over the place when I throw out a second barrel but generally I try to just be calm and eat some food to get my blood sugar stable lol

A gentleman never tells, either. You want to think about why you want to show a hand. At least at LLSNL cash play (2/5 or lower) your problem isn't getting people to call, it is to get them to fold. I don't care what you do, if someone has Q high on a flop, they just aren't going to look you up no matter how many times you showed a bluff.

No need to show - but I think he would of called if he had a club.

I have a tendency to shake in big hands as well (bluffing or monster), and I actually don't try to control it because I do it in both situations. It's just from the adrenaline rush.

I've had people fold and comment they "knew" I had a monster because my hands were shaking (IDK who you are playing against, shaking hands are almost always supposed to indicate extreme strength, not a bluff) and I just smile. When I actually have had a monster and get called, I'll call attention to my shaking hands since I can use it to bluff as well.

For me it's purely an adrenaline response and apparently I get just as excited trying to pull off a bluff as I do when I'm holding the nuts.

This !
My hands are shaking too when playing big pots, no matter if I have the nuts or pure air. Lately I am really trying to work on my body language, and I havent gotten any comments on my hands, or any other part of my body, since. At first it took a great amount of focus to really controll my body, now its just routine.
As for showing a hand: I usually never show a hand if I dont have to, only if its a straight flush / royal flush. I rarely ever show a bluff. Usually only if my opponent has talked trash about me a lot on a table (happens more often than you would think, although I acutally never talk when playing), just to tilt them a little bit.
Online I have Never Show Winning Hand or whatever the option is called activated.

Just my opinion on that, although I am Gentleman - so what do i know

interesting. I actually have what are called "inessential hand tremors," ie my hands shake constantly. I actually take medication to control it because of live poker lol. I just prefer to actually be able to control what "tells" I give off.

As for showing hands, I sometimes show big hands because people tend to think I am always bluffing lol. But mostly I never show.

If your hands are shaking all the time, it's not a tell.

I shake my leg constantly while I play, so it means nothing. After someone pointed it out, I'm not careful to not shake my leg, I'm careful not to stop shaking it while I'm in big pots.