I have searched the threads diligently on this issue and, although I have found some loosely analogous situations, I still would like the many bright minds that post in B&M regularly to give me their perspectives.

I am going to Atlantic City sometime in the next month or so to play in cash games and maybe a daily tournament. Because my budget isn't all that big and I'm not a great player, I'll be sticking to 1/2 NLHE and 2/4 or 3/6 LHE. I have played all these games before live in Atlantic City.

The point of this post is that time and time again, a huge pet peeve of mine rears its ugly head on a regular basis at these games, more at LHE than at NLHE. That pet peeve arises in the situation where villain bets the river and I call. Then, villain decides he is going to take his sweet-a$$ time showing me his hand or, worse yet, is going to wait for me to show first so he knows that his bluff or questionable hand is no good before mucking.

My approach in the past generally has been to show my hand and not put up too much of a fuss. However, I have become increasingly annoyed with this particular flavor of angle shooting so much that I now want to hear your advice on what might be the best way to stop it.

I have considered the following options:

(1) The first time it happens, tell the other player he must show or muck immediately upon being called. If he continues to delay that first time, call the floor.

(2) The first time it happens, show my hand without delay and tell him that the next time he delays when I call, I will call the floor. Second time, call the floor.

(3) Every time it happens, including the first time, ask the dealer to show villain's cards and tell villain why I am asking to see his cards.

Obviously I'm probably making a bigger deal out of this than it is, but I find it simply unacceptable because:

• it slows down the game,
• annoys the dealers,
• annoys the other players,
• and I end up looking like a bad guy for wanting the game to be played properly when the two of us are just sitting there at the showdown without showing.

All thoughts on which of the above approaches or other approaches you might use would be much appreciated.

When this comes up I often say "Wow, I made a real loose call there. What do you have?"

It makes it sound like you want to gamble and it normally gets them to show their hand.

Of course, if it was a complete bluff, they still may not show. In which case you know it was a bluff, you show your hand, and collect the pot.

First time, I turn my hand over and then say "I paid to see yours" and that generally works. If they muck even after I say that, next time I say "I called you - what you got?" and don't turn over until they do. This is indeed annoying but I haven't come up with any way to deal with it effectively. If others at the table appear peeved, I ask them "don't you want to see his hand too?" and they generally agree and unless they are idiots, realize that the slow showdown is the real culprit.

"I called you"

You are making a big deal out of nothing, especially at these limits.

However, I think if you want to get your point across in the least offensive way possible then just wait. The other player must show first (assuming he doesn't just fold). If after 5-10 seconds, which is an eternity, the dealer hasn't instructed your opponent to show his hand then I would ask the dealer why said player hasn't acted yet. If the dealer vaguely instructs "players" to turn up their hands then still wait, as it is still on your opponent to show first.

Keep in mind that most players at these levels are just trying to have some fun and are not the most experienced group. IF you come across as the table jerk you're going to scare away all the easy money.

Tell them:

I called, now show me what you got.

Ace high! (without flipping your cards over)

Nothing bothers me more than two people waiting until the other turns over their cards... How you handle it is up to you, but realize you are wasting everyone's time.

Kaka's suggestion was good - there is no need for you to threaten to call the floor over.

ps: you are spot on by the way - you do end up looking like the bad guy, so don't sweat the small stuff.

The dealer should control this, no need to call the floor. I usually just make the comment "I called you" and then look at the dealer to interject. I have seen the same thing and I usually just wait for him to turn his cards over, if it takes a few seconds, that doesn't bother me. If I call someone down they are either showing their cards or mucking them, period.

In an extreme case I would suggest speaking with the floor away from the table and ask if maybe they can get the player to speed up his play, or maybe explain that if he is leading the betting then he is the first one that needs to table his hand.

On a side note... If you let little things like this get to you while playing, you will become a miserable player if you continue to play. No sense letting something petty like this get you worked up and knock you off your game, just my .02....

What about just staring at them (1-2 minutes) until they flip over their hand? I like those 20 second silent stare down sessions--the longer the better. Esp. when there is a time charge.

This is what I use. However, if villain makes some kind of effort to tell me my hand is probably good by virtue of the fact I called (i.e. says "good call", "I missed", picks up his cards and gets in the "ready to fire them into the muck" position, etc.) then I'll turn my hand over. If villain communicates to you in some form that he was bluffing and you have the best hand, it's generally poor etiquette to make him show it anyway, imo.

However, if he just sits there with some dumb look on his face without making that kind of indication, I'll say "I called you" and wait for him to show.

As annoying as the delaying tactic can be, most of the time I just show my hand. I'm more interested in the pot and in moving the game along. (Moreover, I don't EVER want to be accused of slowrolling.) If for some reason I'm particularly annoyed at someone, I'll just say "I called you." This will usually prompt the dealer to ask the player to show his hand.

Just say, "Your sister likes to show me what she's got, so why don't you?"

This is a leak in your game. TABLE YOUR HAND.

Repeat after me: "I cannot control others; I can only control myself."

By allowing this to be a pet peeve, you are handing over control of your emotions to somebody else. Only you are capable of doing this. It cannot be taken by force (at least not at a poker table).

Also consider this... you play 2/4 and 3/6. That's cool, that's all I'm bankrolled for, too. But I've watched a hell of a lot of 15/30 and 30/60. Maybe my room is unique, but I can barely remember any of these showdown faceoffs. The cards aren't a deep dark secret, and someone who is calling feels s/he has positive expectation in the hand (otherwise why call?). S/he isn't ashamed of the play and so tables it, even if it's not the "proper" order.

If you really can't discern the villain's range of hands if it can't beat whatever you've tabled, then simply tell the dealer, "I want to see that hand."

It's all about keeping control of yourself and not attempting to control anybody else. You'll be happier for it, in poker and in life.

One more thing, just general showdown tip...

State your hand. Either your hole cards, or, better, how they relate to the board. "I have a straight." or whatever. Even if you're the caller. This speeds things up tremendously.

Once again, to those who are so hung up on the "proper" order... YOU are the person holding up the game. It takes two to tango. The other person may also be holding it up, but by playing that "no YOU show first" game, you're culpable. Table your hand, then it's ALL on the other person.

Absolutely wrong! Do NOT table your hand if you called their bet. You are making it easier psychologically for people to bluff you. I would just say "I call, what have you got?" to get them to show in a non-aggressive way.

If I am very sure I have the best hand from dynamics etc., I just table it. If I am the least bit uncertain, I just say "show your hand". I've done this several times, and they always immediately (but sheepishly) turn it over.

not sure why there are so many elaborate answers to this. it's so common in low limit games.

all i do is say "open up" to let him know i would like him to table his hand. if he doesn't after a couple seconds, i'll just open up my hand. this usually results in a muck from villain anyway.

now, if it's someone who i really want to gain information on or someone i may not like too much at the table, i'll say "open up" to the borrower and keep my hand face down until i see his hand. normally the dealer takes control of the action to force last aggressor to turn up his hand.

In no-limit with high stakes this is a much more serious issue.

In a 5-5-10 (20 to go) no-limit game about 18 months ago at Artichoke Joes, I raised somewhere with J9 and only this annoying loud gruff aggressive middle-eastern regular guy (pro?) called in the blind position. The flop came J52 rainbow, he checked, and I checked back to trap him. Turn is a blank, and he bet the pot, and I called. River is a Q, and he bet the pot again. I thought for about 15 seconds and called again.

Then he just sat there and said "A-high" without actually mucking his cards. "I got nothing." After about 7 seconds he still isn't releasing his hand. Finally, I table my hand and then he mucked.

I regretted not making him show or muck because the information is so crucial, and there are a bunch of regulars and pros who were playing that game. To this day I regret not forcing him to show or muck.

Garland

Not sure of your point. I employ strategy precisely to entice opponents into “attempted” bluffs against me. Why would you want to embarrass them into tighter play?

As stated by pfapfap….why call if you don’t have positive expectations?
Show your cards and move the game along. I you feel you’ve divulged “secret” information, incorporate it into your play and use it against your opponents.

In a small stakes game, I suggest taking the middle road against most players. After you call, wait one or two seconds to see if the aggressor shows his hand. If he doesn't show, announce your hand - e.g., "pair of threes" or "flush" -- or announce the hand you can beat that you think he might have: "I can beat Ace high."

At a small stakes table, this is typically enough for the opponent to say "You're good" or table their hand. If he indicates that you are good, table your hand and take the pot. If you table and he is lying or he is clearly an angle shooter, never do it again and wait for him to table each time.

IMHO, it really is not worth making an issue of this at a 2/4 or 4/8 game with your typical tourists... keep everyone smiling... you really don't get enough information from seeing the loser's hand and the loser is not good enough to take advantage of knowing your hand.

In almost all cases the player I have called will say "I have nothing" or "I missed" or "A high" or "low pair" in an attempt to not show their hand. I have no problem with showing my hand immediately in these cases when I am ahead because they will have what they say they have 100% of the time. And I don't need to see what kind of garbage they were bluffing with or started with because I have enough info already and I don't want everybody at the table to think it matters to me even if it does... And of course I will be tabling my hand anyway for the win. Note too that in the off chance they misread their hand and are ahead I won't be helping them beat me.

However. There are several players, usually regulars who abuse this and either say nothing with losing hands or actually have a hand and are trying to get me to show first to gain info.

To those who say nothing, who I don't like in the first place, I will say "show your hand or muck it". I like "I called you" better so I may start using that. I do this to piss them off and to show them they can't run over me. If I don't stand up to them - then I will be affected by it because I will feel dominated, taken advantage of, controlled, disrespected, take your pick.

There is one regular, who I like, who induced me to show a hand because he took enough time that I was sure I was good. At which point he slammed down the winner. That will never happen again with him. I told him immediately that what he did was f*cked up and he knows better than that (which he sheepishly admitted). And I will never show my hand until he shows his. I don't care what he declares verbally. He lost the priviledge not to embarass himself. And if he mucks so much the better. He won't see my hand either.

There is no need to call the Floor. Dealers know the rules and will enforce them eventually. It is in their interest to keep the game moving.

If I can put him on a close range I'll typically just flip when I'm calling to keep game moving (mostly regulars in this game), or if it's one of those weird multi-way rivers then I'll just flip to get the mucking/showing going.

Sometimes, though, if I know the player is capable of stalling showdown or slowrolling I'll just say "I'll pay to see it" when calling so there's no doubt I want him to show first. They'll either show or( less often) insta-muck.

But I definitely don't wanna be a show-nit against the habitual river-bluffers, I'll just call and flip every time.

We have a winner.

At this point the dealer should be telling him "you've been called, show it or muck it".

My approach is to simply turn up my cards. I really don't care if they what I had, and I especially hope that I never find out what they had.