So first off, I think the mantra of "never show" on here is almost certainly a good strategy, and early on playing poker, I showed a massive laydown, which was monumentally dumb.

The caveat I'll also give is that I generally play low stakes, so my enjoyment comes from more than just winning.

With that said, here's when I do show.

1) Quads or Better. I feel (almost certainly incorrectly) that this is the right thing to do. It's also my line when someone asks "Will you show if I fold", to which I reply, "I only show Quads or better". I think most players will show a royal flush, and often a straight flush.
2) When everyone is doing it: I play a few games with good friends, and if people are showing, I will also from time to time, just to keep in the spirit, and not being a party pooper. This is similar to straddling when everyone else is doing it.
3) Reciprocity : If someone shows me, say, a big pair after I fold on the flop, I will sometimes return the gesture if the opportunity arises
4) Last Hand : If I'm on my last hand for the evening, playing with strangers, and the opportunity arises, say in a heads up pot where I fold, I'll usually show.
5) First Hand : If I get a monster on my first hand, that I've played agressively, I'll often show.


What about others? And do any of you ever find it winning?

If showing will put a player on tilt.

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Does it work often? I've tried it a couple of times, and never saw any results.

I try my best to literally never show if I don't have to. The less information / confirmation / etc. opponents have on us the better, imo.

The once-in-a-blue-moon I do break this rule is typically just in funny spots which will generate a lol.

GcluelessshowingnoobG

The only quantifiable value in showing is social ev, which could potentially in turn have an impact on $ ev. Tilt ev or whatever other value you might think you’re getting from showing is likely neutral and/or just impossible to measure and a waste of time and energy.

Usually for laughs in a home game at 25 cent/50 cent blinds and $40 buying. Heavy drinking is a requirement.

I did one time at a poker room where I was dealt AA twice, KK once, AK twice and QQ once over 6 hands. The last three hands, everyone just folded when I raised and I showed. Everyone just laughed. Of course for the rest of the evening, everyone folded when I raised pf.

I'll usually show if someone asks me to. Particularly a rec. I want them to have fun and I want to have fun.

I'll also show in some spots where I'm not giving up any info. You can have the info that I 3 bet aces or kings. Or that I called and lost with a good hand that almost anyone would call with.

It makes the game more fun and feel less formal. It makes me look like I'm more of a rec. There aren't that many spots where the info I reveal is useful imo. Many players will just forget it 3 seconds later. Others might not interpret it correctly. Even a really sharp player likely wouldn't have the chance to exploit me in the 100-150 hands I'll be around and I don't see the same players all that often.

I only play 1-3 times per month and that's divided between 2 states with huge pools. If I played the same people all the time, I'd be more cautious.

I'll often show quads, SFs, etc. For one thing, as an occasional player, there might be a promo I don't know about. However, I do occasionally not show a hand 95% of people show, because I don't want to be in that mindset. I don't want to really care about making a SF. I don't want to care, or to want sympathy if I had KK vs AA, or took a bad beat for the ages. So sometimes I will show for fun and to play along, but I want to make sure that in reality it's NBD and I'm capable of mucking the hand and moving on without much emotion.

Speaking as someone whose primary income this year had been poker and who quit their day job in August, I tend to show my hands to recreational players who are action players who I want to give me action and who I want to perceive me as fun and nice. The best games I play in are semi-private, and people don't have to let me play, or they can choose not to play with me. It is tilting enough for them to be playing vs a, "tight," pro. But then to be the guy that never shows their cards? It might not count for much, but it is something.

Also, sometimes to show the table that I am bluffing and playing loose for similar reasons.

showing winners in big pots only makes people play better, even fish. The last thing you want is to gain a rep of "the guy who always has it". You'll never get paid off again. Now if you're the type of player with a huge redline then showing some mediocre TP type hands is probably ok.

If you "never get paid" it is a simple game to mint money as your bluffs always work. I'd love to get that reputation.

The biggest of the fundamental poker mistakes is folding when you should have called. If people do this to your bets often you can make more money, and with lower variance.

This is a very dubious statement. I can think of variations of it that I _don't_ disagree with a _lot_, like: putting a bunch of money in the pot over the first three betting rounds and then folding the river to a big bet is going to be a big mistake if you do it frequently. Or even if everyone is playing very tight you can open absurd ranges from every position and be aggressive to win a lot of small pots.


At this point I'd say everything is about ranges, so you can't just say call more/less or raise more/less is a "fundamental" problem.

But if I tried to break it down to that kind of level, then "lol, call more rivers" is going to be significantly behind "lol, fold more rivers" at low stakes. Also I've shown myself folding big hands a decent amount at low stakes, and before 2-5 basically nobody adjusts and even at 2-5 it's not very common (although might happen more often if you spend a lot more hours with the same people).

100% of the time when it's folded to me in the BB.

I'm pretty sure I'm not giving away too much information

Oh yeah, I forgot that one. I do that too.

My primary play is in a free bar poker league which has a Monte Carlo for quads or better, so then of course I show.

There was a situation last week that I showed just as a fun thing. On the last hand before break, dealer said something to the effect of "just get aces right before break."

Ta da! After a postflop bet/fold by the only caller, turned them over, saying, "see, at least I listened!"

Even in the "real" (i.e., low-limit cash) games I play, I don't show much. Once in a while when I think someone's made a nice play on me. "Congratulations, well played!" (thinking: maybe I need to increase my call frequency a bit against that player).

If your bluffs always work then you arent bluffing enough

Perhaps at hihher stakes, but at 1/2 relentlessly betting of value hands against calling stations is your bread and butter.