In my old home game (low stakes, friendly but competitive) I would occasionally flip over my cards at showdown and say, "I just have trips" or "I just have a flush." It would be an accurate declaration of my hand. And I would flip over my cards rapidly as I spoke.

Well, one player would tilt pretty hard when I made such a statement and was against him at showdown (and had the better hand). I wasn't trying to anger him with my comment. I just wasn't very confident in my holdings/hand and it was sort of an apologetic statement.

I thought this was just an odd and unique interaction between him and me. Well, it happened again earlier this week in a completely different game with another person.

I rivered a small flush on a board that had paired (this was Omaha8). The flop had already made a possible straight. I was chasing and caught. So at showdown, I quickly flipped over my cards and said, "Flush, is it good?"

The other player just LOST IT. He was like, "Of course the flush is good! Why would you ask that? Geez!" And then slammed his cards down on the table. He was tilting for quite a while after that display.

So....

Have any of y'all had a similar experience from either side?

Do you think this is something that should be avoided?

Yes, it's just going to be a problem statement for some.

The bigger problem could be when you're saying it. Did you call and show a flush, or did you get called when the other guy clearly didn't have a boat?

In any event, just saying "Flush." Will go over much better.

"I'm just here to hit the bad beat jackpot/for the drink service/for the free turkey" is my standard line when I'm staring someone down all-in or for a big pot and they start asking questions about what I have. It's definitely tilt inducing.

It was either I called on the river or we both checked it down on the river (I've forgotten). I did not bet out and get called.

Yeah, I usually just turn my cards over or just say what I have AND turn my cards over. But I figured he must have hit something (he is one of the tighter players) and that I wasn't any good.

I think saying "I'm just here for the free turkey" would be especially effective when there is no and never has been a free turkey promotion. Make 'em think a little.

No idea why anyone would care about this or even put any thought into it.

The issue probably isn't that you revealed your hand in a particular way. Say whatever you want to say (within reason, anyway; don't be a bully). People should be grown-ups enough to deal with it, and if they're not, **** 'em.

The issue is probably that your whiny opponent was upset that he lost and wasn't mature enough to just roll with it. He probably would've overreacted in some way to anything you'd said. You just gave him a specific question to answer. Let him tilt. It's his problem.

If the OP coughed, the guy would have gone on tilt. Nothing you can do.

You mean to tell us that an Omaha8 player overreacted over an innocuous comment?

Fwiw, saying "just" when the flush is basically the nuts, is a dick thing to say. I don't like it when people say it even if the board is paired once. Saying flush, is fine and good. Better is just turning it over and letting the cards speak!

Now if you say just a flush when there are trips on board, that's different.

On my 2nd trip to The Vic (3rd or 4th live cash game altogether) and playing £1/£1, I was in seat 3 and had an old guy 2 seats to my right (seat 1) and he had a friend of his in between us, he raises £5 preflop, and I'm the only caller, holding 66.
Board plays out KKx rainbow. He raises £5, I reraise to £15, Figuring he would of bet more if he had a king.
He looks at me and says "Do you have it?[A king]", to which I replied "call me and see...".
After a brief tank, he folds, and flips over AA. When I flip over my sixes, he says something like "you little punk!", and proceeds to complain to his friend in seat 2 several times, who on every occasion discreetly reminds him it was a perfectly fair, legal play.

It comes off as smug.

There's your opponent, hoping his one pair is good, thinking it probably is a lot of the time. Then here you come with a much stronger hand, acting worried if it's any good. To your opponent, your hand is a monster. Your comment sounds like you're rubbing it in. Or even if your opponent knows you're worried about your hand, you're showing him up by demonstrating that you're thinking about the hand more than he is, since he wasn't as worried about his weaker hand.

Just table your hand and state your holdings with confidence.

What do I have? "Just quads."

Only works for vegans.

I'm just here for the free Tofurkey. Now it works for everyone.

I haven't figured out if OP is trying to put these guys on tilt with his comments or if he's sincerely wondering why these guys are getting so upset over an innocent and friendly comment.

If you're intentionally calling your hands out like this, as a means to tilt someone, congratulations, you've apparently succeeded.

Now, if those weren't your intentions and you'd like to become a player who also has ethics at the table, then along with quickly flipping up your hand, why don't you take it one step further and just declare your hand. Don't ask if its any good, don't say "just a flush". Either declare it exactly as what it is or table it and say nothing.

Fwiw: I don't think you are truly grasping what being competitive is all about. What I believe to be true, is that, you're not 100% with your own game as of yet, and, you found this "thing" that seems to tilt certain players in your game, and as a result, you've been sticking with it. Eventually, you might become the guy that no one wants to play with.

Table hand, keep mouth shut, take pot, tip dealer.

Don't ...

Don't ...

Don't announce hand.

People in live games mistakenly muck the best hand often enough that tabling (fast rolling as Tommy Angelo puts it) is +EV in itself. Announcing your hand (regardless of strength) only draws attention to it.

I find it irritating when people declare a hand without turning it over in a spot where I would've never have flat called a better hand, but usually they are just people who don't understand the game and although it may be irritating, it's just better to ignore it and move on cause these players are why I come to the casino.

If you want to go the smug route, add in the doucheroll (douche-peppered slowroll).

"What do you have...? Straight?... Oh... Okay... FLUUUUSH!"

For me personally, saying I have the nuts when I don't, gets them to muck way more often...making it the most +EV play. And LOL at anyone who says there's something wrong with doing this. It's no less classy than sitting there and verbally stating your exact hand.

In a well run poker room, if you don't have the nuts, you may lose the pot.

People get all ****ty and tilted over just about anything in a poker game, never makes any sense to me. Like, you're playing a gambling game, you know you're playing a gambling game, and yet you actually expect to not lose big pots sometimes? **** happens, get over it. There was only 1 time I ever got mad at a poker game, and it was because the host was making up rules on the fly in the middle of the hand, so I just took my money and left.

To be honest I only know of one casino that has ever run a free turkey promotion(it was sick, me and a bunch of other grinders all went and got free birds we ate turkey for like 2 weeks had like 5 thanksgivings) but I've said the same thing at like 3 other casinos. It's definitely +EV when someone not in the hand starts asking questions about the turkey or the dealer calls over the floor to ask about the free turkey promotion when theres still someone left to act on your bet.

Don't ever say "I just have x." It's actually a mini-slow roll. In that short moment when you say--I just have--your opponent may think he is actually good. His hopes are then dashed when the word flush comes. Don't do this to people. It's totally lame and also pisses people off when they think it should be obvious that a flush is good 90% of the time in a particular spot.

As far as not announcing the hand. That can be a little D-baggery as well. If you have a straight then announce it, you don't need to say how big the straight is but let them muck without having to examine your hand first. It is a little annoying when someone tables a hand, you have one pair, and have to sit there and hope for a second that your hand might beat a bluff.

In general if you have the winning hand make sure do not instill any false hope in the villian--even for a second--this is what they are reacting to and may not even realize it.

I believe I accidentally tilted a guy last week at the Venetian by announcing my hand in what he perceived was in a more inquisitive way when I had essentially the nuts the way the hand played out.

I was the 1 seat and he was the 10 seat with a larger dealer in between and I could not see him at all. Board was something like 7 9 3 J 2 and I had 99. I bet on the river and the dealer announced that he called, but I could not see if he turned over his cards so I said "I have a set of 9s" as I just table my hand in front of me and did not think that he would be able to see it.

I always keep my hand in front of me as I do not want to have it accidentally mucked when the dealer misreads the board or to have my cards accidentally flipped and go into the muck face down when trying to throw them to the middle of the table to show them.