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 he Guardian Poker Column |
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| Victoria
Coren |
| Tues 13 Sep 2011 |
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If you don't have to show your hand,
don't
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There's a
fashion to show your cards after a pot. But why give opponents free
information?
If nobody
calls your final bet, in a poker game, you don't have to show your hand. That's
unless you're a sucker for peer pressure. Opponents will often shout "Show the
bluff!", or ask "Will you show if I fold?" There's a popular new trend where
everyone at the table agrees in advance that anybody winning without a showdown
will flip one card over anyway. People enjoy choosing the card they think will
mislead opponents, usually the one that might mean they were bluffing.
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This fashion has even spread to the
internet. It was always possible to click-show your cards voluntarily after a
pot; it's now possible to show just one of them, including when you fold.
Players seem to find this feature irresistible. Well, resist it.
Listen
to Auntie Victoria: never, ever give free information. Load of egocentric
nonsense, if you ask me. Remember the wise words of The Man in The Cincinnati
Kid: "You only paid the looking price. Lessons are extra." These jokers haven't
even paid the looking price!
There are only two possibilities. One: you
are the greatest poker player in the world. If so, you needn't bother reading
my columns. Two: you are not the greatest poker player in the world. That means
some opponents are better than you at spotting patterns, using position,
judging odds, sizing bets, or all of the above. They are also better at working
out what one card means. The "misleading" card you choose to show is, to them,
hugely informative. It's a whole new world of tells; free ammunition for the
crafty opponent.
Do not reveal your cards voluntarily, even just one of
them, unless you're quite sure you are the best player at the table. Otherwise,
if people want information about your hand, make them pay for it.
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