10 Months ago, when I wrote that, I suggested showing could be a useful tactic in certain situations but that I didn’t think it mattered 99% of the time. The thread started with the question of whether to leave the auto-muck function on or not and why. You can turn it off and still muck every hand if you want. If you leave it on you lose the ability to show, for whatever reason - be it a great bluff, a Royal Flush or just a courtesy show.
So, if we are still on topic and trying to answer whether to auto-muck or not, then I’m still for turning that function off and preserving my option. If the discussion has moved towards whether showing is a good idea or not, then I’ll stick with “it depends”.
Ten months ago and now “not to muck” means to show if you choose, hence we are not off topic. I reiterate my point that it is good to show a bluff. Now the question is whether to do so by losing a few chips, or to show after everybody else mucked.
My feeling is that when you lose in the early position and thus your hand is shown automatically, the bluff is clear to all, and it cannot be interpreted in any other way. Whereas freely showing the bluff after the hand it can be seen as contrived, and thus it may lose its effectiveness.
In the first case the bluffer lost. In the second case the bluffer wins chips and highlights he bluffed. I prefer (operative term “prefer”) to spend the few chips and make my act more believable.
Finally, on the issue of whether or not to auto muck, even though I will at times show, the advice to all is to auto muck and when the decision to bluff is made, spend a portion of your clock to click off auto block.
(Craig, I have read some Harrington, some Sklansky, and a whole lot of Cappelletti. I still will look through Caro, in particular about mucking.)
Showing a muck, is usually part of storytelling… either in vein or in craftyness… its a tool like all others, or can be.
I leave Auto-Muck off, so I can show if I choose… and yes I think choosing to show a muck can be usefull in certain situations.
As with everything in 2017, I can go find 1000 ppl to dispute Caro, and another 1000 to agree with Caro…If you can’t have the discussion on “merrits vs demerrits”, then just agree its a personal opinion and we all are right about this…
Part of this thread was to say, I think, if you leave auto muck off, plz don’t be a weenie and let that timer always run down… muck or show, don’t lagg …
As with everything poker, I think the value of showing is situational. I use auto-muck just because it saves time and clicks and otherwise doesn’t make much difference one way or the other. Against serious opponents, it is a mistake to show (except the oligatory royal flush or similar) because over time it can help them identify your ranges and frequencies. In general on Replay it makes almost no difference, but it can be nice to tweak your table image because players here are so bad at adjusting. If I am playing a ton of hands, I might show a value hand so that players know I am not always bluffing (because they will otherwise assume I am maniac) or in another situation I might show a bluff to tilt someone. I don’t expect a thinking player to be unduly influenced by showing the occasional hand, but I also don’t think most players can take advantage or are even paying attention. So, auto-muck or not, show or not, it doesn’t make much difference.
First and foremost, I’m here to learn, which is why I play on a “free” site and not for cash (yet). I’ve found that by regularly showing my hand in combination with friendly table talk, it induces others to do so as well. That gives us a chance to ask questions about each others’ strategies (“Why did you overbet the pot on the flop?” “My range was very polarized, and with a larger bet I could work in more bluffs.”) and get a better sense of how to improve our own games.
Plus, by showing a healthy mix of both bluffs and value-bets, I end up giving little away. As long as I have a balanced strategy and proper bet size calibrations (major caveats, to be sure), the information I’ve provided about previous hands should have little influence on any given decision my opponent will make in a hand with me. If providing them that information inclines them to show me their own hands, all the better.
Finally, it’s always fun to show a wicked bluff and watch the ensuing meltdown/explosion.
