So, while playing poker, either in a casino or in an online poker site, you always have the option to muck your cards, or to show them. Now, who wouldn’t be tempted to show off a monster bluff to the table by flipping those pocket cards over after the player has folded on the flop, or the same if you get quads or a full house, and the person folds on the river. These are all tempting situations in which many of us, including myself, would like to show our cards. But I am here to tell you, that no matter how big that temptation is, always hit the "muck hand" button.

So as you may or may not know, poker is a game which involves skill and determination, but also lots of common sense and self control. Now, there are many factors that can alter you game play, such as playing position, betting patterns, reading players and keeping notes on them. So, if you reveal your hand on the reveal, you are revealing more than just your pocket cards. You reveal:

  • a) What hands you play pre flop and how you play them.
  • b) How you play on the flop.
  • c) How you play on the turn.
  • d) How you play on the river.

So I am trying to get across that revealing your cards reveals how you play. Let’s take an example. Player A will have 5-6, and we will not know what Player B has, so both call pre flop smooth, and the flop comes K-10-5 with 2 hearts. Player B will bet 3x the pot, player A will call with his pair of 5's. The turn is a 2 of clubs, making it K-10-5-2, with 2 hearts. Player A bets 2x the pot, player B calls again with his pair of 5's. The river is a 9 of hearts, thus making the board K-10-5-2-9, with 3 hearts. Player B goes all in, and Player A folds, only to see Player B revealing his J-6 of hearts, making him a flush.

Now, most sites offer the option to view the last hand, and it is amazing at all the details it will give you about it. For starters, we now know that Player B will be playing extremely loose pre flop, calling with his J-6 of hearts. We also know that we can expect him to be semi bluffing, as in betting his flush draws. So what we have collected from Player B showing his hand is that he is a loose pre flop player, and probably does not know a lot about starting hands rankings. We can also pick up that he will be aggressive, so most of the time when we are facing him in the pot we are most likely ahead.

So overall, next time you have the option muck your cards or show them, don think too much….muck! If you show, you will be giving away very valuable information. However, if you’re playing with the guys at a home game, and you river a royal flush, by all means show, as your most likely just playing for a good time. But if you are playing for serious cash or in a poker tournament either online or live and don't want to give away how you play, then simply muck your cards.

TitanPoker.com