Showing my hand the correct play?

[domer2]

*This seemed like the best place to ask this, and I don't really post here much...so if it's not the right forum, delete it.

Just got back from Vegas and this happened on night 1, so I'll try and recollect as best as possible. But it dawned on me immediately after the play that showing my hand perhaps would've been the correct move.

1/2 NL; I have ~$400. I have A7 and the BB, there's like 3 other people in the pot all calling for $2 (so a whopping $8 pot). Flop comes A K 7 rainbow, SB checks, I check, 3rd guy throws out $10. He's been at the table for about an hour and he is a borderline horrible player who makes really obvious plays. Button folds, SB folds, so I raise to $30 to not let him chase/catch/whatever for free. He immediately re-raises to $90 (has around $500 in additional chips) and at this point I know he has a very good hand because this guy probably bluffs about as often as Haley's comet comes around. I stupidly convinced myself that he would've at least raised a tiny bit pre-flop if he had AK and he probably would've just checked if he had trips, so I put him on K7 or AQ and just went all-in. He flips over AK and I lose. Horrible move on my part to go all-in, but sh-t happens.

Now I'm thinking afterwards as I'm rebuying that perhaps a better move, given that the player is not at all sophisticated, is to turn over my cards, then raise to $200. If he calls or re-raises I know I'm lost and if he folds, well he probably would've folded had I gone all-in anyway and not shown. Obviously this'd only work against a very risk-averse player and I'm not suggesting that it's the right move given the cards....just the possible right move given the cards AND given the player.

Thoughts?

[canvasbck]

Showing your cards with action pending is begging someone to make a move on you. You said yourself that you would fold to a push after exposing your cards. It is almost never good to give villain information without getting information. In this instance, he can easily put you in a difficult position.

[GSykes]

[ QUOTE ]
Showing your cards with action pending is begging someone to make a move on you. You said yourself that you would fold to a push after exposing your cards. It is almost never good to give villain information without getting information. In this instance, he can easily put you in a difficult position for all of your chips and that is the key to unlimited Texas hold them.

[/ QUOTE ]

[5_year_old_bully]

This comment is not intended to be mean but it might hurt your feelings and for that I am sorry.

<font color="red">DROP DOWN IN STAKES IMMEDIATELY</font>

Every play that you made and every though that you had before during and after this hand is wrong.

You are an absolutely horrible player. In fact, you should quit playing for a few months and only study and read the forums and reply to peoples hands.

There is a term for when people like you have winning sessions: Variance.

Honestly, this is meant to be constructive advice. I have nothing to gain by being mean to you. I am just trying to help, sorry if this sounds harsh.

Maybe you should repost this in the strategy forum but prepare to be told that you got it all wrong

[TexRef]

[ QUOTE ]
He immediately re-raises to $90 (has around $500 in additional chips) and at this point I know he has a very good hand because this guy probably bluffs about as often as Haley's comet comes around.

[/ QUOTE ]

Insta-fold here. Trust your reads.

[chillrob]

[ QUOTE ]
This comment is not intended to be mean but it might hurt your feelings and for that I am sorry.

<font color="red">DROP DOWN IN STAKES IMMEDIATELY</font>

Every play that you made and every though that you had before during and after this hand is wrong.

You are an absolutely horrible player. In fact, you should quit playing for a few months and only study and read the forums and reply to peoples hands.

There is a term for when people like you have winning sessions: Variance.

Honestly, this is meant to be constructive advice. I have nothing to gain by being mean to you. I am just trying to help, sorry if this sounds harsh.

Maybe you should repost this in the strategy forum but prepare to be told that you got it all wrong

[/ QUOTE ]

This may be good advice if it were possible, but he is unlikely to find a smaller stakes live NL Holdem game than $1/$2 - do smaller games even exist? Well, I guess I have heard of smaller home games, but not in a casino.

Rob

[domer2]

canvas, I am not sure you read my question though...it's not about showing cards in general against a generic opponent. It's about pinpointing a person's playing style and using it against them. It's giving them the impression that they are making a move on you when in reality you have a pretty good idea of what that move will be. There are three things that could go wrong in the picture. He could come over the top with a lesser hand and I'd fold to it, he'd simply call and make me pay to see a greater hand, or I would decrease my possible winnings from the hand by letting him fold a lesser hand. But see, in observing him for the previous hour, he is risk-averse to such an extent that I think the play would work because I think there is close to a 0% chance he would call/raise with a lesser hand. Would he completely change his style (and in so doing probably reveal it anyway) to try to pull one over on me?

And since the scenario is extremely unlikely to repeat itself, I'm not really revealing any information to the other players at the table in doing the move.

I did a similar play a couple nights later and showed my two pair with the river still to come to a huge bet from a heads up opponent. I not only got a read that this guy was pleased to see what I had but after I spent time pretending to think about it, the opponent flipped over his trips and told me straight up he didn't want me to call and catch a card. In that case I got a read that this guy was about as risk-averse as humanly possible...and boink, he was. So I think if used with excellent knowledge of the opponent, it can be beneficial. Stupid people tend to do stupid things, why not just give them the opportunity to do it?

5yob, thanks for the pro tip, but I think I'll survive man. 1/2 is the lowest stakes that I play, actually. If you're interested in just how much luck/variance I've encountered, send me a PM and I'll shoot you over my 1040 from the past 2 years.

TexRef: Yeah I was literally about to muck and then I way overthought it. Probably the dumbest play I made on the trip, hence the fact that I'm still thinking about it. I freely stated it was a horrible play [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[canvasbck]

[ QUOTE ]
canvas, I am not sure you read my question though...it's not about showing cards in general against a generic opponent. It's about pinpointing a person's playing style and using it against them. It's giving them the impression that they are making a move on you when in reality you have a pretty good idea of what that move will be. There are three things that could go wrong in the picture. He could come over the top with a lesser hand and I'd fold to it , he'd simply call and make me pay to see a greater hand, or I would decrease my possible winnings from the hand by letting him fold a lesser hand. But see, in observing him for the previous hour, he is risk-averse to such an extent that I think the play would work because I think there is close to a 0% chance he would call/raise with a lesser hand. Would he completely change his style (and in so doing probably reveal it anyway) to try to pull one over on me?



[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, this is exactly what I meant. A player with AQ now knows that the best way to win this hand would be to get you to lay down your winning hand. Even if you are 99% sure that villain will continue to play straight forward, that 1% will make you want to kick yourself in the nuts.


Think of it this way, in many 1/2NL games bluffing is -EV because the players in those games will not lay down even marginal holdings. Your profits are made from when you do have the goods and and get called down light. In a game such as this, I would almost never put on a stone cold bluff. If, however, a villain flipped over his cards the way you described, a bluff from me is more likely since I know you would be laying down to pressure from my unknown hand. If you have extensive history with villain like you explained then surely he knows you aren't insane enough to stack off after exposing your hand. Thus making it easy for villain to exploit your style.

[Gonso]

[ QUOTE ]
This comment is not intended to be mean but it might hurt your feelings and for that I am sorry.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes it was, and no you aren't. You posted for no other reason than to try to belittle a guy asking for constructive advice.

Also, if you'd ever been to live casino yourself, you might have noticed that they typically don't offer limits under 1/2NL.

[donkmagic]

why would u show ur cards?