Thinking out loud

[gjpure]

Over the memorial day weekend I was in Vegas @ the Mirage playing 2/5 NL. I raise UTG with KhKd and get one OOP caller. Flop comes Q high with two diamonds. Villian checks, I bet, he calls. Turn is a small diamond. He checks, I check. River is 4th small diamond. He checks, I bet $100 (into about a $250+ pot) and he raises another $150 on top.

So I am trying to figure out if he really has the Ad here or is he is just trying to represent it. In an attempt to figure out if I am good here, I start talking to him. I might have even showed him my hand to see his reaction. I say something like "do you really have the Ad?" "If you had the flush why didn't you bet the turn or river?" Especially the river? All the while I intend on calling, I am just hoping to pick up a tell and get a feel for what he looks like when he is weak or strong.

Now it turns out that I call, and he made some kind of straight and I win the pot.

After I rake in a nice pot, this older guy who was sitting next to me decides to give me his 2 cents. He says I should basically not think out loud, that better players will then know how I think and use it against me. On one hand I respected his advice since he appeared like someone who took poker seriously, but at the same time I asked him about people like Daniel Negraneau who I constantly see talking out loud in an attempt to figure his opponent out. That seems to be is style and it works effectively. The guy told me thats just something the pros do on TV.

Well maybe he is right, and maybe he isn't, but it gave me something to think about. My personality is that I am a talker. I like to try to use that to my advantage. Perhaps at times I say too much, but I have learned over the years when to shut up and when to speak. Against a more experienced opponent I know that asking him questions or showing my cards wouldnt do me any good. So I don't bother. But at many times, I have made a sick call because I have got my opponent to say something or react to what I was saying. I have picked off many river bluffs this way.

So what does everyone think of talking out loud and showing cards heads up? How many of you use it? Do you think the old man was right? Or was he out of line?