To Muck Or Not To Muck?
By By Marc "Muck" Weinberg, Sat Dec 10th

After a hand is completed in online you'll never find meshowing my cards, win or lose, to the rest of the table. Ialways muck. In fact my settings are pre-selected to "alwaysmuck". You pay to see my cards, and if I've lost a hand onlinethere can be no reason to show my beaten hand. But now I askmyself if this is the best strategy? Because there are times inpoker when it pays to show. That's certainly true in live-gamepoker, but what about the online variety, which is a verydifferent animal? Let's look at this in more detail, especiallyas it pertains to online poker.

There are three very good reasons to show your hand when youhave won a pot. The first is to create confusion in the minds ofyour foes. The second is to provide disingenuous information.The third reason is to get under everyone's skin, and hopefullypush some poor rube over the edge and on tilt. An example iswhen you win a hand with a stone bluff. You advertise thoserags. Players are wondering how you could stay in with suchslop, never mind bet, raise, or re-raise. Players might wonderout loud, and even get slightly miffed. All the better.

There are times when you want to show only one of your holecards, something you cannot do on any of the online rooms,at least not to my knowledge (as yet - note to softwaredevelopers: add that functionality, namely "show one hole cardonly". It could be to online what the double-click was tocomputers, and if there are any royalties you know where to findme.) So this is a tactic of misinformation that only works in alive-game, and it can work very well.

Showing your cards can also be a forward-thinking strategy atyour local card room in that it helps to create a table personafor you. Players now think you play very loose based on thatbluff, and next time you come out firing it will be tough forthem to put you on any hand. This is advisable if you're aboutto spend a long session facing a mostly unchanging table.

Now for the cons of showing your cards online. First of all thevalue of a table persona is diminished in online becauseof the incredibly high rate of player turnover. You'readvertising for people who won't be there in five minutes time,let alone five hours time, and who probably are not payingattention in any case. The fact is that in a number of onlinegames the only players who will notice your hand are those stillin the pot. The others have run to the kitchen before the cardsare in the air for the next hand. Showing your cards onlinefrequently looks like inexperience and nothing more.

I think a good player gains a lot by seeing other player's cardsat the conclusion of a hand, and my advice to rookies or evenintermediate online

players is to never show unless you arecompelled. The good players already have an edge over you - whygive them an even bigger advantage? There is no greater sign ofweakness then when a beaten player still feels the urge to showthe table his second-best hand. Your K9 outkicked by a KA? Don'tshow me that in the misguided hope that I'll feel sympathy foryour plight. All I'll feel is delight that you handed me aglaring weakness in your game, and the next time you play with aweak kicker like that pathetic 9 I'll be right there to pick upthe pieces.

About the author:Marc offers his general musings about Online Poker athttp://www.online-poker-insider.com.