Turning Over The Cards
When playing poker, both cash and tournament play, knowing when to turn over your cards to show your opponents your holdings can be very advantageous. The whole point of turning over one or both of the cards is to establish or setup an image. This image is normally either tight or loose play and then exploit the image by playing the opposite.
Tournament Play
If it is early on in the tournament, establishing a tight image will allow you to take down little pots and accumulate chips. Since all the opponents are still deep stacked, there will not be much heavy betting unless somebody has pocket aces or the absolute nuts. If in late position and you happen to hit the board with top pair and everybody folds to you, it is good play to turn over your cards to show that you are not bluffing. Earning the respect of a tight table will lead to a lot of free chips in the mid stages of a tournament.
Coming into the mid stages of the tournament, when you being to start loosening up, the fact that everybody thinks you play tight means you have to play the opposite and use your position to steal the pot. Now it may not be a good time to show your cards. However if you have the luxury of being chip leader, showing a bluff and then tightening up will lead to frustrated players playing back at you when you have made hands.
Cash Game Play
With deep stacked cash game play, you need to again establish the tight of pattern you want to be perceived to be playing and then play the opposite. Frustrated players may want to bluff against you more, whilst tight players might give you more respect than you deserve.
Turning over your cards at the correct time adds and extra element to your poker player. Work it slowly in to your play and watch it confuse your opponents.
