See Mucked Cards and Improve Your Game with PokerTableStats

Remember the old days when if you wanted to see an opponent's mucked cards, you had to open up the hand history file from your table and scroll down to the bottom of the display, all while a new hand was being dealt? What a pain.

Enter PokerTableStats, which allows you to see opponents' mucked cards instantaneously. The information is displayed in a very easy-to-use graphic, which makes figuring out what cards a person had incredibly simple. You won't even have to squint.

It's important to note that the ability to see mucked cards is different than the ability to see folded cards. If an opponent folds his hand without being forced to show, you won't see his cards. This would occur on any street except the river. However, if he is forced to show his cards on the river, but simply mucks, you'll be able to see his hand with Poker Table Stats.

The PokerTableStats team explained the nuance: "Mucked cards functionality reveals the mucked cards of an opponent, but this option does not happen in all cases. When an opponent folds, his cards cannot be viewed. However, when he's involved until the last phase of a hand - showdown, which is after betting on the river - then even if the opponent does not agree to show his cards, PokerTableStats will reveal them." There's nothing you have to do either, as the mucked cards will automatically be visible to you.

Why would you want to see mucked cards in the first place? To gain information, of course – information that is critical to your development as a poker player. How will you know if an opponent was bluffing, telling the truth, or calling you down with garbage if you can't easily view his cards?

To that end, PokerTableStats officials told PokerSoftware, "Thanks to seeing mucked cards, you can find out if an opponent is not bluffing… The opponent may only pretend to have strong cards, while actually they are weak and will not enable him to take the whole pot. There are several types of players in poker whom you can expose with the mucked cards feature." You should be able to identify opponents as LAG or TAG by seeing their mucked cards in every relevant spot.

You can also use the mucked cards feature within Poker Table Stats to determine optimal bet sizes against other players. If you knew a player folded K-10 on a king-high board, for example, then you can adjust based on the bet size you made. This helps you play optimally against every player at the table and lets you size your bets appropriately.

PokerTableStats officials also pointed out the effect being able to see mucked cards can have on value betting: "If you play with a strong hand in the last round of betting and you want to draw more money from an opponent, you have to value bet. Viewing opponents' cards should be considered, as it can affect the size of a value bet in order to have the best chance of revealing an opponent's strategy and playing against him better in future pots."

Subscription packages to Poker Table Stats start at $5.99 per month. Visit PokerTableStats.com for more details and to sign up!

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