When playing poker, you should constantly be evaluating cost-benefit ratios, but I'm not just referring to calculating pot odds in a tough "raise, call, or fold" decision. I'm also discussing evaluating cost-benefit ratios on plays like your "advertising" or "bluffing" decisions.
THE "INVEST NOW, COLLECT LATER" THEORY HAS A FEW HOLES IN IT
Many players, for example, like to create an aura of uncertainty in their opponents by making plays that, in a snapshot "this hand only" analysis are money losers, but which they feel will help create an image that people will remember, and will pay off later because of the confusion it creates about the kinds of cards you play. An example of such a play would be raising from early position in a hold'em game with a hand like 5s-6s.
What is the cost-benefit analysis on this one? The benefits are, you might be surprised to learn, probably quite a bit lower than you initially realize, because the only way you will be able to "advertise" that you made this play will be taking that 5s-6s hand to the river, and most of the time, you won't be taking it to the river. Most of the time you'll have to throw it away, and no one will ever see the advertising you invested in with your raise.
Theoretically you could gain a little benefit by showing your cards to your neighbor (assuming he is out of the hand) before you muck them, but you're then only getting one ninth as much advertising benefit as you would have obtained by taking the hand to the river, and you also risk incurring the wrath or suspicions of other players by showing cards.
Poker etiquette calls for a "show one, show all" approach, even though many players don't adhere to it and most players don't like to be the "enforcer" who says "the rule is show one, show all."
DON'T DEPEND ON THE DEALER TO SAVE YOU
Even dealers who know the rule are usually hesitant to ask a player to show the entire table once he has shown one player (in part because many dealers don't put the effort into running the game properly that they should, and in part because the dealers figure they won't get tipped by a player they have asked to play by the rules, no matter how politely or professionally they ask; most dealers will back up a player who has made the request, but won't be proactive themselves).
Clearly you can't "show all" when the hand is still being contested by other players, so the small benefits you might get from showing your cards to your neighbor (advertising and the chance that your neighbor might later give you the same "courtesy") are probably outweighed by the costs of annoying your opponents, who could strike back in any number of ways.
The larger cost in this play is that because you are raising with a weak hand from early position, you are probably not only narrowing the field with a hand you'd prefer to play against many opponents, but also risking raises or re-raises that could force you either to abandon your hand or play it for far more money than you'd prefer.
If, on the other hand, you decide to make this raise from late position, your benefits increase greatly. In a multi-way pot, you're building a big pot with cards your opponents won't be able to put you on, and that's a valuable benefit.
If you're the first player in with your late position raise, you stand a far better chance of winning the hand right away with the blinds folding (in which case you can show your hand…although I still think voluntarily showing cards is a mistake for most players, because you risk exposing tells and risk losing valuable "curiosity calls" when you have the nuts). You also probably have a better shot of taking your hand to the river, because heads-up, you won't necessarily have to make your straight or flush to win; a pair of sixes might make it against a stubborn 4-4.
PLAYERS WHO REMEMBER ODDBALL RAISES REMEMBER THEM FROM WHEREVER YOU MAKE THEM
In each example, you are making an attempted advertising play, but in the first example, your costs are likely to be higher, and your benefits likely to be lower. In each case, though, the players who remember things like "he raised with 5-6 suited before the flop!" are almost certainly going to remember it whether you did it from early position or from late position…so as long as you're going to advertise, why not do it when your advertising benefit is higher, but also when your cost factor is much lower (you can calculate how much your advertising play is likely to cost much more precisely from late position).
It's also important to remember that this sort of play increases in value as the stakes you play for rise. In low stakes games, the players aren't as likely to remember your play, and they aren't nearly as likely to fold their blinds, which means you're going to have to show down a winner to take the money, and you just aren't going to be able to show down many winners playing 5-6 suited.
Next, be very careful about making "pure advertising" plays. Most players will find that just playing their ordinary game will create plenty of advertising, because most players play too many hands to start with: you probably don't need to play super-weak hands to get a "he can bluff" image.
THE COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS ON 5-6 SUITED:
When raising from early position with 5-6 suited, the costs are:
1) You might have to invest more than you'd prefer pre-flop, and even if you don't, you're investing money in a substandard hand.
2) Your hand is unlikely to improve substantially, and you have virtually no chance of winning in a showdown without improving substantially.
3) You risk losing the ability to buy pots with a bet later in the game, because you're such a notorious bluffer (a concept that applies to all "look how loose I am" advertising plays).
4) You'll be forced to play the hand out of position the whole way.
The benefits are:
1) You might get full table advertising, but it's far more likely you'll wind up with none or just a small amount.
2) Because people will figure you for big cards, they won't expect a low flop will have helped you, so you collect nicely there, but when high cards come, you may be able to win the pot with a bet, because people will have figured the flop helped you.
This doesn't sound like a promising cost-benefit analysis for this play. Contrast it to the cost-benefit analysis for making the same raise from late position, where the costs are:
1) You'll probably be able to steal fewer blinds if you are forced to show the hand down.
2) You're investing money in a sub-standard hand.
3) You risk losing the ability to buy pots with a bet later in the game, because you're such a notorious bluffer (a concept that applies to all "look how loose I am" advertising plays).
The benefits are:
1) You have a very good idea of how many players you'll be facing, and so will know if you're going to have multi-way action or not.
2) You'll have a pretty good idea of how much you're going to have to invest in the hand pre-flop.
3) You're playing the hand from good position the entire way.
4) There's a better chance of stealing the blinds, because you now have to get past far fewer players.
5) The chances are better that you will be able to will be able to get full table advertising.
6) Because people will figure you for big cards, they won't expect a low flop will have helped you, so you collect nicely there, but when high cards come, you may be able to win the pot with a bet, because people will have figured you for high cards.
Even though the two cost-benefit analyses show that making the play from late position is better, this still isn't a play you should make very often (and it's especially worthless in low stake "no-fold’em" games).
My main point here hasn't been to teach you about the specific value of playing or raising with a small suited connector, but instead to show you how to think through a cost-benefit analysis on ANY play. There's a lot more to this game than "I have a good hand, I should bet," and/or "I have a weak hand, I should fold." (Those aren't bad principles to keep in mind – a lot of players get in trouble by getting too fancy – but they just aren't enough once you start facing good players.)
If you grow accustomed to thinking not merely just about costs, benefits, or cards, but about how MANY sides of the equation need to be evaluated on any given play, you'll be on your way to becoming a much tougher opponent.
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Observe your opponents; learn their poker mannerisms. Are they loose or tight players? And avoid giveaway mannerisms of your own.
