Who Wants to Show a Card?

When Daniel Negreanu takes a stand on something, he usually has the right of it. In the latest issue of Card Player, he takes issue with the rule that forbids a player from showing one of his holecards during a hand. Not only is that rule used in most major tournaments; it has also been adopted by many cardrooms for their cash-game play. In Daniel's own words:

One of the coolest rules that is legal in the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship is that a player may show one, or both cards to his opponent at any time during a hand. That's the way poker was always meant to be played. The new rule that took away a player's right to show his hand is one of the worst and ill-informed decisions that the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) made when coming up with a set of standardized rules.

I am a fan of the TDA and what they've accomplished, but the reasoning for this rule is just plain silly. The only legitimate argument I'd ever heard for the reasoning behind this rule was to curb collusion.

Now, clearly in a three-handed pot you should be penalized for showing a card, but when the pot is heads-up, this rule has no positive influence.

The idea that it deters players from colluding is ridiculous. If two players were colluding in a pot they would never be in that situation, ever.

For what it is worth, I second everything that Daniel said. But when reading his words, it also occurred to me that there is no such rule governing online play. Wouldn't it be cool if a site started allowing players to show one of their holecards during the hand? I think it could add a whole new wrinkle to online poker.

Of course, there would have to be some specific implementations. As Daniel pointed out, you can't have players showing cards in multiway pots. It could easily benefit one opponent while hurting another, and it would be unfair to give away information with such biased effects. So, clearly, the ability to show a card would have to be restricted to heads-up situations.

Furthermore, I think it should be an option that you can turn on or off from the main lobby of the site. For instance, if the way to show a card was by clicking on it, I could easily see unaware players showing a card by accident. Therefore, I think the option should initially be turned off to avoid cards from being exposed accidentally. And then, if people like the idea of showing a card on occasion, they can turn the option on from the main lobby, knowing that if they click on one of their cards it will be exposed.

I would love to see a site try this out, but probably not for the reason you would suspect. The truth is, I have very little interest in showing my own cards. However, I love it when players show their cards to me. They usually think they are being cute or deceptive, but I doubt that I have made any incorrect decisions as a result of a player showing me one of his cards.

Why such a high degree of confidence? Because the act of showing a card magnifies the Mike Caro mantras of "strong equals weak" and "weak equals strong." Actually, the second is the much more common occurrence. A player who wants to get called will show his weaker card, hoping that you will be fooled into paying him off. Would a player who was bluffing really want to show a weak card? Occasionally a sophisticated player would make that play, but rarely is that the case. Usually a player has A J, and with four clubs on board he'll show you the J. Or, he has 10 9, and with a pair of tens on board, he'll show you the 9. As tells go, this one is pretty reliable.

And then you have the opposite scenario, which happens less frequently. A player is bluffing with A 10 and three clubs on board. He bets the river with no pair, and while his opponent is contemplating a call, he flashes the A. Would he really do that if he had the nut flush? I don't think so. He is trying to discourage a call, so if you are his opponent, your job is obviously to disappoint him.

So while I won't hold my breath waiting, it would be nice if a site would give this idea a try. I think players would show cards much more often than they should, and it would be up to me and other astute players to take full advantage of it. Hopefully, you would be one of them.

Matt Lessinger's Book of Bluffs is now available everywhere. You can purchase it at www.cardplayer.com by clicking "shop online." You can also find other articles of Matt's in his "Bet With Less" column in Card Player magazine.

---

Sign in to your myCardPlayer account to post comments.

User Name:

Password:

Remember Me

 

Need a myCardPlayer account?

Sign Up

Lost User Name or Password?

Get Help

 

Post a comment

Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene or otherwise objectionable content; have spam, commercial or advertising content or links may be removed and may result in the loss of your MyCardPlayer ID (including e-mail). Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly. Never assume that you are completely anonymous and cannot be identified by your posts.

 

your comment