Show One, Show Both

In my July column, I wrote about the misinterpretation of the "show one, show all" rule. That rule states that if a player shows his hand to one player, the hand can be shown to all players if requested. Lately, some poker rooms and tournaments have adopted a new version of the rule, called "show one, show both." The idea behind the new rule is that a player who shows one card in his hand can then be forced to show the other card(s).

It is important that I make a clarification about my previous column. The show one, show both rule applies only in situations involving uncalled hands. When a hand goes to the showdown, in order to win the pot, both cards must be shown. This rule deals specifically with situations in which a player bets and is not called, but elects to show only one of the two cards in his hold'em hand, for example.

Some people have misinterpreted my statement, "A player who shows one card is never obligated to show the other card," to mean that a player can win the pot at the showdown by showing only one card. That is not the case.

In my previous column, I was pretty adamant that this new show one, show both rule is very bad for poker, and that no poker room should choose to implement it. I still stand behind my beliefs. I was, however, incredibly surprised to learn that the TDA (Tournament Directors Association) had decided to use this new rule. And because the TDA implemented it, many large tournaments have also started using it. Imagine my surprise when I arrived at the World Series of Poker at the end of June to find that this new show one, show both rule was being used!

I still think the rule is horrible for poker and does not do what the supporters of it imply it will do. The only response I have gotten as to why this rule was implemented was that it "stops needling." Somehow, this rule is apparently designed to stop players from needling or ribbing other players. I am all for rules that will make the game more enjoyable for recreational players, so I took the explanation from the supporters and put it to the test.

I played in a total of 19 events, two supersatellites, and two one-table satellites at this year's World Series of Poker. Throughout all of these tournaments, I recorded each and every time that a player showed one card when he was not called, and recorded what happened after he did it. Here are the results:

A total of 34 times, a player exposed one card from his hand after he had bet and was not called.

Of those 34 times, 31 of them were done to show a good card, and not what would be referred to as a needle card.
A needle-card situation, as described to me by the supporters of this rule, would be one in which a player showed the 2 after betting into a board of 6 5 4 10 A.

Almost all of those 31 situations played out very much the same. A player raised preflop and got one or two callers, bet again on an ace-high flop, the other players folded, and the bettor showed the ace.

Of those 31 times, another player at the table asked to see the other card that was not shown four times. Because of this show one, show both rule, the player making the request was actually able to "needle" the betting player! Thus, this new rule allowed a player to be needled instead of preventing it! Talk about a backward rule!

One of those four occasions was in a seven-card stud game when a player had a four-flush on board. On the river, he bet, and when no one called, he showed the fifth card of the suit - a nice gesture to show the other players at the table that he indeed did have the flush. Another player immediately asked the dealer to show the other cards in the player's hand. This player had taken advantage of the "kindness" of the other player and the show one, show both rule, and was now able to see the player's other two holecards to get a read on what he started the hand with. This upset the player who showed his card, and put a pretty bad taste in the mouths of many of the players at the table. It just seemed that a real shot had been taken.

On the four occasions that a player showed what would be referred to as a needle card, it was done in a situation in which the pot was small and the vibe from the table was in no way negative.

And if all of that is not convincing enough, there is always the age-old argument that needling is a part of the game! Let's be honest here; it doesn't happen that often, and when it does, it is usually in good-natured fun.

In my previous column, I said that any poker room that used the show one, show both rule should be shut down. I was obviously exaggerating, but I feel that strongly about this horrible rule that I will continue to push to have it disappear before it becomes commonly used.

Michael O'Malley is the poker room manager for Partygaming.com, and can be reached at [email protected]. His website is updated regularly at www.rzitup.com.