- 1,000 co-grade heavyweight poker chips in a rolling aluminum case Breakout: 300 ($1), 200 ($5), 200 ($25), 200 ($100), 50 ($500), 50 ($1,000) Bright and bold 3-color chips with colorful two-tone block edge spots and beefy 13.5-gram weight Each chip is pressed with a regal Sword & Spade mold and features a handsome Showdown inlay Triple locks keep your chips secure through bumps and drops Your.
- Your poker red line is an indicator of your non-showdown winnings. Basically, it tells you how often you are taking the pot away from your opponent without having to showdown the best hand. So your red line in poker can also be seen as a measurement of how often you bluff them out of the pot.
Robert Woolley
When I hear the word “showdown,” I tend to think of two bad hombres with their hands twitching just over their holstered six-shooters in the streets of Laredo.
Fortunately, that sort of thing happens very rarely in your better casino poker rooms these days. If that’s where you are when you hear “showdown,” there’s no need to take cover, as you might have done in the Old West — it’s just a reference to two or more players who are in a poker hand all the way to the end, at which time a winner must be determined.
Check out the OlyBet poker lobby for online-qualifications to the Summer Showdown Main Event. Flips and sub-satellites are already running and will continue to do so every day, with the exception of Sundays, until the 19th of August.
At first it may seem ludicrous that there are rules and procedures to such a simple process. Can’t everybody just turn their cards face up and be done with it?
Well, yes, they could — but they don’t. Unfortunately, a substantial percentage of poker players possess a pathological aversion to showing their hands unnecessarily. They’d sooner reveal the nation’s nuclear launch codes than their down cards. You can only get these stubborn players to show by making bamboo shoots grow under their fingernails.
The showdown rules and procedures were developed to keep the game from grinding to a halt whenever you’ve got two such people in the same hand, since in poker we try to avoid actual physical torture. (Psychological torture is just part of the game, of course.)
Showdown Rules
There are two different procedures, depending on whether or not there was betting on the last street.
If there was no betting on the last street, the procedure is blessedly simple. The showdown goes in the same order as all other actions, starting left of the button and proceeding clockwise to the button. The first player still holding live cards turns them face up. Then each subsequent player can, in turn, put his own cards face up, or, if he sees that he is not the winner, just pass them back to the dealer face down.
However, if there was betting on the last street, this all changes. In that situation, the last player to take an aggressive action — defined as either betting or raising — is obligated to reveal his cards first. Then the showdown proceeds around the table clockwise from his position, without regard to where the button is. As in the previous paragraph, each player in turn can choose to show his cards or just muck them.
That’s the basics, right there. However, I think it’s worth knowing some additional nuances and etiquette.
The Showdown Needn’t Be a Standoff
As I said earlier, there are some players who just won’t go along with the program. They like to gain an edge by playing a waiting game. If they delay long enough, they figure, everybody else will get nervous or impatient and show first. Then they can keep their cards secret unless they see that they have the winner.
This especially happens when a player has had a bluff called. He’s embarrassed to show it, but also doesn’t want to just throw his hand away, in case it turns out that he was bluffing with the best hand. (It does happen.) So he just sits there, hoping that you or one of the other players will take the pressure off of him by showing first.
This is terribly rude, as it unnecessarily slows down the game, and makes a tactical advantage out of being willing to be a jerk. Never be one of those guys, and don’t let them intimidate you into letting them skip their proper turn to show. The dealer should enforce the standard procedure, but in reality, many dealers care more about getting the hand finished quickly than niceties of procedure. You can, and should, politely ask the dealer to require the players to either show or muck when it’s their turn. Don’t let the bullies take advantage.
There’s No Rule Against Showing Early
There is no prohibition on showing before it’s officially your turn. In fact, it’s usually best for everybody if all the players still holding live hands when it’s time for the showdown just flip them face up immediately — no fuss, no muss. The procedures described above were developed to resolve that potential standoff when nobody volunteers to show first.
Don’t Slow Roll at Showdown
If you have the stone-cold nuts, or a very strong hand, and yet you make everybody else show first just because that’s what the procedure dictates, you may well come under criticism for “slow rolling.” That is a social faux pas, even when you’re just doing what the rules require. It’s considered polite to show your cards quickly — even if it’s not yet your turn — when you’re holding a hand that you have good reason to believe will be the winner. You can hope that other players will show you the same courtesy when they have the monster.
Where There’s a Side Pot
Sometimes there will be a side pot. This happens when one player is all in, but two or more others have more chips and keep betting and raising. The all-in player is eligible to win from each other player only the amount that he put into the pot, so when others keep putting in more chips beyond that, they get kept physically separate — a “side pot,” because it’s literally off to one side of the table.
When that has happened, the dealer will always request to first see the hands that are eligible for the side pot. The reason is to get that pot awarded to whoever has won it before turning to the main pot. If it isn’t done in that order, and the all-in player has the best hand, it’s too easy for the dealer to make a mistake and push all the chips to the all-in player, including those that aren’t rightfully his.
(Fun homework assignment: Watch the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale again and spot the moment when a poker dealer does this procedure incorrectly.)
If in Doubt, Just Show
Finally, until your derriere has logged a whole lot of hours in a poker chair, it’s probably wisest to just always show your cards. Even highly experienced players will occasionally misread the situation and muck the winning hand, and novice players make this mistake a lot. (I’ve done it at least half a dozen times, realizing soon after my cards were in the muck — and probably a few more that I never realized.)
If you always elect to turn your cards face up at showdown, even if you’re sure you hand is a loser, you may give away a little information that you didn’t have to, but you’ll never risk losing a pot because you misread either your own hand or that of an opponent. This is especially true with two-pair hands, which tend to be really tricky and throw people off.
Keep these pointers in mind, cowboy. And leave the six-shooters at home.
Robert Woolley lives in Asheville, NC. He spent several years in Las Vegas and chronicled his life in poker on the “Poker Grump” blog.
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When showdown is reached in a poker hand, it can often be a confusing moment for live poker players. Deciding who shows their cards first is a common argument in both tournaments and cash games. Let’s settle what the showdown rules are once and for all.
Who shows first in a poker showdown? The showdown rules of poker state that the player who took the last aggressive action on the final betting round shows their hand first. If everyone checked during the last betting round, the normal order of play is followed and the closest player to the left of the dealer shows their cards first.
While the order of showdown after the river is fairly straightforward, there are a few nuances that need to be addressed. Whether you play Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, or some other form of poker, these rules will apply to you. Below is some more information you might find use
Why Does the Last Aggressor Have to Showdown First?
In many river scenarios, a player will face a large bet from an opponent and have a tough decision on whether to call or not. If the call is made the player is rewarded by getting to see the cards of the person he called first. He or she is said to have, “paid to see the hand.”
Why Is the Showdown Order Different When Everyone Checks?
If everyone checks on the river the normal order of play is followed. Since there has been no bet and no call, no one has bought the right to not have to show first.
A typical river scenario is an out of position person will have check-called the flop and turn and now has a decision on whether to also check-call the river. Were the action to go check-check, the out of position person would showdown first. However, when it goes check-call the out of position person has purchased the right to not have to showdown first.
Does the Showdown Order Vary from Game to Game?
The showdown order remains the same whether the game is Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, Stud, or any variant of poker.
Do I Have to Show My Cards in Poker?
There is generally no requirement to ever show your cards in poker. You can fold or “muck” your hand anytime during play. In fact, the only time you are required to show your hand is in order to win the hand at showdown.
To win a pot, a player must table both cards face up to qualify for winning the pot. Just keep in mind that some card rooms do have slightly different rules regarding showing hands, be sure to ask the dealer if unsure.
Beginning players sometimes misread their hand may even fold a winner. So until you become a skilled winning player it’s probably best to always show your cards at showdown, just in case.
Can I Just Show One Card at Showdown?
You can show just one card at showdown. However, showing just one will not qualify you to win the hand even if that one card is revealed that you definitely have the best hand.
It is a universal rule among all card rooms that both cards must be tabled faced up in order to win a pot.
What an Opponent Refuses to Follow the Correct Showdown Order?
Showdown Poker Tour
Some players will often try to get their opponents to show their cards out of turn so that they can try to avoid giving away information. If you encounter this situation and they are attempting to get you to flip your cards first, my advice is to politely say, “it’s your action, please either show your hand or muck your cards.”
If the opponent still refuses to follow the correct showdown order, ask the dealer to step in and enforce the rules. Do not let a rude or forceful person get their way. Poker is no place to get bullied.
Are There Any Exceptions to Following the Correct Showdown Order?
There is one exception to the rules of showdown order. If you hold the nuts or a very strong hand, it is a common courtesy to just instantly flip your cards over on the river no matter what the showdown order is. Otherwise, you might be accused of “slow rolling.”
If I Call the River Can I Ask to See My Opponent’s Mucked Cards?
Sometimes part of the reason a player will call is to gain information from his or her opponent. While it is mandatory for your opponent to show their hand if you request them to, it is almost universally frowned upon as bad etiquette if your opponent wants to muck their hand.
The reason it is bad etiquette to ask to see mucked cards, even if you are entitled to, is that it will often embarrass your opponent. It is widely accepted that just winning the pot should be enough for a person making a correct call. Rubbing it in your opponent’s face by forcing them to show their inferior hand or bluff is in poor taste.
What If Someone Shows Their Hand out of Turn?
At showdown there is no penalty in just flipping your cards up out of turn. However, most people like to see what cards people acting before them have before deciding to show or not. If you are beat, you can simply muck and not give away any information to your opponents.
What If There Is a Side Pot and Someone Is All-In on the River?
Sometimes a player will be all-in and there will be two or more other players who still have chips behind. In this case, the betting round continues until showdown is achieved.
Once showdown is reached it is generally good form for the non-allin person to show his or her cards last, regardless of their position.
Are the Showdown Rules Different Between Cash Games and Tournaments?
In general, showdown is the same no matter what format you are playing. The only exception is that in cash games a person may show one or both cards at any point during the hand without penalty.
In tournaments, if a player exposes their cards, whether intentionally or not, the hand is usually considered dead.
Is There Ever a Time to Showdown a Weak Hand Versus Mucking It?
If it’s your turn to showdown your cards and you have a hand that is obviously losing, you generally want to just muck and not give away any information. However, there are a few instances you may want to go ahead and show the hand.
- You want to project a particular image to the table
- To encourage the rest of the table to showdown and not muck there hand, that way you possibly gain some information
- Misreading your hand is a definite possibility, if you always showdown every hand there is no chance of ever mucking a winner
Related Questions
What is considered a muck in poker? The meaning of “mucking” a hand in poker is to fold or discard a hand without revealing your cards. Players often much their hand to avoid giving away information to their opponents.
Who goes first on after the flo? The order of play on the flop, turn, and river is the same. The small blind always acts first and the dealer button always acts last.
How does all-in work in poker? All-in means that a player has no more chips behind to cover any future bets made. In this case, the player is declared “all-in” and will keep his or her cards face down until the showdown is achieved. An all-in player cannot win or lose any more than is contained their starting stack.
Final Thoughts
Showdown at poker is one of the situations that few players truly understand the actual rules. The cool thing is that once you know exactly how it works you can use the information to your advantage.
Showdown Poker Chips
My advice is to never show your hand until it is your turn to do so, unless of course if you hold the nuts or near nuts. Neverslow-roll your opponents. Unless of course you like being disliked by everyone in the poker room.