POKER TOURNAMENT RULES QUESTIONS & DISCUSSIONS > Non-TDA Tournament and General Poker Rules Discussion

Why did Antonio have to show his cards?

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EbroTim:
At approximately 2 hours, 27 minutes into the Big One for One Drop broadcast on ESPN today, Antonio Esfandiari and David Einhorn were in a hand that checked the flop and turn.  And then on the river, Antonio (1st to act) asked if he could open fold.

TD Jack Effel said Antonio can fold, but that both players must show their hands.  I couldn't hear the conversation between them after that because the announcers were talking.

Does anyone know what Jack Effel's reasoning was behind requiring both players to show?  And whether this is a rule WSOP newly put in place, or whether this is even a rule at all?

Nick C:
EmbroTim,

 I could easily support Jack Effel's decision. I'm sure it has to do with the possibility of collusion and chip dumping. The options open to players first to act are: Check or bet. In a normal situation, players might check and concede but, the right to see that hand should be open to any player at the table.

EbroTim:
I see that forcing both players to expose their hands when the first player to act decides to fold can expose collusion.

What do you think about the fact that it allows the first player to act to force the other player to show his hand if he open folds?  This can be used to gain information when the first player knows that if he checks, the other player will bet, forcing him to fold, and he wouldn't get the benefit of seeing the other player's hand.

Nick C:
ET,
 
 On the contrary, the order of showdown should always be followed. If the first to act checks and the next player checks, the dealer should insist that the first player show their hand. In your other example, I believe that the possibility of a check raise eliminates the forced situation you speak of. I guess, what I'm saying is; In tournament poker all hands should be tabled at the showdown. Why is it only when a player is all-in?

 Bottom line, I think it's a good policy to enforce. Jack Effel might have a different reason but, I like his call. 

K-Lo:
When you say "open fold", do you mean that Antonio wanted to fold his cards face-up, or just merely fold before acting on the last street?

In any case, I'm pretty sure that accepting Antonio's fold when fold is not an option, and having both players turn up their cards is not an explicit WSOP rule, but is done for transparency.  If the fold was allowed and the hand simply moved on, viewers would be wondering what the heck just happened there, isn't that soft play, etc...

The only potentially related WSOP rule/policy that might be considered is that at showdown, if a player wins the pot because the opponent decides to fold (e.g. it goes check-check and 1st player mucks before other player shows, or it goes bet-call and the bettor folds before caller shows), the remaining person must still show his complete hand in order to win the pot.  In contrast, in some other non-WSOP tourneys, you may not need to show one or both cards to win the pot so long as you are the "last man standing" at showdown. 

Perhaps Jack is effectively treating this situation as check-check-muck, thus Einhorn at least would need to show anyways.  And showing Antonio's hand would temper any accusations of soft play.  ET is right that if the action actually went check-bet-muck, we may not have been able to see Einhorn's hand, but if Antonio is willing to surrender the pot and to have his own hand shown, then perhaps that would be considered a sufficient penalty to pay to see the other person's hand (although I don't think Antonio had any expectation to see Einhorn's hand when folding in this particular case). 

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