04-21-04, LearnTexasHoldem:

Showing Hand To Other Player Disqualifies?

Question: While playing a game of texas holdem recently, a situation came up during play which caused controversy.

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A bet was made after the flop of the river card, Player B who had to call or raised had taken sometime to decide what to do when he took his cards and placed them in another players hand (who got out on the previous bet) to show him what he had.

At that point Player B said aloud that he was afraid he may lose to a higher full house or something to that nature to the player he was showing. The Player B never received his cards back and the cards were set face down in front of the player who was out. Player B sat back and said nothing. Player C asked what was up. I said player B folded and so player C folded leaving Player A with the win.

Player A then revealed his hand letting people know that he wasn't bluffing. Player B then claimed he was going to bet and that we jumped over him. I told Player B that once he revealed his cards to another player that he was disqualified from any further bet and from winning the pot. Whether or not he had made a decision. What is the ruling? 

Answer: Yes, you are correct that Player A wins the pot. A couple things happened:

1. Normally, the rules state "one player per hand." That means you can't consult with your buddy about whether or not you think some other guy has you beat. It also prevents you from showing your cards to the other player in the hand before it is showdown time. In tourneys you aren't supposed to do the, "I'll show you one card" trick. You can do this in regular cardrooms though (at least most I've been to). Your cards accidentally flipping over won't cause them to be mucked but he definitely wasn't showing them this way.

2. Another thing happened to negate his hand and that is the action acted after him. Since Player C threw his cards in the muck pile, then that means that Player B doesn't have the option to play anymore.

When these things happen at cardrooms and casinos people get upset and call the floor man over who promptly sets things straight. I would designate someone in the home game as the floor man (most likely the persons house it is) and then let them make rulings. At the end of a ruling someone is always happy and someone is always pissed, and that's poker.

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