Late last week, PokerStars pushed through an update to its software and in the process removed a cash game feature that likely was not even something a lot of players were fully aware of: the ability to choose whether or not one wants to show their hole cards when two or more players are all-in. Now, whenever an all-in situation like that arises, the software will automatically flip over the hole cards of everyone who is all-in (or has called an all-in, as the case may be).
Those of us who play or watch poker tournaments are used to the dramatic all-in situations where the hole cards are turned over for everyone to see. Online, we have a second or two of tension before the computer shows us what our opponent has, before we know if we have a chance or not. On television, the dealer deftly positions the players’ hole cards next to the community cards and framed perfectly for the camera, the win percentages and outs for the underdog are put on the screen, and the made-for-TV moment runs to its completion.
In cash games, though – and a lot of people probably don’t even realize this – it is generally not required (pending variations in house rules) for players to reveal their hole cards when two or more players are all-in.
You may be thinking, “Well then how do they know who wins?”
That is a valid question and of course, someone has to show their cards in order to prove they have the best hand and be allowed to pull in the pot. But only one person needs to show, not everyone who is all-in. Thus, if there are, say, three hearts on the board and Player A flips over A-K of hearts, Player B can avoid the embarrassment of showing his failed bluff, since he knows he has lost. He can just muck and move on with his life.
On its blog, PokerStars explained the reasoning for the change:
We are making this very small change because we believe that this will lead to a slightly more fun, and slightly fairer playing experience. Players can now sweat the flop, turn and river knowing what they need to hit (or what they need to avoid). Hole cards from all-in confrontations had always been displayed in the hand history anyway, so advanced players who were familiar with the software were able to retrospectively find out what opponents had in all-in situations. Going forward, all players will be able to view these hole cards in real time, taking away this advantage, and adding to the excitement of the hand.
That last part isn’t completely unimportant. Everyone at the table could still check the hand history and see what the all-in players had, even if the cards were not revealed. Not everyone was readily aware of this, though (blame the player, if you want, but I don’t think we can expect every beginner or recreational player to understand every intricacy of the poker software), so there was a bit of an unnecessary advantage for those who did know to check the hand history.
