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The showdown was a staple of old westerns and the music of hairbands from the 80’s. Today it is a big part of a lot of the entertainment we see on cable television. Instead of two guys in hats pointing Smith and Wesson products at each other, or leather clad heavy metal singers singing about how much of an outlaw they are, we have Hold’em players facing off for a pile of money.

In Texas Hold’em, if more than one player remains after the last betting round, all of the players show their cards. Once the hands have been compared, the player who has made the best five card poker hand using their two hole cards in combination with the community cards wins the pot. This is called the showdown.

There is an etiquette to a showdown. All players should expose their hands immediately. You are not allowed to see somebody elses hand, and simply declare yourself the loser without showing what you are holding. Each player is entitled to see every other player's hand. Exposing ones hand is dicey business because showing your losing hand gives information to an opponent. This fact results in players who would prefer to expose their hands until after their opponents have done so.

To avoid a posible deadlock, casinos often have a rules that govern the showing of cards after a showdown. Usually the one who made the last raise will be, by rule, the first one to show their cards. Each player after that is required to show his hand in turn. Some players may choose to discard their hand and forfeit their interest in the pot rather than show their losing hand. If this happens, any other player involved in the showdown may not demand that the hand be shown.

Because the most players would prefer to fold a losing hand rather than showing it down, some players can take advantage of those who do this with a rare play called a "call-bluff". For example, if you know that a bluffing player always folds rather than showing his hand, call his last bet even when you know your hand is inferior to the one you suspect him of bluffing with. He will probably fold before he sees that you don't actually have him beat.