Why exactly is it bad etiquette to ask to see a losing showdown hand?

[trickyAAA]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

On a related note:

Several years ago Men the Master had a big stack when it was down to two short tables. If one player is busted they go to the final table. I forget the exact details but Men didn't call a fellow short stacked Vietnamese when he clearly had pot odds to call no matter what he held. This was controversial and I think it was heavily discussed over on the newsgroup RGP (back when RGP was good for this sort of thing)

Barry Shulman (owner/editor of Card Player) in a later column (or perhaps on RGP, certainly not here) defended Men's move as brilliant. In essence he said that Men with a big stack (and knowing how to use it) gained tremendous "steal equity" (and overall equity) by keeping the other player in and the tables short.

Sometimes decisions are tough.

~ Rick

[/ QUOTE ]

This play is described in Tournament Poker for Advanced Players.