The Situation:   At the 1/2 cash table over the weekend we had a situation regarding if cards were mucked and dead or not. When I came over to the table there was a lot of yelling and emotions were running high. I walked into an all-in with a player on the 7 seat insisting that the pot was his because the player in the 5 seat mucked and folded his hand.  

Talked to my dealer and she explained what had transpired: The player in the 5 seat went all in, the player in the 7 seat must have called without a lot of fanfare, which is perfectly fine, action moved around the table to players on the other side and they folded. The player in seat 5 thought he won the hand and tossed his cards face down on the flopped cards. Before the dealer took the cards the player realized he was facing a call and retrieved his cards to show two pair on the flop and he was ahead…… and this is where I came into the scene of the crime.

The Rules:  

1: Floor Decisions

The best interest of the game and fairness are top priorities in decision-making. Unusual circumstances

occasionally dictate that common-sense decisions in the interest of fairness take priority over technical

rules. Floor decisions are final.

15: Showdown and Discarding Irregularities

A: If a player tables one card that would make a winning hand, the dealer should advise the player to

table all cards. If the player refuses, the floor should be called.

B: If a player bets then discards thinking they have won (forgetting another player is still in the hand), the

dealer should hold the cards and call the floor (a Rule 58 exception). If cards are mucked and not

retrievable and identifiable to 100% certainty, the player is out and not entitled to a refund of called bets. If

cards are mucked and the player initiated a bet or raise not yet called, the uncalled amount will be

returned.

65: Accidentally Killed / Fouled / Exposed Hands

A: Players must protect their hands at all times, including at showdown while waiting for hands to be read.

If the dealer kills a hand by mistake or if in TDs judgement a hand is fouled and cannot be identified to

100% certainty, the player has no redress and is not entitled to a refund of called bets. If the player

initiated a bet or raise and hasn’t been called, the uncalled amount will be returned.

B: If a hand is fouled but can be identified, it remains in play despite any cards exposed.

13: Tabling Cards and Killing Winning Hand

A: Proper tabling is both 1) turning all cards face up on the table and 2) allowing the dealer and players to

read the hand clearly. “All cards” means both hole cards in hold’em, all 4 hole cards in Omaha, all 7 cards

in 7-stud, etc.

B: At showdown players must protect their hands while waiting for cards to be read (See also Rule 65).

Players who don’t fully table all cards, then muck thinking they’ve won, do so at their own risk. If a hand is

not 100% retrievable and identifiable and the TD rules it was not clearly read, the player has no claim to

the pot. The TDs decision on whether a hand was sufficiently tabled is final.

C: Dealers cannot kill a properly tabled hand that was obviously the winner.  

14: Live Cards at Showdown

Discarding non-tabled cards face down does not automatically kill them; players may change their minds

and table cards that remain 100% identifiable and retrievable. Cards are killed by the dealer when pushed

into the muck or otherwise rendered irretrievable and unidentifiable.

The Thought Process: Every time I walk over to a table ‘Rule 1’ is always flopping around in my head. There is always going to be someone that likes my ruling and someone that doesn’t like it. So, I always take personal feelings out and strive to make a fair ruling that’s in the best interest of fairness and the game.  

I listened to the dealer, then I had an earful from the player that wanted the cards mucked. I reviewed the TDA Rules about mucked cards, and killed hands in my head. I also though, could this be some sort of angle shoot, to muck the cards and then retrieve them, of some sort. You have to go in with a totally open mind and look at it from every side.

The Decision: It was really an easy one. The cards never touched the muck and were fully retrievable and totally identifiable and there was no reason the player would be trying any sort of angle as the bets were already out and there was no additional action to come, so I ruled that the cards were live and instructed the dealer to run out the turn and the river. The pot was awarded. I had one happy player and one not so happy player. In the end the rules are pretty clear on what to do in this situation.  

The Takeaway: Always always protect your hand and be fully aware of the action around you. If the cards were actually in the muck the ruling may have been different - They need to be fully retrievable and totally identifiable, so the player got lucky. The losing player left the room but did come back to discuss the ruling I made. I sat with him and showed him the TDA Rules I used to make the call. I don’t think he was totally convinced but at lease he heard me out outside the heat of the moment.  

The other day I was called over to the table and walked into a small cluster. A tournament table called for the floor and as I arrived I was met with a chorus of voices shouting "misdeal, misdeal, misdeal.” The biggest thing you should takeaway from this post is NEVER toss your cards into a muck until you know that they should be mucked. 

The Situation: Seat 1 and 2 had no cards (Fold, Fold), Seat 4 was All-In, Seat 6 was thinking, Seat 8 was the small blind and had 3 cards and Seat 9 was being blinded out but was big blind. Just as I began to assess the situation, the player in Seat 6 mistakenly mucked their cards, believing it was a misdeal.

The Rules: This situation required the entire TDA rule book to work out. 

TDA Rule 35 Section A states “A misdeal occurs if “The wrong number of cards is dealt to a player” - so it’s simple right; declare a misdeal and move on, but…. 

TDA Rule 35 Section D states “Once substantial action occurs a misdeal cannot be declared, the hand must proceed unless the deck is fouled.” 

TDA Rule 36 defines “Substantial Actions” as: “A” Any 2 actions in turn at least one of which puts in chips in the pot or “B” any combination of three actions in turn (check, bet, rise call, fold) Posted blinds do not count towards substantial action. 

TDA Rule 1 states the floor decisions should always be made with the “best interest of the game and fairness to the players” 

TDA Rule 2 talks about players responsibilities and states “Players should VERIFY they are dealt the correct number of cards before Substantial action occurs”

The Thought Process: My first thought was how the hell did a player in the middle of the action wind up with three cards; either two cards stuck together as they were dealt or he grabbed one of the dead cards from the player being blinded out so I had to figure out if it should be a misdeal because a player in the hand had too many cards. So, I looked at the action that occurred before I was called over; I had two folds and an All-In, so there was substantial action. With the action that occurred I could not declare a misdeal. Then I looked at what was left. I had a player all-in, I had a player that mucked his cards AFTER the floor was called because he assumed there was a misdeal, a player with three cards and a big blind with no player at the seat.

The Decision: I ruled that because of the substantial action that it was NOT a misdeal and that the player with three cards had the responsibility the verify his cards were incorrect before substantial action occurred. His hand was dead. Because no one at the table had live cards except the all-in player I awarded him the pot. The player in the 6 seat would have had live cards and could have called the all-in or folded, but because he assumed that it was a misdeal and his cards were not retrievable his hand was also dead.  

The Takeaway: The players and the dealer made a mistake, once the floor is called or in any situation where you think there is a misdeal or something is off at the table HOLD YOUR CARDS and wait for the floor to arrive and access the situation. In this case the player in the 6 seat lost his chance to act because he folded after the flood was called. 

In our next dealer meeting we will address how we as a room could have prevented this from happening and work to make sure we never make the same mistake twice. But, always hold your cards until you get a ruling.

We had a situation in the room this week where there was a miscount or a miscommunication between a player and the dealer regarding an all-in bet and call.

What transpired:

Player in the 3 seat raised, player in the 7 seat declares All-In. The player in the 3 seat asked for a count or how much more and was given the wrong number after the dealer counted out the chips. Player in 3 announces CALL and the cards were flipped. As the dealer prepared to pull in the pot he announced the total all-in and the Player in the 3 seat said that that was not what was given to him and the floor was called.

What I saw when I approached the Table:

when I looked at the table I saw the Player in the 3 seat had a stack of chips out in front of him and the Player in the 7 Seat had a all-in button in front of him and his chips neatly counted out (In the traditional stacks - this will come into play later) and both players cards were tabled.

My Ruling:

Player in the 3 seat could have forfeited the chips he put into the pot and not matched the correct amount (This was based off of TDA Rule 1 which states “Best interest of the game and fairness”) or the player in the 3 seat could if he wanted to see the board run out would have to match the actual chip count from Player in the 7 seat.

This is based off of TDA Rule 49, which states:  

POKER IS A GAME OF ALERT, CONTINUOUS OBSERVATION. IT IS THE CALLERS RESPONSIBILITY TO DETERMINE THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF AN OPPONENT’S BET BEFORE CALLING, REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS STATED BY OTHERS. IF A CALLER REQUESTS A COUNT BUT RECEIVES INCORRECT INFORMATION FROM A DEALER OR PLAYER, THEN PUSHES OUT THAT AMOUNT OR DECLARES CALL, THE CALLER HAS ACCEPTED THE FULL CORRECT ACTION AND IS SUBJECT TO THE CORRECT WAGER OR ALL-IN MOUNT.

My thought process:

First I hate making rulings like this because it’s a lose lose situation for me. Someone is always going to be upset. The ruling was pretty easy based on the information I received and the context of rule 49, and I remember a situation just like this in the WSOP a few years ago that stuck in my mind. The dealer having the all-in players neatly counted out in the proper way also helped a lot. The chips were visible and easily counted by any player at the table. The miscommunication was unfortunate and we never like to see a player upset but that was the ruling by the floor.