I play in weekly NL Holdem home game, and the following happened to me last night...

7 players remaining, blinds are 5/10, I have about 600 in chips...

3 players limp to me in the cutoff. I have 9-9 and limp in as well. The small blind completes & big blind checks. Flop comes 8-7-4 rainbow. SB & BB check. A New Player to the game fires out 80 from UTG. One player calls. I call. SB & BB fold.

Turn is a 3 (no flush possibility). New Player fires 120. Flop Caller calls & I call.

River is a Jack. New Player goes all-in for 250. Flop Caller goes into the tank. Finally he folds. As I'm counting out the chips for a call, New Player picks up his cards and starts to show them to Flop Caller who's on his left saying, "Good fold. I had the 5-6" He did it like he forgot I was in the hand. It was believable enough for me to throw away too quickly. He flipped over 4-5 and I was pissed.

I know I misplayed the hand in several ways, but I was making the call until he showed his hand to the other player. Had it been just talk I wouldn't have mucked like that.

Is this a Bush League move?

Not being there it is impossible to know if it was an accident he forgot you were still in the hand and accidentally misremembered his card. But it doesn't seem likely both would happen and in fact did this on purpose. File the information away and ask for the TD or host to warn him about OPTAH and/or premature showing (btw, in our game, it would have been a dead hand for deliberately showing his hand to anyone before the hand was over.) and move on.

Accidents are rarely accidents. Yes, it's bush league.

Also beware of the old guy who forgets it's his BB and almost mucks. He has Aces.

I'm inclined to think it was done on purpose but aside from showing his cards to another player he didn't violate any rules. I think it was a bit of an angle, too. In our group, you would receive a penalty for exposing your hand but it would not be a dead hand, just like any casino would.

I saw this more than once in Vegas last summer.

Heh. Also beware of the accidental minraise. "Oh, I thought there was a straddle."

Angleshoot IMO. I have a very hard time believing that he misremembered his hand and forgot that you were still live. If I'm hosting, he gets a warning to either cut that crap out or find another group to play with.

Or the old guy playing 1/2NL who throws out 2 redbirds in an unopened pot and says, "Oops, I thought those were white."

I'll buy you a beer if he doesn't have aces.

I didn't clarify... It was definitely intentional.

I appreciate the feedback.

I mean "accidentally".

The hand was keeping me from sleeping, so I got up & created a username to ask for your opinions. Let me provide a few more details as it was early morning when I typed the original post.

New Player was a friend of a friend of a friend and I'm not even sure how he got into the game. It was obvious he was a competent, experienced player. Definitely shady as he was caught twice shorting the pot and played dumb both times.

Anyway, he made me believe he had the 5-6 when he showed the hand to the other player & appeared ready to flip it over. This game is friendly & consists of mostly players newer to the game & nobody shoots angles. He half-heartedly claimed to not know I was in the hand. I don't believe it was an accident.

I guess my question is: did he break any rules? It all happened very quickly & I probably was too quick to fold. Just wasn't expecting a move like that. It felt dirty to me...

If it was intentional he was shooting an angle.

Robert's Rules says this:
2. Cards speak (cards read for themselves). The dealer assists in reading hands, but players are responsible for holding onto their cards until the winner is declared. Although verbal declarations as to the contents of a hand are not binding, deliberately miscalling a hand with the intent of causing another player to discard a winning hand is unethical and may result in forfeiture of the pot. (For more information on miscalling a hand see “Section 11 - Lowball,” Rule 15 and Rule 16.)

I think he should be warned the first time but if it becomes a habit he should have to forfeit the pot. Do keep in mind you should give him the benefit of the doubt. I have been in hands where I have thought I had the nuts only to be called down and flip over the "woops" instead. It could have been an honest mistake. However, repeated shenanigans should not be tolerated.

This person should not be invited back; and whoever brought him should be told to never bring him to the game again.


--klez

He didn t break any rules but its a hell of a angle shot. You shouldn't of tossed your hand away so quick. Next time wait and try to get a feel from the guy..

I had missed that, good catch.

Yeah, kick this dude out. Who knows what else he's doing. Check the deck for marks lately?

The person who brought him should be warned that HE might not be invited again.

BTW, do New Player and Folded Player know each other?

Home poker etiquette rules, for sure. Technical rules, not really- definitely sounds like an angle shot.

But YOU broke a huge rule- don't let an angler work his bull**** in a game you're in.

At that exact point, when he showed the hand, you should have demanded that he show the table. If you get lucky and host rules in your favor, raise.


If you didn't want to match fire with fire, call the host over and show him your cards, see if you can get a ruling your way.

After that, I'd move forward in one of two ways:

a) Preferably, I'd continue playing, with the primary goal of watching everything Ahole Angler does and interfering as much as I could, with his plans, until he left.

or

b) Announce loudly that you won't play with a poker cheat, leave the game, and decide whether to come back another time.

If you don't feel like being a troublemaker.... you're just going to have to be careful when playing with this clown in the future.