Someone relayed to me that he (we'll call him hero) was playing at a non home game $1/$2 NL table recently, and it was heads up after the turn. Hero bet the river and his opponent (we'll call him villain) folded.

Hero happened to be seated right next to villain at the table, and before mucking put his two cards in front of villain and audibly said "you can flip over one". Villain proceeds to quickly flip over both. My buddy appealed to the dealer who seemed unsympathetic, but called the floor who kind of begrudgingly told villain to "watch himself" but apparently didn't issue an official warning (let alone a penalty) to villain.

I don't have a horse in this race; I'm just curious if it's par for the course for a room to do nothing about something like this?

I'd certainly ban the idiot that said, "you can flip over one".

Hero is an idiot.

Hero invited villain to touch his cards.

Hero should kick himself in the nuts.

There's nothing in the rules about this other than obligation to PROTECT YOUR OWN HAND numbnuts.

Winners need to learn to leave the vanquished alone. The guy who just got beat is in no mood for nonsense. Anything you say or do in that spot, other than sincere empathy, can and will be construed as taunting.

Just last night, guy (Hero) gets all-in on the turn in a micro-limit game. They each turn up their cards and see that V only has two outs. V catches. V is all smiles and wants to celebrate, so he offers a fist bump to H with a look that says, "Come on, you gotta admit, that's pretty cool. Come on!"

H was having none of it. Leaving him hanging, was the least of it. He told him off for being a jerk about it, with a few f-words mixed in, and left.

V didn't think he was being a jerk (he's a reg, quiet guy, I've never seen him cause anyone trouble before), and polled the table. Table immediately agreed with H, that V was way out of line.

V can't believe it, so he seeks a third opinion: he asks me.

"I don't think it was as bad as everyone is saying."

V seemed pleased by this, so I clarified, "Don't get me wrong, it wasn't GOOD."

(As I typed "quiet guy, never seen him cause trouble...", it triggered a memory of him being involved in a similar story I posted before, but I can't recall the details, other than busted player called him a jerk, and he had no idea what he had done to offend. Only bolsters my point, tho: just take the chips and shut up.)

For V, a buffet comp.

For Hero,

Mostly as above: a competent floor, if called over for this, would probably "begrudgingly" and not very seriously, suggest to Villain that he really shouldn't do that again (tsk, tsk), and join the dealers and other players in thinking that Hero asked for it.
Warning? sort of, maybe, not really. Penalty (what "penalty" in a cash game?)? Never, ever, in a well-run room.

Thanks for the replies. The "Hero" certainly seemed to rely the story to me like he'd been wronged to an extent that it prompted me to wonder myself - hence the question here. I'll provide him with this link to set him straight, and consider it somewhat of a lesson learned on my part as well.

If I were the floor I would ban whoever called the floor and say, "I can't believe I closed Candy Crush for this ****."

Okay, probably not, but I'd be tempted to.

I'd have you ask Hero how he thinks poker would be affected if everyone were to act like him, but I'm afraid to hear his response. Think he'll comment here?

Unless he's a really good friend, my understanding is you shouldn't be introducing noobs to 2+2. meh.

It does no good to invite the "Hero" to read this thread. When a player asks this sort of question, all they are looking for is validation of their feelings. They get upset when they don't get the sympathy they expected. They'll lash out at everyone that doesn't agree that it was the worst injustice in the last 100 years. Eventually, the thread gets closed.

The "hero" in question is a friend of my brother-in-law who I see maybe once or twice a year and actually is no dummy IRL. He knows I play poker but I didn't realize he did until this came up. But yeah, no sense tapping the glass by referring him here. Based on him living about 15 miles north of Boston I'm guessing he plays at one of the NH rooms, not that he'd be too distinguishable for some of the types there.

I certain hope no one gets any penalty for this from the room anyway. Now from the other players and dealer maybe some kind of "social penalty" will follow.

nailed it, agree 100%. If hero wanted to show a card, he should of flipped one himself. No warnings, no nothing here

Flip over one what? One card? One hand? One time?

If you invite another player to touch your cards you are basically playing with fire. What if he flipped it into an ashtray? Into the muck? Into a Stargate? Or after he flips a card, another player pipes up "I still have a hand" and the flipped hand is declared dead?

Hero gets reminded that staff / rules are not there to protect idiots. Villian gets a smirking reminder do "don't do it again unless he asks you again."

@youtalkfunny, just fyi, i always enjoy the perspective and entertainment of your posts. thanks for posting.

There's a "floor" in a home poker game?

Thus Hero won the hand.

That's taunting.

Sounds right to me.

Seems right. It's Hero's responsibility to protect his own cards.

Sounds right. Villain didn't do anything wrong.

Nothing to be done. Hero should have mucked his cards if he was worried about someone seeing them.

It's Hero's responsibility to protect his own cards.

Buzz

Usually also known as the Host. But likely some home games some one else takes on the role of rules arbitrator. Often self appointed LOL BTW the OP wrote non Home in the 1st Post. But it ended up in this forum someway.

Thanks man.

Never do what the HERO did.

I heard Limon once say the best way to do this and sometimes get paid is the following.

Put one card in your left hand and one in your right. Know which card you want them to see. Ask which one they want to see (or pay to see one)... Left or right. Always turn over the card you want them to see no matter what side they pick. If they say right and you turn over the left (and they complain), just say, "Sorry, I thought you meant your right."

Have done this 20x times since I have heard it. Love it.

What if they point at the card they want to see and its not the card you wanna show? Kinda find it hard to believe no one did it at least once out of 20x times.

Even if they point its never super obvious where. you always flip the exact card you want to flip. no one ever believes you thought of this in advance. they just think you made a mistake or they werent clear are an idiot at worst. lol. ive been doing this for 15 years.

Just don't do it more than once or twice per session and don't offer to other regulars. I've done that a couple times and nobody ever even mentioned that I flipped over the "wrong" card after they pointed at one.

they should both get warnings, it was wrong to say he could flip one, and wrong for other to flip, doubtful any penalties for first offenses here