I should probably add:

A situation like this is one of the few where I would be likely to say anything that might be seen as 'out of line', but sometimes when people are shootin' angles you gotta shoot back...

Added More: The 'angle shooter' would have been right in a room that uses a 'forward motion' rule, so he may have just been obnoxious and not wrong, or used to playing somewhere with a 'forward motion rule' and not known any better, but angle shooters and obnoxious people tilt me, so I'll assume he's wrong for the purposes of this thread lol

Is it really a violation of OPTAH to clarify the actions available to a player after another player tells him the wrong information? You're not suggesting a move to the player or saying something about any of the hands. You're not even saying something generic and true that is suggestive (e.g. "a flush beats a straight" when both are possible on the board). You are simply explaining the correct procedure at that point.

Unless I misunderstand "forward motion," he's wrong even in a room that use the forward motion rule.

Is it really a violation?

AFAIK That's totally subject to interpretation, and since interpretations often vary between floors (even within a single casino) and definitely from house-to-house, in this type of situation I'd make sure the only way it could be interpreted is as me helping the obnoxious jack ass out, because I've seen this type of player 'raise ****' and get their way before, sometimes even just for the 'sit down, shut up and play' factor.

My personal opinion is: no it's not, and if it is, then Player 2 violated it also (and first) by telling Player 1 'the rule' and what he had to do.

IDK if everyone would see it that way or not though and it could get a bit more 'grey' for some if Player 1 & 2 were both in the hand but the person offering the 'correct rule' was not.

I actually missed that line in the OP. Thanks for pointing it out, because now it's definite: The guy's an angle shooter and should be shot back at! lol

I don't see how OPTAH applies at all. Maybe if you really elaborate about Player 1's options then it could, but all you need to say here is "Player 2 is wrong, you aren't forced to put those chips in." Nothing wrong with that.

If you were in doubt as what to do, it's better to stay quiet.
But in this case, especially considering the general behavior of P2 (obnoxious wise guy, experienced player), I would probably have said something to get the dealer to do his/her job. Also, telling P1 that he has a right to ask for a ruling or rules clarification is (IMO) not really an OPTAH violation, and even if it is, it's definitely an integrity of the game issue. P2 is misstating a rule to his own benefit ("If you pick up chips, you have to bet them"). Pretty clear angle.

Thinking back on it now, I wish I had said somethign like "I would ask the dealer or the floor for a ruling if I were you". At the time I felt if I said something I was violating OPTAH.

What? Say something and embarrass the dealer who is obviously not doing his job?

What? Say something and prevent some scumbag angleshooter from getting over on another player?

Hey, you're playing for real money here.

IMO It's not a violation of OPTAH to call out an angle-shooter, just like it's not a violation to call out a mistake that the dealer made. In this case, both happened, yet nobody spoke up.

As I mentioned earlier, Op, if you couch it as a procedural clarification to the dealer, you avoid the whole OPTAH arguement.

I know, but there's some things money can't buy...
Turnin' the jackass who has to shoot an angle to beat a 'kid' into a spew fish, Priceless!

How hard do you think it would tilt Player 2 to not be Table Captain?

I wouldn't say anything to the dealer.
I wouldn't talk to Player 1.
I'd make sure Player 2 knew the rules.
He was obviously confused...

Another reason I'd make sure there was no question about OPTAH by not saying anything to Player 1 is everything is subject to interpretation, and sometimes that interpretation varies within a casino, and even between two floors working at the same time.

Look at the 2 different rulings at the same time about the same hand from the two different floors working together about 4 posts down the page in this thread: What is the Correct Ruling

It doesn't matter what anyone here thinks the OPTAH rule is.
It doesn't matter what's determined to be 'right' later.
It doesn't matter what the floor from the last shift thinks.
It doesn't matter what the floor next door would rule.

All that would matter is what the floor who was there at that time decided if there was a question, and no one can be 100% sure what that ruling would be, because the rules are definitely subject to interpretation... I would avoid having anyone being able to say I spoke to Player 1 during the hand.

Everyone can obviously handle a similar situation any way they choose and are comfortable with though...

If I spoke up, what is the dealer/Floor going to do?

a. I hope they would first tell Player 1 what the rule actually is.

b. If they tell me I am out of line, I would ask them why the Dealer isn't correcting an obvious liar/angle shooter. I would ask them if their goal is to have a fair and honest game or if it is to allow lowlifes to run the game.

I think If I was at the table, I would ask the dealer to call the floor, not to necessarily catch the angleshooter but for my own knowledge of what is acceptable and not in that particular room.

and yes maybe catch the angleshooter.

Weak dealer. I hate dealers that don't control their game. Within one second of Seat 2 saying call the dealer should have called time and announced that action was still on seat 1. It should never have been a thought in your head whether or not to say something because the dealer should have taken care of it. Since that didn't happen, well i guess you should call them out on it.

I'll keep quiet if my comment is likely to influence someones decision, like discussing someones possible holdings or the odds of hitting a hand. For instance someone is debating an allin and asking for a deal and giving incorrect analysis of the outcome of their hand. I'll let the players debate that themselves. However if someone is blatantly cheating, or basically saying something factually incorrect, such as by touching your chips you are required to call or some other absurdity then I'll chime in. In this situation I would have immediately said "he does not have to call" and then alerted the dealer to come out of his trance and give an answer.

Originally I was going to say that it is a violation of OPTAH to say something. But the dealer is clearly not doing his job IMO by not letting Seat 1 know that he is not obligated to do anything and/or informing Seat 2 that he has acted out of turn and let Seat 1 know whether Seat 2's action is binding or not.

Not sure what I would do in the moment. At the very least after the hand I would get clarification on the house rule for what constitutes a bet.