You only noticed that after you were dealt (and folded) your hand?!

Is this really so unforgivable for being my first hand in a micro-stakes home-game when I'm still getting situated (buying chips, meeting the other players at the table, etc.)?

How would he have known? The probability that among the 7 cards he could have seen of two of them being the same is quite small. (I presume that the backs of the two decks were identical.)

Level? Do you deal poker out of a shoe?

It's pretty easy to notice when someone's holding 104 cards rather than 52 (well, maybe even 108, for all I know that game also included jokers and "rules for Stud poker" as a wild card), but also easily understandable that he didn't notice during the first hand because he was probably paying more attention to stacking his chips and saying hello to everyone rather than looking at the massive pile of cards in the dealer's hand.

[ X ] Most absurd thinking in this thread

This thread got boring several hundred posts ago with completely normal fish-isms and even accurate statements getting classified as "most absurd poker thinking," and then a guy with 8 posts shows up with one of the best stories in months and you're nitpicking him?

But it wouldn't be all that impressive to soul-read someone for a draw after they say "I have to call with this draw". :/

Good point I somehow missed that the dealer would have been holding 104 cards. But it is possible that decks were shuffled together and dealer was holding about 52 with 52 others set aside. It would appear to be like most casino hand shuffled games that alternate two decks. (switched on dealer shift change.)

So if two people have the Ah on a four heart board (ex: 4h 4h 5h 5h 9d) is it a split pot?

Not if one of them has a heart kicker above a four.

(I jest, because expecting these people to know that five cards play, let alone that both hole cards would play in a flush, is absurd.)

PLO 1-2. I end up HU on the river that is 4 to Broadway, no pair, no flush. Very little action to this point. My opponent checks and I bet pot with an ace high bluff. He calls and wins the pot with 99 in his hand.

16 cards has him beat and he still makes this sick call. Idiot or genius?

Someone told me they like playing 10-5 because every straight in poker must contain either a 10 or a 5.

Depends. Using this thread to get people to read a "Poor me, these donkeys don't know to fold to my brilliant bluff" story that would otherwise get deleted in a heartbeat could be considered a stroke of genius. I'm still gonna go with idiot.

I've definitely heard this said before.