Quote:
Originally Posted by that_pope
Weeeeeeee Cantu (from pokernews)
Just before Table 436 broke, a small controversy broke out around the embattled Brandon Cantu.
Apparently, Maria "Maridu" Mayrinck drew one card during a hand of badacey while Cantu patted, but Mayrinck had taken back the card she put out and placed it back in her hand after Cantu patted. She then placed the card back out.
Cantu called the floor, and Mayrinck told the floor the only reason she had taken the card back is because she thought she had been dealt a new card. Mayrinck's neighbor confirmed she had put out the same card, as did the dealer.
Cantu pointed out that since she had put the card back in her hand, she could have easily changed her mind about what she wanted to do and put out a different card after seeing him stand pat. Since Cantu hadn't seen the card, he had no way of knowing if it was the same one.
"I thought you said yesterday you didn't angle," a player at the table said. "There's no scenario in which she would change her draw."
It was ruled that since she had placed the card back in her hand, the draw was dead and she had to stay pat for that round. Cantu patted behind and both players checked, then they checked the end as well. They ended up chopping the pot, as Cantu had an eight-low while Mayrinck had a badugi.
This is great example of the dichtomy between tournaments and high stakes cash games. Either the WSOP has a hypertechnical rule that Maria was in violation of, or the floor misunderstood it.
I have played a ton of midstakes draw games, & never played in any draw game anywhere where a player wasn't allowed to swap out their discards, as long as they don't change the number of cards discarded, and haven't been dealt the replacement cards. It's done as a courtesy of the game to make it easier for new players, but also because it doesn't provide an angle or advantage.
Because of those reasons it's ridiculous the WSOP would rule this way. I played the dealers choice and most games picked were draw. You want NL players to feel comfortable playing this event, that it's fair and they won't get angled out of their action by more experienced players.
Brandon's actions here would be over the line in a cash game, regulars would object, the floor would rule against him, and perchance the room actually had a rule as dumb as the WSOPs and the floor ruled for him, the regs would take him aside and tell him we don't call that here, and if he persisted he'd be very disliked.
My regular game is a 40-80 mix game with a kill in a room that applies the string bet rule in a kill pots in a way that makes it trivially easy for regs to angle inexperienced players out of their raises. In our game no regular will ever call a string bet in kill pots, if a dealer tries to enforce it we don't allow it and if a new player does we take he aside.
Hopefully this illustrates why high stakes cash players find Brandon's actions so douchey. In Maria's case a tournament player might say it's no angle, the floor ruled with Brandon, it's apparently the stupid rule that's at fault and Brandon has the right to use it to their advantage, it's every player for themselves. But that's the opposite of how winning high stakes players view it, they want to be good stewards of their games.
And in the dispute w/Jesse, Brandon tried to bully the dealer into mistaking a pat motion for a check, that's an angle under any rules and apparently typical behavior for Cantu. The Maria hand just (again) illustrates how delusional and selective he is about poker ethics. You'd think he'd dial it back for just one day when he's under so much scrutiny.
