Friendly home poker game.

So straddle UTG and my friend directly(UTG+1) to my left calls and eventually it gets limped back around to me. It's a friendly game and atmosphere's really light at this point so I decided to just blind check, letting everyone know that I did so. Board comes at Qxx, I check and UTG+1 bets. As it folds around to me I look at my hand in a pretty obvious manner and see (KQ), and decide to reraise him a standard amount.

He asks "did you looked at your hand?"

In the heat of the moment I say no, thinking it's his fault for not seeing me look at my hand after he bets. Immediately without further analysis he shoves his stack(giant overbet relative to my rr) and I snap call.

Now question is, friendship and all aside, is it illegal for me to lie about whether I saw my cards or not? Comments and opinions appreciated

Illegal to lie? No.

Smart to believe another person at the table and risk money on what they say? No.

Nice to deceive your best friend who you have known since third grade, the guy who has gotten you out of a hundred bad situations, the guy who knows enough of your hidden life to blackmail you a dozen times over, in a friendly home game? No. Standard? Yes.

Take his money. Then give some of it back or offer to fill up his SUV's gas tank.

Def not illegal...

Did you say no in a joking manner or were you completely serious and lied to him?
If it were me with a bunch of friends, i def wouldnt straight up lie... i think thats kinda bad etiquette.

All that needs to be said. You've turned it into a non-friendly game. Without repair work, expect to eventually be excluded from the game.

Ask Tony G. Heart and commitment!

You're not wrong, Walter, you're just an a-hole.

Once he asks:" Did you look at your hand?" All gloves are off.

Imo(home game or no home game, friendly or cut throat), his question to you is just as "non friendly" as your response because his question is a direct attempt (or it inadvertently can be) to get a more precise calculation regarding his next decision. So, what, that should be ok but not what you said in reply?

What's wrong with saying "No, I didn't look" but then giving him a big grin after the hand's over? Are you guys men or mice?! It's a ****ing poker game! Nothing wrong with "lying" but still keeping it friendly. And, I've played in MANY games (including home games, as well) where the atmosphere was very friendly and that kind of banter was not only accepted, it was encouraged!!!

Yes.

The FBI probably already has a warrant for your arrest, but are holding off to see whether they can get anything useful off the wiretap.

Whatever you do, don't flee the country. The FBI will turn your biometric data over to the CIA, and they'll nuke you with drones.

Rumor has it that Ted Bundy got his start in serial killing by lying to his friends at a home poker game. A lot of people claim that it's harmless, but it's really a gateway crime. If we allow people to brazenly lie about their poker hands, we'll be inundated with hundreds of 9/11s in 10 years.

Go turn yourself in right now at a local police station. The Feds will respect local authority, and the police may allow you to plead to a lesser charge like second degree unfriendliness or maybe even first degree wanting to take your friend's money.

o This is your *******.
O This is your ******* in prison.

DON'T LIE ABOUT YOUR POKER HANDS AT HOME GAMES!!!

I've seen this kind of issue come up a few times now, and I'm thinking, maybe it's best to remain silent when someone asks you if you looked.

The guy is asking you to help him decide what to do to win money from you. Obviously you're not obliged to give him information he's not entitled to, against your own interests. It's not "illegal" or against the rules (unless it is explicitly so) to lie about it, but it does raise questions of etiquette and may be a blow to the friendliness of the game.

But silence? It gives him nothing. You might not want to answer whether you looked or not, so you'll be leaving him to guess and potentially make an error. It may be a little more of a "serious" move than telling him the truth, but it's hardly a breach of etiquette, and I can't see anyone reasonably faulting you for it.

It's certainly not "illegal", or against the rules (barring some unusual local house rule).
Home games all have their own atmospheres, and this may be just part of the fun in one game, but a mortal sin in another.
But in a B&M casino (which is what this forum is about), in games for serious money, while some people think that this is within the boundaries of normal poker deception, others definitely think that it's clearly unethical (= angle-shooting), and will classify you accordingly.

In any games I've played this would be considered terrible etiquette but not a breech of rules.

I think there's a legitimate argument about getting rid of etiquette in sports and just playing to the strict rules so that everyone knows precisely where they stand at all times. That said, in live poker we often rely on people actually wanting to play with us and I think conforming to etiquette is a way of ensuring you get invited back to a home game or at least not making people think "I'm not sitting down to play with that guy" in other environments.

There are certainly settings where this is completely acceptable and the attitude is "it's poker, why would you trust me?" and lying about anything is all part of the fun. Generally, I don't think that's the case and a degree of honour amongst thieves runs through poker games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJjPET353hk
now you know

+1

Just what we need. The Dumb and Dumber of poker etiquette.