I think this is like the third time I've typed this here...

This was an old guy who came in almost every weekend with his granddaughter. He'd wheel up in his electric cart, she'd help him into the poker table chair and move his scooter out of the way, then she'd go plant herself in front of the slots for hours and hours. Granddad would play all that time, and often come 11pm he'd start nodding off. The players and dealers were used to it, and while he was a crotchety old guy he had a sense of humor and everybody was willing to put up with him. So the dealers would let him sleep a round or two and then nudge him, and he'd typically wake up and play another couple rounds and then nod off.

Well, one of those times, he couldn't be nudged awake. It was very peaceful. Well...peaceful until the heroic measures started, and then it was not at all.

There's some turmoil, players get the guy on the ground yelling for 911, security is called and a couple goons come in looking totally lost saying they dunno what to do, and somewhere in here a nurse playing at another table jumps up and shoes people away and checks the guy and starts giving instructions, and doing CPR. Security droids eventually find a portable defib box and bring it in but none of them have a clue how it works. Nurse does. So the poor nurse is trying to do EVERYTHING...pump the chest, breath, hook up the defib, give instructions to the security droids... About this time the ambulance arrives. I watched him get jolted twice and then left to take a long walk around the casino. And right as I was leaving the room this guy's granddaughter came in.

10 minutes later he's wheeled out on a gurney. Nurse and/or paramedics have his heart beating, but he died (again) either on the way to the hospital or shortly after getting there.

I sat back down and tried to play but was just going through the motions. I gave up and headed home.

The players at neighboring tables continued playing for a while. Some guy needing a packet of sugar dumped on his tongue to fix his blood sugar doesn't warrant shutting down a poker room. But when it became clear it was serious the nurse demanded two tables stop playing so the chairs could be moved and he could work. And once CPR started the players really did mostly lose interest in playing. I'd guess about half the players left the room, the other half stuck around to watch, but I don't think any games were playing at the end (this was a 5-table room, and pretty crowded).

If you child were to pass away at the prom, you would be called to somewhere other than the prom. The hospital or the county morgue. Would you really be thinking about what a ballroom full of teenagers is doing right then?

Would making sure that their special evening is ruined also make your grief any less cutting?

Your kid probably has a few really good friends, a buncha friends, and 300 Facebook friends. But still there will be 200 kids at the prom who don't know yours. For them "some kid just died". Well, it's sad in a generic way, but if you don't know the person at all, it doesn't significantly impact you. If they're dancing over the body... we have an issue. If some of them are back to dancing 15 minutes after your kid has been wheeled out, I have no real problem with that. Those who don't feel up to it don't have to. Those who do shouldn't be held to the least common denominator.

Now, if your son dies and you show up at the prom and find your daughter dancing... yeah, I'd think maybe she's a little off. But finding a stranger is not hopelessly grief-striken? No.

Back in "my day" two classmates I knew killed themselves when I was in 9th and 10th grade. School didn't shut down for even 5 minutes. It was business as usual, and I'm only aware of one guy who was best friends with one of 'em who took a day off. It was sad, but they didn't cancel school, and then the next day they didn't call in 20 counselors and have group therapy in the gym all day, or hold nighttime candle vigils. They did announce that anybody who wanted to talk to someone could make an appointment with the counselors, but almost nobody did. That's what parents are for--we got that at home. And that's what friends are for--we had them at school. The modern approach to this is totally different, and I'm not at all convinced it's better.

That young man was just trying to make something horrible into something useful and pleasant.

I can't get around the practicality of your argument. Its true I would not be at the dance location in that scenario.

I guess the heart of the matter is me having the need to impose my moral sensibilities onto others. I don't like it when people do that to me. I'm like **** you mr. republican don't tell me I can't play poker on the internet. So why should I turn around and try to force people to hold human life sacred? I don't know I am pretty liberal but even liberals have a line in the sand. I can't let people around me be animals. Gotta force them to be human.

We're finally on Bravo live.

For the dealers: do you say anything to the player as you push him the pot?

At the casino i play in, most dealers say something like "nice hand" as they push pot.

I've heard that saying that is considered trolling for a tip and should not be said. We definitely have some dealers who are clearly doing that. They'll say nice hand if you make a bet and take down the blinds without a flop. Some will even repeat it if you dont immediately tip them when they said it the first time.

There are other dealers though that just do it occasionally and really do seem to just be congratulating you.

So what's the professional view on this? Do you say anything or are you the silent type?

Thanks

There is no question that this is unprofessional. Even if it is not trolling for a tip ... congratulating a player is out of line because there are other players who lost on that hand.....

It's kinda like saying "good luck all-in" when a guy ships his stack in. Why are you rooting for the all-in player and not everyone else? These are things that should not be said by a dealer. Period.

thx Psandman and Suit, I never thought saying good hand or somethin similar was bad form for a dealer. At the casino I work at, employees cannot accept tips so saying nice hand could never be construed as trolling for a tip. But I've never thought about the position of the losers.

No you never say "nice hand" "well played" or any other stupid crap like that.

What about when a dealer pre pushes up some of the board cards after the river is complete because they think they know what you have?

I'm not saying pushing up three of the queens when the board is QQQ32, I'm talking about pushing up three cards to a flush etc.

I don't like that simply because it may draw a players attention to something they were unaware of. But I don't see it done often anyway.

Pushing up cards before the first player shows is ok, as long as that player shows the expected hand every single time. The first time he shows a hand you weren't expecting, you need to stop doing it.

Generally I won't push up the cards much (if at all), but if a player who has not shown down yet hesitates upon seeing the tabled hand, I will indicate the cards on board that play in the interests of speeding up the game.

Most of the time, it's either a question of if a kicker plays or what straight a player has...those seem to be the two scenarios where I get this most often.

They're talking about pushing up board cards before anyone has shown their hand.

Not a good thing to do.

When a hand is tabled I almost always push up the board cards that play.

concur 100%...as far as I'm concerned, the board doesn't exist until people start tabling hands. The closest I'll come to acknowledging the board is being a little slower to pull in river bets if it's a board where there's a higher chop frequency (KQJTx)....that's it.

Don't do this.

Cards speak only after they have been tabled. If a player is trying to read the board before he tables his hand, anything you do in relation to the board could violate OPTAH.

Speaking of dealers violating OPTAH.

It's becoming way too common for a dealer to say, "OK turn them up." as soon as the last player calls the river bet.

What difference does it make saying "ok turn them up" or "showdown" or even "showdown please"

At showdown a player has a choice. The player can show his hand or throw it away.

Telling a player to turn it up is telling a player which of two choices to make.

I prefer "Show em or Muck em"

And the other objection of course is that when you push up the cards for the probable winner your telling the losing player .... "hey its obvious what your opponent had why are paying him off"

This is my main concern.