At the local 1/3 game Saturday this exchange happened.

The board ran out J5533.

Player A jams the river. Player B is one of the worst players in the room. If she calls it would be over $500 pot.

Player B says - "dealer, i have a question for you. If we both have a jack, does the 2nd card count?" - i'm not kidding.

Dealer says -

A) I'm not allowed to talk about the hand.

B) I'm sorry, I can't provide that kind of information

C) yes

I don't know the dealer SHOULD answer. However, isn't this akin to a rules question? If the player asked if a flush beats a straight in call all-in spot, would that be a problem? I remember in WSOP from years ago that a player called the floor to ask that question which the floor did do.

Dealer doesn’t seem out of line at all imo

The dealer cannot answer if a straight beats a flush, etc.

That is an OPTAH violation

this is incorrect

Bruh what the actual **** are you on about.

If you're playing poker or any other game in a regulated casino you have a right to know the rules of the game.

Suggesting maybe "Best 5 cards win." as a suitable answer from the dealer?

What game in the casino are you playing against other players, not the house?

I disagree with you guys, but I could be wrong.

Also EVERY floor person agreed that the dealer should not have answered.

I realize that might not make it correct, but that's my .02

I think something like "The best 5 card hand plays, I can't speculate about possible hands."

lol why is OP acting like the player asked “hey dealer should I call?”

I mean “yes” isn’t really technically correct but it’s pretty close.

A and B would be terrible answers and not correct at all. If a dealer is asked a rules question, they can answer with respect to the rules! I don’t know any game in the casino where that isn’t the case.

The player used information they should have known, which is part of the game - from another source outside the game.

Trust me, she calls if he says "i can't answer that"

Maybe its one of those you had to be there situations, but she got help for something she should have known.

not against optah rule in just about every casino to ask for the rules.

what casino was this?

New York State

It's fine for her to say that, he was asking a rules question. People should stop looking for all these loop holes and technicalities to win a hand and get someone to much the winner at show down.

“Should have known” is highly subjective. The only reason to make it so that dealers can’t answer rules questions is if you want to take advantage of new players.

I don’t care if she would call if the dealer said “I can’t answer that”. It’s a terrible answer.

She's not new.. I myself have played with her many times.

She also criticizes the way people play hands, and is not nice about it.

Previous to this a player flatted her with KK, got to the river, river was an Ace, it went check check and she showed JJ and berated the guy for 10 minutes for not 3 betting her pre.

You get my whole stack if you 3 bet me, she kept saying.

Maybe they should only allow players who have read at least 3 poker books into the game?

If you want to argue that the question wasn't a rules question, that's perfectly fine. We can disagree on that.

Trying to argue that dealers shouldn't answer questions regarding the rules of the game sounds morally questionable.

"I can't say."

"It might, it might not."

Either of those acceptable answers? J-2 the kicker don't play.

This seems right.

Slightly different from what was asked to the dealer in the OP, but if someone asks the dealer:

"What is the best 5-card hand out of J5533 and J4?"

How should the dealer answer?

Probably, "I can only read hands tabled at showdown"

That's a reasonable answer I would think.
Is it considered a "rules question" though?

The dealer is allowed to answer questions involving the rules, even if the player knows, or should know, the answer. There's an instance where I will ALWAYS ask a rules question, even though I already know the answer I will (or at least, should) get. If I have opened a pot for a raise, and one or more players call before a short stack goes all in for more, but not enough to re-open action, once the action is back to me, I will ask the dealer "What are my options?" Even before s/he has answered, I know I will be told that I can either call or fold. So, why do I ask? Because I want the remaining players to think that I was considering a raise, whether I'm strong or not. This also clears up that they also can only call or fold when it gets to them.

i like this.

I don't like the way that the dealer answered the question and I mind that the dealer answered it incorrectly because of the J2 situation.

I think that when the dealer says yes the other card plays while it is (almost) an answer to the rule that the best 5 cards play, it is also helping a player who seems to be unable to know what the best 5 cards are.

What if a player showed the dealer their hand and asked if a particular card plays? Like in this case JT and asked if the T plays? I think that is not asking about a rule but instead is asking for help to know the value of their hand.