Here is the problem with your theory ..... It didn;t happen. the other player still had his cards after OP's hand was gone and he didn't speak up and say hey guys I still have cards. Obviously he wasn't trying to shoot an angle ..... because he ha dthe chance to pull the trigger and he didn't (he never mucked or indicated a muck he would have been telling the truth if he later told the floor that)

No, turn over your cards and stop holding up the game.

Dealers wouldn't have to put up with "this stuff" if they didn't try to muck live hands. It must not get too old to them if they keep doing it. (With that said, it's something I've rarely seen.)

grunch: I protect my cards from the moment they are released by the dealer during the deal until I concede that I am not going to win the pot (mucking) OR I as I receive the pot.

Protecting does not mean a coin or chip on them - it means my hand is between the cards and the angle where my hand could be killed either by a wild muck or the dealer (cards are very visible, I'm not palming them). When I'm showing down my hand I turn them over and rest my hand on the base of the cards until I either get paid or see a better hand.

I don't slow the game down - and I don't get hands killed that I don't want killed.

Villains cards were still technically live and OP was at risk. Glad it worked out but next time it may not.

Do this:
Its not nitty and does not slow the game.

This.

My cards are the last thing the dealer gets when I win a pot. I make sure to keep the game going by being speedy about it once I know the pot is secured in my direction, but until the pot is pushed my way, the dealer doesn't get my cards.

When I was a dealer, I never had to worry about putting up with that stuff since I was trained to muck the loser before pushing the pot, and certainly before demanding the winner's cards... The villain in the OP's case still had live cards if they happen to flip over (intentional or not..)

This is what I always do.

Wrong.

Do not release your cards until the dealer pushes the pot to you. No exceptions. Mistakes happen all the time and in my expereince nearly every floor decision in involving a new player and a regular goes to the reg.

Nice 7 year bump.

This is right except for option 3. Just because the dealer pushes you the pot doesn't mean that villain loses his claim on the pot. Make sure the villain tables his hand or that the dealer mucks the hand before you let go of your cards.

The problem is that a player can turn over his cards and claim he didn't "muck". Since he is not facing a bet and we are at showdown his hand may be technically live until it is swept into the muck pile by the dealer.

I have seen cases where a player threw their hand forward face down and then after some time reached forward and turned over what ended up being a winner.

I have also heard on this site of stories of players who hold their cards until they see a better hand turned over and then claim to be the only hand remaining when the other player mucks their hand.

It used to be that you had to turn over your hand to win the pot at showdown. Now after all other players have mucked there are rooms where you don't have to. But habits die hard so the other player may still be wanting to make sure their K high is no good and are waiting for you to table your hand. And if you muck they may in fact try to claim the pot. "You win" is not necessarily accepted as a concession. The guy may be able to argue that he meant "I think you win" or "I'm almost positive you win".

Finally, do not take dealer's word for it when you ask if the other player has mucked. I was playing a hand where the other player said "all in". The dealer was taking the "all in" button out of his rack and I asked the dealer if the other player was all in. The dealer said "yes". I called and the other player said he hadn't said anything. The Floor ultimately ruled against me. So I will never accept the dealer's interpretation of what was said by another player. In this case make sure the other player's cards are in the muck or table your hand before surrendering your cards to the dealer.

Also, I do not give my cards to the dealer unless he/she is pushing the pot to me at the same time. This allows time for another player to say "wait!" if they still have cards. And if they don't say wait it gives the Floor compelling evidence that they could have stopped the "mucking" of my hand and so the pot has a better chance of coming my way.

Asking for the dealer to clarify will usually be enough protection all right , but in some sketchy rooms this could be Dealer/ Reg BS to push the pot to his "bud" , cousin, or what not. If you have a feel that this kind of situation might be possible, holding on to your cards till the V really mucks is wise.

Asking the dealer to confirm, through physical action, another players action may slow the game down, but only by a few seconds (and not even that, if the dealer is good and does it automatically). Having a player push in chips for an all-in, mucking cards when the player discards his hand, or making the pot right before going to the next step may take a few seconds each time, but saves minutes or more when the eventual conflict is avoided. If a player has acted ambiguously (intentional or not), I have no problem asking the dealer to confirm the action with the player (I am not just taking the dealers word, as that is unenforceable if the player disagrees).

Hold onto your cards until the pot is pushed AND the other players cards are killed. Don't take any crap from other players or the dealer if the whine about this.

Player 2 bets on the river. Player 3 folds. Dealer pushes pot to player 2 and mucks his hand. Player 7 says, "Hey, I haven't folded yet."

There's a reasonable chance here that player 7 is going to win the pot. Player 2 might get his river bet back as a refund.