I know I'm scum/it won't happen again. But what would the ruling have been?

3/5 NL, 9 handed, I'm in SB in seat 1 to dealer left. 4 people limped, action was on seat 9 and I was looking to see his action. He then mumbled to dealer(which I figured out later was "watch me play this hand") and when he looked at his cards he held them out a little extra so dealer could see them too and I saw T8s. I called and BB checked. After BB checked and before flop came out he said to dealer "did you see them?" and she said "yeah......I hope seat 1 didn't see them tho." and she looked at me and I panicked and said no.

So what would be the ruling if I told the truth? I assume misdeal or seat 9 would have to show his cards to everyone and the hand would go on?

Not a misdeal, otherwise you could just get a misdeal every time you wanted your money back by flashing your cards. He'd have to expose his hand. Next time, just be vague. Nobody asked you a question. No need to say anything.

Why would it be a misdeal? the idiot showed you his hand. It's his own damn fault.

How could this ever be declared a misdeal? If so, any time you don't like your cards or how the hand is progressing, you just show your cards to someone and *poof* all bets come back and we start over? No way.

Well, she didn't literally ask me the question but she spoke in a questioning way(with her voice rising) so I took it as a question(I guess you had to be there) and replied.

So if I said I saw his cards, wouldn't the rest of the table have to have that same knowledge, i.e. he'd have to play with his hand face up?

I questioned misdeal because I wasn't sure if this was considered significant action up to this point.

Deliberately exposed cards are not a misdeal. Ever.

"Oh, crap, I got bad cards on the BB, I'd rather try again for Aces. Whoops, I exposed them! Misdeal!"

The only time exposed cards result in a misdeal are when the dealer exposes two of them during the pitch. That's it. After that, protect your hand.

Anyway, yes, you should have told the truth.

This isn't the only time.

Actually, either of the first 2 cards off the deck, exposing 2 other cards, or in most places..exposing a card on the button would cause a missdeal. Also during the initial deal, finding a card with a different color backing would also do it.

Oops, very true, one of the first two dealt cards is a misdeal, but I've never seen an exposed button card result in the same.

...but finding another colored card in the deck isn't an exposed card triggering it, so nyeah. And does that fall under "misdeal" or "fouled deck"?

First card to the button exposed in hold 'em = misdeal.
One of the first three cards exposed to the button in omaha = misdeal.

Because the replacement card would come right after the last
card dealt and we can't give a player two cards in a row off the deck.

Not sure why, we put three cards in a row off the deck for the flop almost every hand.

Yeah, I've heard of the rule, I've just never seen it implemented.

exactly. You supposed to play with your head down? If he wants to play team poker with the dealer its his problem

This. Protecting his hand is his own problem. He caused this.

I'll give the dealer credit for discouraging that move in a classy way.

That said, if directly asked, you say yes as you know. Don't say what they are. Play continues. At worst, I can see the possibility that there is ruling that the BTN will have to expose their cards to everyone(bad call, but I can see it being made). If the dealer makes a move to shut down the hand, call the floor.

Coincidentally, this happened to me at Seneca Niagara last night. Last card to button was exposed...misdeal.

Anyone think that a better solution for this would be:

Burn a card
deal the top card to the button as a replacement
Use exposed card as the burn card, before the flop

?

Rather than dealing the entire hand over.... What are the risks, here?

Ain't no way the superstitious are going to let us futz with the predetermined order of the flop. Plus, now there are four burns on the table? What is the eye in the sky going to think?

I have seen dealers use the exposed card as the burn card and gave what would have been the burn card to the player who was misdealt to.

Yes, this is standard. But Larry was proposing using the first card of the flop as the new hole card.

Lying is sometimes part of the game, what would you say if another player asked you if "you got them aces again". That stupid question always grates on my nerves

Your best response is "no comment". Either verbally or physically.

Correct response would be, 'Doesn't matter, I always know what he's got'....

The problem is not with whether you have an unfair advantage over the 9 seat but whether you have an unfair advantage as to the 4 limpers. I always understood the rules to require you to inform the dealer, and thereby the table, of gaining such knowledge even if the dealer had not asked you and even if it was without fault on your part. I understand everyone is entitled to have the same opportunity to have information.

But it's the dealer's job to enforce those rules; it's not the player's job. If the dealer was remotely competent he or she would tell the other player to refrain from exposing his cards, not say regarding another player "I hope he didn't see them." One of the other players at the table should call the floor and have the floor warn the dealer and the player exposing the cards if they're concerned about it.

In most rooms, if another colored card is discovered during the deal, its treated as a fouled deck- veto the hand, bets are returned and redeal.

If its in the stub after action, its treated as a piece of paper and removed.

Kind of an interesting scenario - I wonder what the ruling would have been (if any) if the 1 seat had said, "Yes."

By standard tourney rules the exposed hand would be declared dead but i have seen diff cardrooms have diff policies for exposing cards in cash games.

Dude, i'm thinking you should either muck or respond vaguely and then maybe somehow convey to the guy that you prob DID see them.

Or **** it, just keep peeking? Hmmmmm.

Nah, that's cheating.