Quote:
Originally Posted by HighLowYo
So, I had this happen while I was supervising the poker room at my casino:
I had two tables running (lets say tables 30&32), both short handed, until table 32 broke. There were enough seats remaining at table 30 to accommodate 4 of the 5 players left on table 32, which worked out because the 5th player was gone for dinner (let's call him Ben). I got the dealer at table 32 to draw cards for the remaining 4 players for order of choice of seating, racked Ben's chips, and set them aside.
While I was dealing with a few patrons doing some color-ups and changes, Ben came back upstairs and was wrongly informed by another poker player that his chips had been moved to table 30. Only after about 10 minutes or so did I notice that Ben had sat down and was playing another player's stack (let's call him Mark). It turns out that Mark's stack also had a dinner button and was within $20 of Ben's stack, so it is easy to see that this was a simple mistake. Several hands had been played in which Ben says he made around 2 hundred dollars.
I'm a new supervisor (though I've been dealing for nearly 4 years) and I've never seen this situation previously, so I made a couple phone calls. The best solution given to me was to call surveillance and ask them to track the hands that had been played during the time Ben was playing Mark's stack to confirm how much was won so that amount could be taken out of that stack and be given to Ben.
In the end, luckily, Mark knew how much he had left on the table before leaving for dinner. Ben and Mark ended up settling it between themselves, where Mark gave Ben the difference of what he knew he had before leaving for dinner.
Any comments? Would any of you have handled the situation differently?
And hypothetically, what do you think should have happened had the Bad Beat gone while Ben was playing Mark's stack? We also have a promotion where %10 of the Bad Beat gets awarded to a player who gets a royal flush, any ideas what should happen if Ben were to get a royal?
The best measure of what Ben had won would be to count the chips in the stack he was playing. But, you did the right thing since you decided to seek advice and some higher-up told you to consult surveillance ... despite the implied delay to the ongoing game while that was sorted out.....
You seem to know, and Mark seemingly confirmed what he had in his stack when he left for dinner, from which Ben was playing. The difference was what Ben lost or won.
(You also know what Ben actually had when he left, not that that matters.)
Not sure why you think Ben is entitled to get anything from playing Mark's stack, but if so, and Mark and Ben had not settled on a number .... the room can cover that liability.
You are not without fault. Your room was at the point of tables breaking, you knew there were X seats available, because you presumably knew that Mark was at dinner, as was Ben. When Ben came back, you should have been watching for him, noticed and told him, given him his chips and put him on a list for the next seat.
Pay attention to the ongoing games over coloring folks up or cashing them out.
The dealer who let Ben sit down and play also should be talked to.
The dealer he replaced, if there had been a change, should have told him Mark was the player on dinner break. If it were the same dealer who gave Mark the dinner button, then he should be talked to a bit harder.
Otherwise, no big deal, the affected players settled it. You punted the matter to higher-ups and made everyone wait for a resolution, which the players themselves eventually arrived at themselves without you actually deciding anything; you have the makings of a veteran floor man/supervisor.
Last edited by Gzesh; 11-11-2018 at 03:29 PM.