Second live session back since COVID started but all-time first for me...playing 2/5 NL and I feel something hit my foot underneath the table, I look down and it’s a black chip. I wait ~30 seconds and no one budges or acts out of the ordinary, WWYD?

Pick it up. Ask who dropped it.

Casinos have cameras literally everywhere. So don't be worried about someone claiming it as theirs nefariously. you are scum if you kept it btw

Super easy ask if someone dropped a chip. If someone says yes, ask for details, and if they give the right color and a plausible explanation of how they lost it, pass it over.

If no one claims it, turn it in to the cage with your contact info. Most casinos will give it to you if nobody claims it within X days.

Be aware that if you just take it, many jurisdictions consider that theft, and even in the ones that don't, the casino may ban you.

no brainer:
if you dropped a $100 chip what would you want the finder to do?
how you answer is how you should proceed

pretty sure its the poker gods.. dont you remember the quarter hitting your foot the first time you played 1/2? If you ever need to make rent, pawn the 2500 needed for the min buyin of your local 25/50 game and it'll be a 1k chip hitting your flip flop

Paint it whatever color the highest denomination chip in your casino is then throw it into a crowd of people and watch them fight over it.

Do you really need to ask this question? So you know somebody literally just dropped the chip, but you think since they didn't notice, it's ok to sneakingly pick it up and keep it? Congrats on stealing the chip.

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Tip the dealer for once

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If this is in a casino and you took the chip, what would you then do if someone piped up and said, "I think I'm missing a black chip!!!!"

Would be awkward if they checked the cameras.

The right thing to do is obvious, unless you lack a moral compass or this $100 chip means the difference between life and death (doesn't sound like it though).

Do you best to ensure it gets back to the person who dropped it. I would bring it to the floor and tell them to check the cameras - which they should do for a $100 chip. I would not ask players at the neighboring table because chips roll all over the place and people are not always totally honest.

About a year ago, the day after an overnight 2/5 session the floor brought me a $100 chip that had gotten stuck underneath the table cup holder where I was seated. I was thrilled.

I wasn't so much happy about the $100. I was on a sick heater, so $100 didn't make a big difference. What was more important was that my faith in humanity was elevated. It was important enough a story for me to remember to tell you all, anyway. A few months later I saw two $100 chips and immediately brought them to the floor. Turns out the husband of one of my favorite pros had dropped them!

If you pocket the chip, no one may find out what you did, but it doesn't mean there aren't consequences for everyone, including you.

For example, say you get away with it and feel emboldened to take bigger risks, eventually stealing much more money. This is called the broken windows theory. I'm not a huge proponent of it, but it's one thing to consider.

You may go on to teach your children to act similarly, perpetuating unethical and harmful behavior. You may go on to elect powerful leaders who have emulated your actions because you can relate.

What if that $100 was more important to the rightful owner than to you? Say they were playing to make the rent. Necessity is another factor.

What if you ARE caught? You have to take into account the personal legal consequences to yourself and the damage your actions would cause to the reputations of poker players generally.

It's a good question, but not because the answer is really up for debate.

You had a different experience?

fyp

Because this is a gambling oriented site, expect some psychopaths and narcissists to come out of the woodwork and hone in on this point with the ol', "WELL THEY SHOULDNT HAVE BEEN PLAYING WITH THEIR RENT MONEY ANYWAY, WHICH SOMEHOW MEANS THEY DESERVED TO LOSE IT!!!!" (Seen variations of this a billion times on here.)
Too much probable deniability to get arrested, I think. Could be wrong.

There's been a few threads like this in the past. How much would you keep? How hard would you try to investigate? Is it OK at the table you've been sitting at, but not OK on your way to the bathroom, what about the parking garage?

Inevitably it finds it's way to a sidewalk near you and the $20 bill stuck in the grating. What if it's $100? What if it's a briefcase, unlocked or otherwise?

What if you're stuck that day?

Is it any different than your opponent accidentally showing you his cards? It's a mistake by the 'owner' of the chip(s) ... are you going to take advantage?

IMO if you are a Reg you should inquire to the Floor, then the Rewards desk .. and then to Security as to how they want you to handle lost/found 'abandoned' property (and is property different than chips) to see if there's actually a procedure/policy that may result in you ultimately possessing the item. Hopefully you get the same answer and then will know how you are to act in that room ... just in case you didn't know how to act anyway.

There was a time in a room where I was shocked that a green chip was found under the table as the first Player of the day sat down. The Floor was called and promptly picked it up and dropped it in the Dealers toke box .. quite a nice way to start the day! GL

Whoops. I meant "plausible".

Burn it at the table Phil Laak style

For the most part poker players are pretty honest when it comes to lost money... they don't mind beating you out of it but most of them will not outright steal it from you (Which is the same as dropping it on the floor and someone else picking it up and keeping it). There are outliers of course, but usually everyone is pretty honest.

Another key detail here is the 'hit my foot' language. To me, this implies that the chip was in motion (not the foot) and whatever caused it to be in motion had 'obv' just occurred. OP may just be using this description and mean that he 'kicked' it ... but most folks would say it that way, not 'felt it hit'.

IMO this is not a subtle difference. it's not as if you were walking through the casino and/or in the bathroom and someone left/lost an item and was no longer in the area.

If you're on the street and find a $20, you would typically pick it up. But if you saw the $20 fall out of a pocket you would probably help them out and get it back to them.

As others have already mentioned. You may think it's 'finders keepers', but unless you really know the rules of the facility it could become an issue for you. AND IMO, you may still ultimately have an issue with the facility if there's a review. I know of a Player who was overpaid at the cage and didn't realize until he was back at home. The next time back to the casino he was tapped on the shoulder and asked to return the excess. He was under no legal obligation to give it back, but they were going to ban him if he didn't.

Everything is (or isn't) relevant. A black chip at the 5/10 table isn't the same as at the 1/2 table. And in life we constantly make those decisions all the time. What really matters and what are you really going to 'fight' for ... like at the grocery store. GL

Philosophically, there's so much to address in this post that I don't even know where to begin and I'm not sure if I want to type a gigantic wall of text.

If I saw who dropped it I would tell them immediately and not reach for it.. The cameras see everything. Once at Sugarhouse Casino in Philadelphia, PA I found $1 on the floor and literally 5 seconds later I'm getting harassed by security for picking it up and escorted out. This was crazy! I was shocked and confused.

I'd sue. That can really rattle your game and it's hard to come back from something like that.

You are a scumbag if you think this is anything resembling a tough decision. Obviously, you should give the chip back to the person who just dropped it.

Maybe op is a total newb, and doesn't realize as scummy as poker players are that if he asked who dropped it he would NOT get 9 ppl saying "I did".