[pfapfap]

Ugh, magic muck. I've had the floor rule that a hand was dead when just a tiny little corner of it touched the muck for a fraction of a second. Of course, throwing ones cards in doesn't count as a muck until the dealer scoops them up. It's insanity. It's people like Brettski that encourage cardrooms to go this route.

Brettski, in Robert's Rules, it states clearly and in multiple locations that the rules are a guideline and that the floor has authority to make decisions based on the best interest of the game. It says so. In the rules. So, as a rules nit, you should appreciate and accept this.

As to the dealer making a mistake by not mucking everything instantly... hogwash. Were I in that situation, I'd make every effort to prevent the sidepot players from mucking after the main pot player showed his hand. The dealer mistake was in letting them muck, not in leaving the cards clearly identifiable while the floor was called.