I let an injustice stand...
 

Ok, in my defense, I'm a pretty slow hand reader and I wasnt' involved in the hand.

Live 1/2 NL game. Big winner for the night gets involved with an older woman who's got maybe 35 BB's in front of her. Flop comes AAQ. All the money goes in. I'd folded my pre-flop trash and have an eye on the game on the wall mounted flatscreen just behind the dealers head. Big winner flips A-9, Older woman flips A-6.

Turn and river are dealt and the older woman stands and leaves the room. My eyes drift back to the board and I see A-A-Q-K-x.

I start to say wait, but get to about Wha- before the dealer has the board scooped and flipped over. I think about it for a few seconds...three aces, king-queen...hmmm... hmmm... hey, the nine doesn't play! Three times I say "why isn't that a chop, but I must've been mumbling because nobody at the table reacts at all. Finally I say, pretty loudly, Hey! why isn't that a chop.

The dealer - and we have a dedicated dealer who works for tips, and generally clears a few hundred a night, says patiently, the board didn't pair ... As I start to puzzle over what the hell that has to do with it (did I mention I'm a slow board reader) the guy to my right, who frequently deals this game, but is playing that night, says "there was a queen on the flop and a king on the turn. A moment passes and somebody says "Chop."

We all look at the first players stack, where the pot is now hopelessly commingled with his stack. About that time I hear the front door close (the front door is several rooms away from the room with the poker table).

We all look at each other awkwardly. Then the dealer silently puts out the cards for the next hand and we play on.

Not my finest hour.

Re: I let an injustice stand...
 

No need to be defending your actions - the dealer and the players involved in the pot made the mistake, not you. Whether or not it should have been corrected afterwards is debatable. In many places once a player leaves the table, they have no right to any money from the pot. If she were still at the table and the next hand wasn't dealt yet, a correction would be in order.

Re: I let an injustice stand...
 

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About that time I hear the front door close (the front door is several rooms away from the room with the poker table).

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Hmmmm?

Re: I let an injustice stand...
 

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and we have a dedicated dealer who works for tips, and generally clears a few hundred a night

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You need the dealer to watch the hands more closely. Yes players at the table should of seen the cards but if you have a paid dealer, they are not doing their job

Re: I let an injustice stand...
 

I say, if you can fix it later with an estimated amount, do so (if it's relatively soon).

If not, that's the way it goes.

So, you can hear a door close, OVER the TV, three rooms away... but you can't speak clearly enough to be heard from 4 feet away?

:P

Re: I let an injustice stand...
 

[ QUOTE ]
I say, if you can fix it later with an estimated amount, do so (if it's relatively soon).

If not, that's the way it goes.

So, you can hear a door close, OVER the TV, three rooms away... but you can't speak clearly enough to be heard from 4 feet away?

:P

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Sound was off on the TV, but yeah, I suppose my incredibly acute hearing is why I assume people can hear me when I talk quietly.

Seriously, I don't have particularly great hearing, but in my own home I can hear the front door from anywhere in the downstairs, if there isnt' some intervening noise, so I don't see why this is surprising.

Re: I let an injustice stand...
 

frEAK......

Re: I let an injustice stand...
 

Several things:

Was no one else paying attention? As players we all have the responsibilty to make sure things are run in a fair and consitent manner. (assuming you're paying attention - no requiremnt there though. Games on TV, feel free to watch it)

Does the "old lady " have problems reading the board? Players that might have some difficulty if the game starts moving fast - be it age, newness, or just a little slow at keeping track if action gets fast, need extra protection. Making sure proper procedures are followed under these circumstances become even more important.

How competent is the winner of this hand to realize what happened? Would he keep quiet knowing it should be a chop?

Do your dealers push forward the winning cards? If so he would push forward the A, A, king next and then the queen. This would clearly identify this as a split pot.

Personally I tend not to feel sorry for a player that allows a pot to be "stolen" from them. As a player you need to protect yourself - protect your cards, verify whats on the board, wait for an opponent to reveal his cards rather than taking his verbal declaration of what he has, etc.

But, if I was the player that did happen to be awarded the pot in this instance I would give the lady back her portion when / if I saw her again. It's not required, no rule says I have too, but I wouldn't feel right keeping it.

Re: I let an injustice stand...
 

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an older woman who's got maybe 35 BB's in front of her.


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Winner should explain and offer her 35 BB's if she comes back.

Re: I let an injustice stand...
 

There's the letter of the law and there's the spirit of being an upstanding human.

Similar story, in my regular Monday game with a bunch of drunk stoned sometimes violent people (never at the game, at least not to others, and rarely at all)... anyway, there was a crazy multiple all-in pot, and we all got confused and didn't realize that the winner of the tiny side-pot (me) was also the winner of the huge main pot. Or something, I forget the details. Anyway, we're starting on the next hand when some table banter reveals that I should've been shipped it. The guy who got the chips pushed them to me immediately. He wasn't happy about it, but who can blame him? I believe that he didn't see it, either.

So, anyway, my adivce is also to try to fix the situation best you can, either from the winner or from a pool collected from others who care about honesty and integrity above angle-shooting. Yes, it's up to the players to protect their hands, but we're all in this crazy adventure together and we should look out for each other, too. No bad can come of it. You'll feel better about yourselves and may inspire others.