Harrah's Makes Good Floor Decision?

[Crane]

Sure, you should protect your hand, but it's real easy for a dealer to just scoop up your cards. I had the same thing happen to me in a 150-300 stud game with a $2000 pot. I turned over my hand on the river showing two pair--the other guy (disgustedly) turned over his cards--one pair--and in the blink of an eye the dealer scooped up my hand--mucked it--and pushed the other guy the pot.

Try "protecting" your hand in a stud game. Have you ever seen stud players holding onto all of their cards at the river like a mother hen. No, they spread them out so the hand can be read. I eventually got the pot, but that's not the point.

Yea, it's easier to "protect" your hand in a hold'em game, but 95% of the time most players just table their hand at the river for all to see. It's very easy for an incompetent dealer to just reach over and grab your cards, especially if you're sitting in the one or nine seat.

This is just a case of a bad dealer getting too far ahead of themselves. As long as other players at the table, including the dealer, saw your hand, and the other guy mucked, then you had the winner. It's your pot. Showing one of your cards to a neighbor doesn't count for anything.

Getting the $40 is fine, but it's not the correct ruling. This sounds to me like a case of the floor wanting to spread a little good will and make everybody happy. What do you think the ruling would have been if the pot had been $2000?