You Make The Call

[Rottersod]

3 players to the river. On the river BB has $100. MP has $500. Button has $500. Board is 55562 rainbow.

BB goes all in for his remaining $100. MP goes AI for his $500. At this point BB for some strange reason decides to flash his 5 to the table and says "save your money boys." Button immediately calls and tables JJ while MP tables TT and starts yelling at the BB.

You're the Floor. What's your ruling?

</font><font color="white"> This happened the other night at our home game and we had to make a ruling but I want to find out what the consensus here is. It was an ugly situation and we probably lost a regular because of it. <font color="white"> </font>

[RR]

[ QUOTE ]
3 players to the river. On the river BB has $100. MP has $500. Button has $500. Board is 55562 rainbow.

BB goes all in for his remaining $100. MP goes AI for his $500. At this point BB for some strange reason decides to flash his 5 to the table and says "save your money boys." Button immediately calls and tables JJ while MP tables TT and starts yelling at the BB.

You're the Floor. What's your ruling?

[/ QUOTE ]



Depending on his history the guy flashing the 5 needs to either receive a stern warning not to do that again or needs to be shown the door. The size of the pot matters also. If there is $10k in the center when this happens it is not a big deal, if it happens with $100 in the middle it is huge.

[chucky]

BB should lose the pot for flashing with action left to come. Split the pot between 2 remaining players.

[TheMuppet]

I would rule the BB hand dead, and change the AI from MP to a call (giving him back $400) and then award the pot to BTN.

[psandman]

BB gets the main pot.
Button gets the side pot.

Assuming this is a cash game

If BB is a first time offender he gets a stern warning. If he is a repeat offender BB gets invited to cash out his chips and leave.

If this is a tournament

BB gets a penalty. Again depending on whether this is a first offense or a problem player the penalty might rane from 1 orbit around the table to disqualification.

[gobboboy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
3 players to the river. On the river BB has $100. MP has $500. Button has $500. Board is 55562 rainbow.

BB goes all in for his remaining $100. MP goes AI for his $500. At this point BB for some strange reason decides to flash his 5 to the table and says "save your money boys." Button immediately calls and tables JJ while MP tables TT and starts yelling at the BB.

You're the Floor. What's your ruling?

[/ QUOTE ]



Depending on his history the guy flashing the 5 needs to either receive a stern warning not to do that again or needs to be shown the door. The size of the pot matters also. If there is $10k in the center when this happens it is not a big deal, if it happens with $100 in the middle it is huge.

[/ QUOTE ]

Care to explain the last sentence? I don't really understand.

[RR]

[ QUOTE ]
Care to explain the last sentence? I don't really understand.

[/ QUOTE ]

If it was a great big game there wasn't anything funny going on, he wanted to let them save the little bit on the end and didn't understand the implications of showing it. If these bets were large for the game it becomes more likely he wanted to let the JJ know he wasn't going to see 4 5s for the side pot.

edit to add: I am assuming a cash game here as touranments have specific penalty rules in place to deal with this sort of thing.

[BigBluffer]

According to Robert's Rules of Poker, in the Poker Etiquette Section: "The following actions are improper, and grounds for warning, suspending, or barring a violator: ... Revealing the contents of a live hand in a multihanded pot before the betting is complete."

http://www.pokercoach.us/RobsPkrRules11.doc

The situation in the OP seems to be applicable here since the hand that was (partially) revealed was live, it was a multihanded pot, and there was still action pending.

Declaring the BB's hand dead, as suggested above by chucky and TheMuppet doesn't seem to be an option.

[PantsOnFire]

The ruling is award BB the main pot and button the side pot. As well, BB would get a warning or a penalty of some sort. Any compensation or departure from that ruling would simply be between those three players and their conscience.

In a casino, this may be easier but since you described this as happening a home game, it sure does have an impact as you seem to imply.

It doesn't seem to me that button would have folded if he didn't see that 5. If it had been me and this was a game with my buddies, I might have shipped half of the $400 I won from MP back to him.

This situation is not really as bad as it first seems. However, there could be a situation where it would be patently clear that one player benefitted. For example, if button had the second nuts like a K high flush and BB flashed the A, then button now knows for sure that he has MP beat. In a situation like that, as the host I might ask that button and MP take back their $400 or have BB ship his main pot to MP.

In a good home game, you can only hope that all players involved recognize the damage of such an action and find a fair way of spreading the money in the pot around.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

That's an ugly one. I'm not sure right this second what the proper ruling would be.

The bb certainly should be kicked square in the nuts for this one. If this was a tourney I'd penalize the bb with significant time away from the table, at least 20 minutes or 2 full rounds depending on house policies. If it were a live casino game I'd have this guy in the back reaming him a new one.

The problem, obviously, is that JJ had very significant information before he acts that he was not entitled to have, and TT did not have when he acted.

A possible solution would be to declare that action was dead at the point where the bb exposed his cards, and to disallow any side pot action. I'm reserving this being my "final answer, Regis" until I see some replies and ask around some.