Ethics Question

[FabledHero]

I can't believe anyone hasn't suggested this:

I think the most fair thing to do would give him his river bet back. You shouldn't be punished for him mucking and not make any money, just act as if he folded the river, this way you make some profit and he gets smoe of his money back so he feels better. I definately don't think you should chop the whole pot, that's going a little too far.

[Do You See Why]

[ QUOTE ]
I can't believe anyone hasn't suggested this:

I think the most fair thing to do would give him his river bet back. You shouldn't be punished for him mucking and not make any money, just act as if he folded the river, this way you make some profit and he gets smoe of his money back so he feels better. I definately don't think you should chop the whole pot, that's going a little too far.

[/ QUOTE ]

funny you should mention that. that is what i ended up doing. I told him to pull his 500 back and i raked the rest of the pot. ethically at the time I felt like [censored] but I really really needed the money. needing the money as in it was almost every dollar I had except for the loose change in my car and maybe 20 bucks in my checking account. At the time If I was rolled for the game I would have told the dealer to push him the whole pot. I was way on tilt after the hand(emotional roller coaster going from the anticipation of bluffing every dollar i owned to the dissapointment of getting called to the the "what the [censored]!?!" of him mucking the winner). I didnt want to play anymore but I couldnt be the [censored] that gets up with the money after that. Thankfully, the game broke about 10 minutes later.

The kid was pissed,but the other players at the table said he should be thankful for getting 500 back as most would just scoop the pot. Poll results seem to show they were correct. Nowadays I think I would just scoop the pot. The poker world for the most part is full of selfish degens who will do anything for a break. Why would I cut them a break when they probably wouldn't do the same for me?

BTW, about 6 months I got allin vs. two other players who had me covered when I flooped a set with my pocket kings on the flop. When the flush draw completed on the river and they started raising eachother on the river I knew I was dead. They both tabled flushes for the side pot. I flashed my pocket kings to the players next to me and mucked. As I mucked the guy to my right said"What are you doing?!?!" I looked and yep the river club also paired the board giving me the winning full house. I didnt say a word as the pot was pushed to the guy with the nut flush. embarrassing.

[Greg (FossilMan)]

[ QUOTE ]
Once I lost an all-in in a tournament with AQ vs AK but the dealer misread the board and thought it was a split; no one noticed the error. After the hand someone said it actually wasn't a split, but I argued that the hand was over so I didn't need to give the chips to my opponent. Yes, I'm sad.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is completely different, assuming you were using the common rule of the hands being face-up once you were all-in. In that case, the hands were there, tabled by both players, and cards speak. You were supposed to point out the mistake by the dealer as it happened, as was anybody else at the table who noticed. Failure to correct this mistake, if you notice it, is a violation of the rules.

In the hand by the OP, the "winning" hand of Ax was never tabled, it was only flashed by the player before he mucked it, apparently face down to the dealer. As such, the hand was never really in the show-down, and was therefore not eligible to win. By the rules, the player with the Ax gets nothing.

In your hand, the only way the correct ruling would be for you to keep the chips is if nobody actually noticed the error until after the next hand had begun, at which point it is generally considered too late to correct.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[mikechops]

I'd take the pot and leave, looking over my shoulder all the way to the parking lot. I guess others might have the balls to keep playing, but I wouldn't care for the atomosphere after I did.

[AJackson]

As long as the guy hadn't been a dick, I'd chop the pot. However, I wouldn't fault anyone for taking the entire pot.

[[Phill]]

Chopping sounds right to me.

The half the pot i keep is the stupid tax he deserves.

[NotFadeAway]

Dude screwed up. It's his fault he lost and you shouldn't give him one cent for it.

[curtains]

Id chop for karma, but of course it depends how big the pot is and whether I like the opponent or not. Hard to say how much money is worth more than karma, and in any case its totally ethical to just keep the whole pot. It'd mainly just be a gesture of goodwill.

[rakemeplz]

I'd keep the whole damn pot. Just cuz he "flashes" you a card means he deserves something for being an idiot? I do not understand this reasoning.

[minnesotasam]

Daryn sums up exactly how I feel about this question in his two posts.