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#1
11-23-2005, 02:09 PM
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Was Hachem being unethical?
At the final table of Bally's wsop circuit event when there were 10 players left and we were waiting for 1 more to drop to end the day Hachem did something that I disagree with. It isn't against the rules but in my opinion it could be considered unethical by many.
On the last hand of the day with the blinds at 2k-4k with a 500 ante Max Pescatori moves all in in the hijack for 22,500 chips. Joe Hachem is next to act and announces all in. I don't know his exact chip count but I think it was over 150,000. Lee Watkinson is next to act and goes into the tank. He clearly has a good hand and is deciding whether he wants to put the tournament on the line as it will be all in for him. After some time Hachem turns to Watkinson and says "I know what you have." Watkinson replies "You know what I have? OK tell me what I have." Hachem says "There are other players behind you I can't say yet but before the cards are turned over I'll tell you what you have." Watkinson keeps deliberating. Hachem is figiting and to me it was clear he wanted Watkinson not only to fold but was making it clear he had Watkinson beat and that he would be making a mistake to call. After some more time Hachem says to Watkinson "You should have folded a long time ago." Watkinson folds and Minh Ly moves in his approximately 50k in the small blind immediately. I fold the big blind and the hands are turned up with Pescatori holding A4o, Hachem KK, and Minh Ly JJ. Watkinson claims to have folded QQ and Hachem says something like "Of course I knew you had QQ." Regardless of whether Watkinson would have called I'm sure he was strongly influenced by Hachem to fold. After the hand Hachem told me he didn't want Watkinson to call. I was shocked and told him he of course wanted watkinson to call. He claims he was worried about going against so many hands and having to dodge alot of cards. An unfortunate part of the situation is that Minh Ly isn't exaclty a master of the english language and couldn't have understood the full implications of what Hachem was saying. Ly is one of the best players in the world and I'm almost positive he would have folded if he could have completely understood what Hachem was saying. Clearly Harrah's and the WSOP doesn't think Hachem did anything wrong and no one else seemed to think so either. As far as I can tell Hachem is a very nice and personable guy and a good NL tournament player. He clearly didn't think he was doing anything wrong or unethical at the time. What do you guys think? 
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#2
11-23-2005, 02:13 PM
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Re: Was Hachem being unethical?
Yes, the old "get your opponents to fold when you're an 4:1 favorite" angle. What a cheater.
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#4
11-23-2005, 02:19 PM
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Re: Was Hachem being unethical?
[ QUOTE ]
An unfortunate part of the situation is that Minh Ly isn't exaclty a master of the english language and couldn't have understood the full implications of what Hachem was saying. Ly is one of the best players in the world and I'm almost positive he would have folded if he could have completely understood what Hachem was saying. [/ QUOTE ] The man speaks with a very thick accent, but he knows English. I've seen him in a number of interviews, he doesn't require a translator or anything. Moreover, despite the fact that it's not IMO relevant to this situation (in so far as I believe Minh knew what was being said), a man with his table experience can probably decipher with surprising accuracy, just by watching the players, exactly what was going on even if he didn't know what was being said.
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#5
11-23-2005, 02:19 PM
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Re: Was Hachem being unethical?
It's not Joe Hachem's fault that a player at the table doesn't speak his language well.
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#7
11-23-2005, 02:21 PM
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Re: Was Hachem being unethical?
No. English only at the table. Tough luck.
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#8
11-23-2005, 02:22 PM
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Re: Was Hachem being unethical?
Forgetting about Ly for a moment, is it ok for me to tell another player I have them beat when I actually do, essentially helping them save chips. And is it ok for me to tell them they have me beat when they do, essentially giving them chips.
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