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You are the Tournament Director Series 2: Another Muck Question

Two players are heads up in a no-limit hold-em tournament. Player A moves all in on the river and player B (who has him covered) calls. Players B then throws his cards face up on the table revealing the nuts. He throws the cards down with such force that they slide across the table into the muck. You are called to the table and see where player A's cards appear to have ended up. One of them is deep into the muck so that only a corner is showing; the other is on top of the discards. They are the only two cards which are face up and the dealer says he believes they are the two cards from player B's hand. How do you rule?

Danny McDonagh Danny
I would accept the cards as they have been effectively tabled face up even though they had slid into the muck.

Thomas Kremser Thomas
I would give the pot to player B. It is clearly his hand and it is the winning hand.

Matt Savage Matt
If the player’s cards are retrievable they will play if they are not that it is a dead hand. I would also warn the player that is he should not be throwing his cards as it could be ruled a dead hand in the future.

Roy Houghton Roy
If the nuts are shown, even if it's slidin' across the table, the cards have been shown even if they end up in the muck. What you've said is the cards have been thrown on the table revealing the nuts. I'd still say to the player show your cards at showdown!

Luke Ivory Luke
The cards speak, player B has shown his hand face up revealing the nuts and therefore he is entitled to the pot (if it wasn’t split). The fact that the cards face up even in the muck is irrelevant as the winning hand has been shown for all to see and Player B should not be penalised for being overzealous in his declaration. ( I would tell him to be less forceful when declaring in future).

Mel Judah Mel
As long as his cards are face up on the table and the dealer and/or players have agreed that his cards were face up, his hand will still be live.

Mob Verdict

All of our tournament directors are in agreement and we agree as well. Even though the cards have hit the muck they were tabled face up and it is clear to see what the player’s hand is. We would however explain to player B to be more careful in the future because had a card flipped over it may have been more difficult to rule this way.

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