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You are the Tournament Director Series 3: Dealer Miscall and Mucked Hand Wins the Pot

This one happened to a well known player at the ACF card room in France.

‘I am playing 200-400 mix at the ACF. The round is 2-7 triple draw. I bet the hand on every round, and draw one card.

I am heads up.
After the last change my hand is 45678, not the best 2-7 hand I have ever had. But as my opponent drew 1 card I tried a bluff. I bet and get called. There is about 3,000 in the pot.

I table my hand face up. It is displayed 86574. I say nothing. The dealer says "8-6" at which point my opponent mucks his hand.

At this point I should have quickly mucked mine too, but my natural instinct is to hold my cards until I get the pot.

Another player at the table points out I have a straight at which point my opponent says he had a 9. He reaches for the muck to retrieve his hand but it is totally lost. He turns over QQJ.

Supervisor is called to make a ruling and rules that he wins the pot saying that it is impossible that he called with a worse hand than mine.

I believe this is the only card room in the world that regularly spreads 2-7 where I would not have not been given the pot.

What if he made a mistake and called with a higher straight, or a flush, or didn't have 5 cards?

Next time I manage to pull this move off my hand will hit the muck a lot faster!

What do you think?

Matt Savage:
While I don’t like the fact that he won the pot the correct ruling is to give the pot to the straight. Players need to table their hands to win the pot and while it may seem like an angle the player tabled his hand. I would have a word with the dealer when he/ she got up that it is very important to clearly read tabled hands.

Thomas Kremser:
The dealer helps to read the cards but it is the responsibility of every player to check the cards. Once the cards were mucked by the opponent, the hand is dead and cannot win the pot.

Dave Lamb:
I would split this one with the warning to both players about the following:
When the dealer misreads your hand and you do not correct it, you are working an angle in order to win dishonestly.
As your opponent I have a responsibility to verify the announced cards before mucking. (I too believe that the opponent could not have called with a worse hand but it is irrelevant to determining who should have the pot when both players have made an error or misread).

Jeff Leigh:
A ridiculous ruling!! If the “other” player still had his cards then yes he could then turn them over and “prove” his hand was better otherwise the hand goes to the “straight” as he is the only player with a “live” hand.

Jack Effel:
The straight should have received the pot. Because his opponent never tabled his hand, and the hand is irretrievable from the muck and unverifiable, that player had no right to any part of the pot. I would remind the player that poker is a game of observation, and it is up to the players to protect their interest in the hand. Had the hand been tabled, and read by the dealer as being a better hand (a low hand better than a straight), his opponent would have received the pot.

Thomas Lamatsch:
Decision is very clear. His hand is dead! The dealer was making a miscall, but it is still in the responsibility of the player to control and read the hand of his opponent. Besides, a verbal statement belonging to the value of his cards, without any proof, can’t be accepted and he doesn’t have a valid hand anymore.

The Mob Verdict

All of our TDs award the pot to the player with the straight apart from David Lamb who feels that in this particular instance a split pot is fairer.

In order to win any pot at showdown you have to show a valid hand to claim the pot and the other player in the pot is now unable to do so as he has mucked his cards.

In 2-7 it could be considered fair comment that a player would not call on the end with a worse hand and had the dealer not said ‘8-6’ the other player may have tabled his hand but each player’s hand is his own responsibility.

There is also the possibility, however unlikely, that the caller in the pot had a worse hand but wanted to see the other hand anyway. We have all seen situations where a player has called with a hand that can not win just for information or as a mistake.

There is also something else to bear in mind. Was there much of a time lapse between the dealer saying ‘8-6’ and the hand being mucked? Did the player with the straight have sufficient time to correct the dealer or were the actions simultaneous. You should also consider if the player with the straight is a known angle shooter or an experienced player who should know better.

Taking everything into account, and providing that the player has no previous, we see no option but to award the pot in accordance with the majority of our panel. Although we note in this case that the player happily admits to ‘pulling a stroke’ and we can see that if he was saying this at the time the TD may not have felt the need to take previous incidents into account. We would in any case make a point that the hand was noted and warn that any similar situations involving the same player may be dealt with in a different manner in the future.

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