Okay let’s say I’m playing Texas Hold’em in Vegas for decent money.
I lead off, one guy calls, just us two then the flop comes.
Then somebody walking by stumbles and bumps him while he’s checking his card, and his arm moves more than he anticipated, and I see a card.
Now assuming I’m an honest guy, Am I legally(by the laws of gaming) obligated to report it? Morally? Would most poker players? Or is it up to the dealer to call it after the bump, or just shitty luck for him, play on?
What happens then if I do report it? Does the dealer(pit boss etc.) make the game a do over? Or is it up to the player whose card was noticed to decide. I’m curious because if it’s an automatic do-over what’s to stop me from just saying I saw it when I didn’t cause I don’t like the flop?
There’s no rule that says you have to report a flashed card, but personally I always have.
As to the response, it really varies. I’ve seen some dealers declare a misdeal and deal the hand over again. Others just shrug, and it’s up to the guy who’s card was flashed to decide whether to play it anyway.
Along similar lines…I have a couple of follow up questions…I’ve heard that the following is legal in ring games only, not at all, or in tourneys according to the poker room you are sitting in.
So…in cash games…and/or in tourney play, assuming it is HEADS up action(myself and one other person)…is it legal to purposefully show a card?
I’ve read an article about this, and I’ve done it in friendly games, and I do it online by just telling the other person what I have. Consider the following:
I have AdJd…flop is Qd8d6s…I bet out, one person calls. Turn is 2d, I check, and call a bet…river is Kc, I check, and reraise a bet substantially. As other player considers hand, I say"I’ve got the nuts" and flop over the Ad ONLY. It almost always initiates a call. I’m pretty sure this is legal in cash play, but I need to know about tourney play.
The online version is"don’t call, I’ve got the nut flush" which almost always results in an immediate call. I’ve seen people online say that it’s illegal to tell the truth about what you have, but you can lie.
I do it all the time online, but I’ve never done it in a tourney because I don’t want the nuts to be called dead. I’ve even asked a few dealers in various tourneys, and never gotten a consistent answer
And in response to the OP, I would typically announce that I’d seen it, and offer to check it down the rest of the way. If the player who was bumped decided to NOT believe me, that is his option and I would make him pay.
It would be courteous to mention it, but not legally required to do so. Playing with friends sure, but a big money event in Vegas, I may use it to my advantage if the other player was unaware that I saw one, or two of his hole cards. Protect your cards next time! (You say he was bumped, but I generally look around to keep spectators or others from looking at my cards by default. Keep your cards down on the table with a slight peal upwards to look at them, and you should be good. If your handling them in a sloppy fashion, getting bumped into may give you problems.)
As you have observed, the rule varies from house to house. It’s fairly common in L.A. (I admit, I haven’t actually seen a sign saying, “You can show your cards,” but it happens without complaint all the time.) In A.C., I’ve seen people get a good talking-to from the floor for doing the same (ring game). (“Do it again and your hand is dead.”)