Every once in a while, I like to let readers play "floorperson for a day" and make some controversial decisions. Read the following four situations and let me know what you think. I will write about my observations as well as those of readers in a future column.
The Game: Pot-Limit Hold'em
The situation: Four players remain after the flop; the dealer burns and turns the turn card. Player A bets $400, Player B calls $400; and Player C calls $400 and raises $400. As the action gets to Player D, he stops and says, "Wait a minute; the pot was only $200."
Your job: You find out that the pot was indeed $200 before the action began. What should you do with the betting that has taken place?
The Game: $20-$40 Hold'em
The situation: Player A raises preflop from the button, and only Player B in the small blind calls. Player A bets the flop and turn, with Player B calling. On the river, Player B checks, Player A checks, and Player A states, "You got it," and releases his hand toward the middle of the table. Player B turns his hand over, showing a pair of fives. Player A reaches for his hand (the dealer had just begun to grab the hand to put it in the muck), grabbing it from the dealer's hand, and turns over a pair of eights.
Your job: Decide who gets the pot, and why.
The Game: $3-$6 Hold'em
The situation: Three players see the river; Player A bets, Player B calls, and Player C raises. Player A, not realizing that Player C had raised, turns over his second-nut flush. Player B immediately mucks his hand. The dealer, thinking Player A was folding but showing what a good hand he had, mucks Player A's hand. Player A immediately objects, but is informed by the dealer that he had not called the raise.
Your job: Decide what Player A's intentions were, and make a decision.
The Game: $1,000 Buy-In Pot-Limit Hold'em Tournament
The situation: A player in first position has moved all in and is called by the small blind and the big blind.
The flop is delivered: The small blind bets and the big blind calls.
The turn is delivered: The small blind checks and the big blind checks.
The river is delivered: The small blind bets and the big blind folds.
The small blind pulls back his bet and proceeds to muck his hand. As soon as he releases his hand, the dealer informs him that there was an all-in player, but the hand has reached the muck and is not retrievable.
The floorperson is called over to make a decision. He is given the facts by the dealer and makes a decision that the all-in player is to receive the main pot, as he is the only player with a live hand. The player in the small blind disputes this because of the fact that the all-in was hiding his cards. The floorperson asks the dealer and the other players if the player was indeed hiding his cards. No one can confirm this and the decision stands.
Your job: Decide if this was the correct decision. If not, what would you have done differently?
I have great respect for the job that a good floorperson does. I say good because a good floorperson puts time in to memorizing his poker room's rulebook and educating himself about various situations that could happen. The job of a floorperson is tough, and can be taxing on one's belief that everyone is an honest person. Dealing with the "good" people each day makes being a floorperson worth every minute, but dealing with the angle shooters can be tough.
Please send me your answers to the above situations via e-mail at: rzitup@adelphia.net
Editor's note: Michael O'Malley can usually be found playing online at partypoker.com as Rzitup. To learn more about him, go to www.rzitup.com.