If You Were the Floorperson …

Everyone knows that the floorperson in a poker room is responsible for settling all disputes. And, all decisions are final. When there is an irregularity in your cards or an error has been made, the time to call attention to it is as soon as it occurs.

Sometimes, however, there may be cause to question the judgment of a floorperson. Here is a situation that arose during a hand of seven-card stud at a local casino. I was in the game, but had folded my hand, so I had a good opportunity to observe the situation. If you were the floorperson, how would you have handled this situation, and what would you have ruled?

The Situation: It was a good-sized pot; there were four players still in the hand as the dealer prepared to deal the cards on sixth street. There had been lots of betting and raising, and three of the four players had gone all in. This is a key point.

As the sixth-street cards were dealt, the player in the No. 7 seat - the last to receive a card - noticed that he had been dealt two cards. So, he had five upcards in front of him, and one of the last two cards dealt was slightly to the right of the other cards. "Hey," he said, "you gave me an extra card!" But, since the dealer knew there could be no further betting, he had already started to deal out the river cards, and completed the deal before he addressed the problem. (I might add, he was an extremely fast dealer.)

Since everyone except the player in the No. 7 seat was all in, the dealer had all four players show their hands. Seat No. 7 had made a club flush with the river card, which was the best hand. The player in seat No. 3 showed kings and fives, two pair, the next best hand. He pointed out that seat No. 7 held an extra card, so his hand was dead. That certainly is true. A player must hold seven cards - no more, no less - at the end of a hand in seven-card stud. The dealer looked over the situation, readily agreed that seat No. 7 held a dead hand, and prepared to push the pot to the player with kings and fives.

The Floorperson Makes the Final Decision: "Hold it! Wait a minute!" shouted seat No. 7. "Call a floorman!" While waiting for the floorperson, seat No. 7 stated that he had not seen the extra card until the dealer dealt him his last upcard on sixth street, and he had called attention to the error as soon as he noticed it.

The floorman listened attentively as the dealer explained the situation. Seat No. 7 protested: "But it wasn't my fault. He dealt me an extra card." The floorman thought for a moment, and then announced that seat No. 7 held a dead hand because he had too many cards. The pot was pushed to the player with kings and fives. Seat No. 7 continued to protest. The floorman said that he would check the camera to see if he could discern what had happened, and why seat No. 7 had an extra card. He later reported to seat No. 7 that the dealer had inadvertently dealt a card to seat No. 6, who had folded previously, which ended up right alongside seat No. 7's cards.

The gentleman in seat No. 7 grimaced and shrugged his shoulders, but good-naturedly accepted the explanation and the decision. Shortly thereafter, though, he left the game.

I have discussed this situation with several poker players and have received different opinions. One player stated that seat No. 7 deserved the pot because it was not his fault and he had called out the error as soon as he saw it - but the dealer had continued to deal out the river cards. Others insisted that the floorman had been absolutely correct: Seat No. 7 held a dead hand. Food for thought …

Editor's note: George Epstein is the author of The Greatest Book of Poker for Winners! See his ad on Page 53.