Poker 101

Continuing on with our discussion from the last class, where we were looking at players who had inadvertently put the wrong amount of chips into the pot, let's see how this error can be disastrous in a tournament.

A seasoned tournament player whom I know very well brought the following scenario to my attention. He was involved in the pot with my father, of all people! The incident illustrates the importance of players putting the right amount of money into the pot, and the need to correct any mistakes, even after the fact. Some of the players in the following sequence of events acted, in my opinion, in a very unethical manner.

This was a hand in a tournament involving three-way action. Player A (my friend) bet the turn; Player B called. My father, Peter (Player C), went all in. A side pot was created and the river card was dealt. Player A bet the river and Player B called. The two players who still had chips turned up their cards and Player A had the better hand and was awarded the side pot. Then, Peter turned up his hand, which beat the bettor's hand, so he won the main pot. The dealer shuffled up, and the next hand was beginning when Player A said to my dad, "The side pot is not right, I owe you $X." Immediately, Peter agreed, as he realized that the side pot had been constructed incorrectly. As Player A pushed him the chips, all hell broke loose at the table.

Several of the players at the table screamed, "Collusion, chip passing, not fair," and other such gems. In this situation, a player was merely trying to pay to the pot the money that he was not entitled to, and the players were accusing him of doing something wrong! He didn't have to speak up. He was doing the right thing and got criticized for it. So, the side pot was reconstructed and the chips in front of Peter were counted. Knowing that Peter had gone all in, it was very easy for the dealer to determine if Peter had, in fact, received the right-sized pot. Sure enough, the other player owed him the additional money, and still the table went nuts! A floorperson had to be called to straighten up the mess.

Of course, chip passing in a tournament is against the rules, but that clearly was not the case here. Both of these players are well-known gentlemen of irrefutable character. This was an example of players taking a shot by trying to take advantage of a dealer's error in a situation that was so easy to rectify. In fact, it is my opinion that everyone at the table was a bit responsible for the error in the first place, as everyone saw the dealer make the side pot and knew that it was wrong. Why did no one speak up?

Oftentimes, it seems to me that players just wait to jump on a situation, thus becoming part of the problem instead of the solution. There clearly was no collusion here; it was merely an attempt to ensure the integrity of this tournament. Why were the players so proactive in attempting to stop this gentlemanly act from occurring? I think that part of the problem may lie in the fact that there were not many players at that tournament table that day who would have done the right thing and returned the money that was owed. Remember, this was a tournament, and those additional chips that Player A received, without anyone saying anything, could have made the difference between his going all the way or going broke.

Since I know the two players involved, I not only know without a doubt that there was nothing "going on," but that had Player A not instinctively done the right thing, he never would have been able to live with himself. It's likely that Peter never would have known that the pot was short, but suppose that it had occurred to him later that a mistake had been made. How would he have felt then? Would this have been right? Were the players right in not wanting this pot to be corrected when there was absolute proof that it was wrong? Were the other players acting in an ethical manner? Were they acting as gentlemen? Did they show integrity or lack thereof?

The answers to these questions lie within each of you. It is my opinion that poker, even though it's played for money, should always be played as fairly and accurately as possible. Winning money that you are not entitled to surely can't make you feel like a winner. Losing money that you didn't rightfully lose could make you feel like a loser. If you play the game with a proper code of ethics and integrity, you will always feel like a winner, whether you go home with the money or not.

Recently, I went to one of the Internet sites to play poker for a few minutes, and found that my account had been credited with $1,000 more than it should have had in it. What would you have done in this spot? I have asked many of my friends this question and have gotten surprising answers. What did I do? I wrote to the site's support personnel and told them about it. It was immediately corrected, they thanked me for my honesty, and I slept well that night. I didn't think that I should be thanked for being honest. It's how I was raised and how one is supposed to act. You know what? I sleep very well every night. Class dismissed.

Please write to me at [email protected]. I welcome your questions and comments.