One Player to a Hand, or Sportsmanlike Conduct is Not Dead!

I get letters from many readers in all walks of life and all parts of the world. It seems that no matter how many tidbits are written about rules and decisions, there is always something odd that comes up. Especially for the novice player, it is frustrating not knowing what is right.

What the Tournament Directors Association has done for tournament poker is outstanding, in that it has standardized many rules and procedures. I take great pride in knowing that I had something to do with that. Dave Lamb, Linda Johnson, Matt Savage, and I forged a rules regulatory group made up of tournament directors and cardroom managers. Players also joined in, and born were 39 standard rules that one can expect to see when playing in an event that uses the TDA's accepted standards. It is a shame that the same thing hasn't been done for live-action ring games.

Many of the letters I receive inquiring about rules and specific situations can't really be provided black-or-white answers. That is part of the problem with making cut-and-dried rules for the masses. That said, recently I received the following letter, and attempted to give it my best-shot answer. Unfortunately, as is the case with most poker questions, the answer really is, "It depends."

Dear Jan:

Recently I played in a seven-card stud tournament. Without going into detail about the action, on sixth street my upcards were 2-4-5-7, and I had started the hand with pocket aces. I had completely overlooked the prospect of a gutshot 3 for a straight. We all checked the river and three eights was the best hand of any of my opponents. Thinking my only win was another ace, I picked my holecards up off the table and there was no ace – but there was a 3 that I didn't think helped. I turned the three holecards facedown and pushed them toward the dealer so that he could put them in the muck. All of a sudden, the player to my left said, "You have a straight." So, I picked my cards up, and sure enough, I had a straight. I then tossed my cards into the muck, because of what I thought I knew about the one-player-to-a-hand rule. In other words, I had given up on my hand and someone else had helped me; therefore, I was not entitled to the pot.

When I returned home and related this story to my local poker room manager, he said he would have awarded me the pot and given the player who helped me a verbal warning. If he did it a second time, he'd get a 24-hour suspension from the poker room. For a third time, he would receive a one-month suspension.

My question for you, Jan, is: How do Las Vegas poker rooms handle this specific situation?

I enjoy your column. You seem to cover many areas of poker, including rules and decisions, and that is why I decided to e-mail you. Thanks for your time.

Respectfully,

Al Jensen

As I mentioned earlier, it depends. Some cardrooms have a rule that merely turning your upcards facedown kills your hand. Another common rule is that picking up your upcards kills your hand. Yours is a perfect example of a situation in which standardized rules might have helped with this tough decision. The player next to you was way off base in calling your hand when it had not been tabled. You were the epitome of a gentleman in continuing to muck your hand once the winning nature of it was pointed out. Few players would have done that. That said, barring any rule about your hand being dead by virtue of the reasons given above, it was retrievable and was, indeed, the best hand. Most cardrooms would have awarded you the pot. I don't necessarily agree with that, given that a basic (and standard) rule of poker was violated: the one-player-to-a-hand rule. I do like the idea of your local poker room manager of giving the player escalating penalties for those infractions, but the damage already had been done.

Please, players, know the rules where you play, and if you are in a new cardroom, ask some questions so that you won't be caught off guard. Regardless, the one-player-to-a-hand rule is universal, so learn it now and don't break it. A tabled hand is another story. Once a player has turned his hand up, it is your duty as a player in the game to assist in the proper reading of it, to ensure that the integrity of the game is maintained. Dealers and players make mistakes, so it isn't a bad idea to always turn your hand up so that it can be read by the dealer and other players. Class dismissed.

As always, please e-mail me your poker-related questions, comments, and column ideas. For information about poker cruises and special events, please go to www.cardplayercruises.com.