Anyone who has played live poker knows that one of the fundamental rules of poker is that when there is action, the hand counts. For lack of a better definition, there is action whenever two players fold or one player calls or raises. From this point on, the hand counts. (There is only one exception - when there is something wrong with the deck, such as two A
. Even if someone
notices a card on the floor midway through a hand, there is action.)
Several recent tournament rulings have been contrary to this fundamental law. They have occurred when a hand was dealt during what should have been a break, when a hand was dealt with incorrect blinds (either the button wasn't moved or was moved twice), or when someone was inadvertently dealt in or out. In all of the cases, action was cancelled, and chips were returned to the players in the hand. This has occurred even after a hand was completed and the pot stacked up by the winner.
The rationale for these rulings is that the hand should not have occurred, or should not have occurred with the improper blinds, dealer, or whatever. Therefore, the hand is ruled not to have existed, and the situation before it was dealt is re-created.
Superficially, this seems like a reasonable way to handle the situation.
While it may appear perfectly rational, it isn't. It is not sensible to cancel the action in these situations for a very simple reason: This rule gives a player who notices the impropriety an opportunity for a free shot. (A free shot is a play that can't lose and might produce a gain.) How can this be possible? Very often, only one player notices that something is wrong. Let's say that I am the one who notices that the blinds are in the wrong place. I can happily bet or raise until I'm all in. If I win the hand and no one notices, I stack the chips. If I lose, I "suddenly realize" the blinds were wrong, and I get my money back. I might win, and I can't lose. Any ruling that allows this to happen occasionally cannot be correct. That is why even a card on the floor doesn't stop the action. An unscrupulous player or his buddy could toss a card on the floor whenever he didn't like the way the hand was going.
And that is why cash games generally rule that once there is action, a hand counts. A more trivial reason for this sound rule is that it is often difficult and time-consuming to prove that something was wrong at the beginning. Then, after a lot of discussion, if it is agreed that, for example, the blinds were in the wrong place, a great deal more time and effort is wasted in re-creating the pot and returning the money.
If the tournament director thinks some adjustment is necessary after the fact, he can make that adjustment. For example, a player who was the big blind twice is skipped on the next round. A player who was skipped posts a dead blind, or the blinds are backed up for one hand. A hand that was dealt ahead of schedule, during a break or when it is hand for hand, can be compensated for by having that table skip one hand. But these adjustments are relatively minor and need not be made at all.
