Poker E-mail

I receive a lot of e-mail in response to each of my columns, and from players asking my opinion on various rules-related situations. Most often, I respond directly to the player asking the question, but every once in a while, I will use some of that e-mail for columns if I think the answer is something most readers would be interested in reading.



From Mark Dunavin:



I was three-handed in a tournament when one of the other players went all in with a short stack. The other player and I called the all-in bet and checked it down. By the river, there was a straight on board. I announced that I would play the boardcards and threw my holecards across the bet line. The other player did the same thing, landing her cards where they touched mine.

The all-in player turned his pocket aces faceup.



The dealer was ready to split the pot three ways when the tournament director stopped him. The tournament director turned over the four cards, verifying that there were no duplicates, but still made a ruling to award the entire pot to the all-in player because he had the only live hand.



I guess those are the rules, but it sure seems like you could play the community cards if your holecards were dead and there were no duplicate cards.



What do you think?



Mark and the other player both learned a valuable lesson: Never release your hand until you have been pushed the pot. It might be the most important rule to learn, and remember, as a poker player.



In the situation that Mark described, the ruling went against him in his bid to play the board without any cards. There are two things to address here: Can Mark win the pot without cards, and was his (and the other player's) hand really dead?

Many years ago, there used to be a common rule that allowed a player to announce that he was playing the board, throw his cards away, and win the pot (or part of it). Currently, that rule is not as commonly used. In today's game of poker, in which showing is the norm (especially at the showdown), a player must show a complete hand to lay claim to any part of the pot. It is just that simple. Although the rule is there to prevent duplicate cards, cheating, and so on, it is really just a rule that helps make things consistent, fast, and unambiguous.



The part of Mark's situation that gets a little sticky is whether or not the hands actually should have been ruled dead. As I have written in the past, I like to give players the benefit of the doubt, provided they are not habitual angle-shooters. In this case, both of the players who mucked their hands thought they were doing it for a legitimate reason – that is, playing the board. Both of the hands were in plain sight on the table, and the tournament director was able to verify that there were no duplicate cards.



If I were the tournament director, I would have had the dealer split the pot three ways, and given both of the players a warning about not mucking their hands when they intended to play the board.



From Todd:



In our recent $1-$2 blinds no-limit hold'em cash game, the button put in a $5 Mississippi straddle. The action was now on the small blind, but the under-the-gun player didn't notice the straddle and folded. The next player called $2, and the next player raised to $12. Someone finally noticed that there was a Mississippi straddle.



According to TDA rules, if one player acts out of turn, the action goes back to the player skipped, and if he folds, the out-of-turn bet is binding. If the skipped player raises, the out-of-turn player's bet is not binding, and he can now fold, call, or raise.



That seems simple enough. My question is: What happens when two people act out of turn? Should the action be back on the small blind or should the skipped players be treated as if they had checked, with the action continuing around the table and back to them? And, let's say the small blind has a monster hand and raises to $40. Does the money from the two players who acted out of turn stay in, or can they now fold, call, or raise? Are there different rules for cash games and tournaments for this? Any thoughts would be appreciated.



Because a Mississippi straddle is not all that common, I'll provide a description (from Wikipedia):



A Mississippi straddle is similar to a live straddle, but instead of being made by the player "under the gun," it is made by the

"cutoff" (one position to the right of the button), or it can be made by any player, depending on house rules. Like a live

straddle, a Mississippi straddle must be at least the minimum raise. The action begins with the player to the left of the straddle. If, for example (in a game with $10-$25 blinds), the button puts a live $50 on it, the first player to act would be the small blind, followed by the big blind, and so on. If the action gets back to the straddle with no raise, the straddle has the option of raising.


When one player acts out of turn, it is that player's fault. When multiple players act out of turn, it becomes the fault of the missed player(s)/table. It is every player's responsibility to make sure that the action taking place at the table is correct. In the case that Todd described, I would rule that the straddle becomes invalid once two or more players have acted out of turn. The player posting the straddle, as well as the other players at the table, should speak up before substantial action has taken place. In most rulebooks, substantial action would be considered two or more players.



Does this make angle-shooting possible? Sure, on some level it does. Multiple players could work together to negate action from other players. But, 99 percent of the time, it is going to happen because people are just not paying attention.



Mike O'Malley is a consultant for www.PartyGaming.com, and can be reached at [email protected]. His website is updated regularly at www.rzitup.com.