There is nothing inherently wrong with this, though occasionally it can lead to players dragging out a showdown.įor now, since there is no suggestion either player or the casino raised any issues with allowing both players to keep their hands face-down until the river, let us assume that it was within the casino’s rules for the players to not show their hands during an all-in. Could or should the dealer have turned over the villain’s cards?įor obvious reasons, players do not often request the dealer to table their cards. However, from the way the TDA Rules are drafted, it seems the dealer was within his rights to refuse to table the villain’s hand. On one hand, there is nothing in the TDA Rules which specifically says dealers must not table a player’s cards. However, equally, there is no express provision which allows dealers to do so. The entire section on showdowns also only talks about when a hand can be tabled by a player. The dealer’s responsibilities include being able to prompt a player to table a hand, but not tabling the hand for them. It seems perverse to think that the TDA authors envisaged a situation where the dealer could be asked to perform these duties instead. In addition to the above, consider the scenario where a dealer is allowed to table a player’s hand. Since the dealer is the person in control of the remainder of the deck, they would have the greatest opportunity to attempt to switch a player’s cards with other cards from the deck. This could potentially lead to some players and dealers attempting to collude to switch cards in a scenario where the player knows their hand will lose. Even if player and dealer aren’t colluding, an accusation could have a severe impact on the dealer, the game and the casino. ![]() ![]() Was it wrong for the hero to muck the villain’s cards? As such, while it might not be a specifically written rule, it is likely dealers would want to avoid tabling a player’s hand in case of accusations of collusion. ![]() However, if the dealer was entitled to refuse to table the villain’s hand, was it wrong for the other player (hero) to muck the villain’s hand for him? Again, this is such a bizarre and unique situation that it is not covered by any specific rule. The key issue here is that the hero specifically asked the villain whether he wanted his cards tabled for him. “Tabling” a hand is defined in the TDA Rules as when all cards are turned face-up so that the dealer and all other players can read the hand. Most players would also agree that in the everyday sense “tabling” a hand in poker means showing it, rather than discarding it.
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