What would you do? Bad poker player, can see his cards? (2 Viewers)

[ngmcs8203]

So this happened the other night at the casino. I was in the 5 seat and a younger guy pulls up in the 4 seat to our $1-$2 table and buys in for $120 (this was a $200 max table). Cards are about to be dealt and he was asked if he wanted to be dealt in or wait for the BB. He nodded and asked for cards. Before the cards are finished being dealt he puts out $10 and is told he is not in a position to make a straddle bet (he was in the LJ) and apologized.

This happened a few more times before he was told what a big blind was.

This guy had no idea what he was doing.

Anyway, after calling down one hand with Jack high and another with 8 high he was down to about $50. He was UTG and he picked up both of his cards and limped. He had QJo. I saw both cards, clear as day.

I had already seen my A7hh and was planning a raise before he limped. I grimaced and it felt wrong to play. So I folded. The SB completed and the BB raised to $12. Everyone called. Flop had two hearts, including Kh. Flop checked. Turn was the jack of hearts. BB bet $40, UTG called and SB folded.

SB had flush with a queen. UTG had a pair of jacks.

 

[Bluegrass Poker]

At a casino? Yes. In a home game with friends I’d let him know.

 

[JMC9389]

If the game was friendly, I would've discretely told the 4 seat quietly that you very easily saw his hand and to protect his cards. If it was a nittier/tougher table, I would've raised like you had planned and taken their money. Some lessons do need to be learned the hard way.

 

[merkong]

I’m playing the hand but I’d tell them they’re flashing cards. If the table wants to know what he has in that hand I’ll tell them as well. Dahell is wrong with people?

 

[DZPoker]

If the game was friendly, I would've discretely told the 4 seat quietly that you very easily saw his hand and to protect his cards. If it was a nittier/tougher table, I would've raised like you had planned and taken their money. Some lessons do need to be learned the hard way.

This. I wouldn’t play differently myself based on what I know in this particular hand, but I’d also try to help a new guy out. We all were the new guy at some point!

 

[upNdown]

I’ll always tell a guy the first time that he showed me his cards. If I wanted to play the hand I guess, I think, I hope I’d announce it out loud, so the table knows I think I know what he has.
If people want to know what I think I saw, I guess I’d let the dealer rule or whatever happens next naturally.

 

[Natskule]

So this happened the other night at the casino. I was in the 5 seat and a younger guy pulls up in the 4 seat to our $1-$2 table and buys in for $120 (this was a $200 max table). Cards are about to be dealt and he was asked if he wanted to be dealt in or wait for the BB. He nodded and asked for cards. Before the cards are finished being dealt he puts out $10 and is told he is not in a position to make a straddle bet (he was in the LJ) and apologized.

This happened a few more times before he was told what a big blind was.

This guy had no idea what he was doing.

Anyway, after calling down one hand with Jack high and another with 8 high he was down to about $50. He was UTG and he picked up both of his cards and limped. He had QJo. I saw both cards, clear as day.

I had already seen my A7hh and was planning a raise before he limped. I grimaced and it felt wrong to play. So I folded. The SB completed and the BB raised to $12. Everyone called. Flop had two hearts, including Kh. Flop checked. Turn was the jack of hearts. BB bet $40, UTG called and SB folded.

SB had flush with a queen. UTG had a pair of jacks.

I would have played the hand as if I know what he had, because I did know.

I also would have told him that he needs to protect his cards as I have seen his hand, loud enough that others would have heard.

 

[ngmcs8203]

Yea I told him afterward discreetly but just felt guilty. The woman in the hand would have been one I wanted to stack because she had an unfortunate resemblance to a certain Georgian politician I can’t stand.

I should have played the hand and won, but I would have definitely felt a little guilty taking his last $$. Hers not so much lol

 

[chippitydoodah]

I'd take his money then tell him how I did it. After that he's on his own. He didn't even really deserve to be to told the first time. Aren't I magnanomous?

 

[Poker Zombie]

I once sat at a table across from a man that wore flat mirrored sunglasses. Every time he lifted his cards, I could read them (sort of). I told him, out loud. He did not react or seem to care. I continued to take his money.

It's not my fault he was also wearing earbuds.

 

[KHarp1]

I once sat at a table across from a man that wore flat mirrored sunglasses. Every time he lifted his cards, I could read them (sort of). I told him, out loud. He did not react or seem to care. I continued to take his money.

It's not my fault he was also wearing earbuds.

You did the right thing, sir, we need more good people fighting this type of douchebaggery!

 

[ArielVer18]

A grown man made a wager, he lost. He made another one, he lost again. End of story.

 

[JZPdub]

I would have announced to the dealer that seat 4 exposed his hand to me.
After doing that, I would then proceed to play the hand.

I'm not 100% sure what the dealer is required to do in that spot, but I believe they could force the player to reveal their hand to the table.

 

[Jimulacrum]

I couldn't disagree more about folding your hand. Someone else's inability to protect his hand should not cost you your stake in the pot, ever. You should never give anyone—oblivious nincompoop or otherwise—the power to kill your hand by flashing you a card. Think about how exploitable that is.

Something like this came up for me in a cardroom years ago. I spoke up right away about seeing the hand (seemed fair for people to at least have this information), but the dealer didn't insist on me sharing the cards, so I didn't. I think the guy played the whole hand out anyway, but I don't recall exactly. It's a weird spot because you're playing with extra information, but to share it would ruin the hand for the guy who flashed his cards.

Announcing that you saw the cards, without telling what they are, serves the goal of all remaining players having as close to the same information as possible, without nuking the flasher's hand entirely. It also alerts the flasher that you saw his cards, which will keep you from looking like a cheat when you play perfectly against him if you end up heads-up.

You should probably share this information if the flashy player folds. Now it's just information about any old exposed cards that don't disenfranchise anyone still in the action, which should be communal information.

However it plays out, you should take a moment to let the newb know that he's exposing cards and how, and a friendly tip about how to better protect his hand.

What I've said is mostly from an ethical angle. I don't know if there are actual rules about what should happen in cases like this, where the exposed cards are unambiguously the flasher's fault (not a misdeal or through effort on your part). It would be very difficult to enforce anyway. How can anyone say with any certainty what your eyes have seen? Pretty sure the player who sees the flashes cards has no affirmative obligations in any public cardroom. The hand plays on.

Just the same, if people start catching you peeping people's hole cards, you'll become unwelcome fast.

 

[Taghkanic]

I’ve been in this situation, where I warned the player next to me (so that the whole table could hear) that he was exposing his cards.

After the third warning I stopped saying anything, and honestly did not feel bad about it.

I wasn’t going to be forced to speak up every hand, and everyone was on notice. I tried… If he couldn’t be bothered to correct the issue, that ceased to be my problem.

 

[Jimulacrum]

I’ve been in this situation, where I warned the player next to me (so that the whole table could hear) that he was exposing his cards.

After the third warning I stopped saying anything, and honestly did not feel bad about it.

I wasn’t going to be forced to speak up every hand, and everyone was on notice. I tried… If he couldn’t be bothered to correct the issue, that ceased to be my problem.

I play a friendly game with some older folks who do this all the time. Some of it is them and some is the fact that we play on a rectangular table. I make every effort to not look and let them know when they're not protecting their hand. And I'll keep doing that because they're friends.

In a public cardroom, you'll get warnings from me, but I'm not there to babysit people. Three warnings sounds fair.

 

[KidFromCleveland]

I was playing a home game recently…small stakes and the host was felted and wanted to rebuy. I had just dealt and offered to grab a stack for him. As I returned to the table with his stack of chips I saw his cards. Announced I saw them folded my cards blind and let the hand play out. Casino game…warn once and then fall back on poker is an observation game.

 

[Rhodeman77]

I’m definitely not folding my hand. I would let the player know he is showing his cards to everyone so he can fold before you act. His bad play/lack of understanding should not cause you to not play a hand you otherwise would have. Also, you know this guy is losing his money, that is inevitable. You might as well have a chance to be the one to get it. You aren’t protecting him at all.

 

[ttowns86]

Pretty much same thing happened to me super drunk guy sits to my right and was picking his cards up it was almost impossible for me to not see. The first time it happened I had a marginally playable hand but told him and folded anyways since I knew his hand.

I didn't tell him again and proceded to stack him in the next couple hands we played together.

 

[ovo]

I would probably tell him to protect his hand. If I still wanted to play my cards with that information, so be it.