I’ve known Tiger123 for 20 years. We met while hanging out in the cardrooms of Atlantic City when poker was first legalized there in 1993. In fact, he introduced me to the poker community on the Internet some 20 years ago. That happened via rec.gambling.poker (RGP), a user-newsgroup (remember those days?) which at the time was the only serious public forum to engage in discussion about the game.
He goes by “Tiger123” because he used to work as a high-powered attorney in New York City. Today, Tiger123 lives in semi-retirement in the Atlantic City area.
Yesterday, I posted an unusual story about a hand that took place a few months ago in California (where the gaming rules of that state apply). I was uncertain about how “exposed cards” are ruled. Apparently, my story ignited charges that it couldn’t possibly be true since poker rules sometimes mandate that exposed cards must be replaced. Moreover, some tournaments disallow players to expose cards and even give penalties for violation.
Well, based on the rules where this incident took place, apparently, exposed cards can be played. Here are Tiger123’s comments and research into the rule. By the way, this isn’t authentic e.e. cummings’ prose. Tiger123 always types in lower-case.
Here are his comments:
this is an interesting case.
i begin with one of the oldest adages about rules: “local rules prevail.”
i do not have at hand my copy of the standard rulebook that was used by several clubs in the los angeles area back in the ’90s and ’00s. i do not know if the bike’s rulebook has been amended since then. i do not know if the bike follows TDA rules.
what follows below is based on general principles.
1
bob ciaffone’s “robert’s rules of poker” includes the following, under section (3) general poker rules:
irregularities
“12. procedure for an exposed card varies with the poker form, and is given in the section for each game. a card that is flashed by a dealer is treated as an exposed card. a card that is flashed by a player will play. to obtain a ruling on whether a card was exposed and should be replaced, a player should announce that the card was flashed or exposed before looking at it. a downcard dealt off the table is an exposed card.”
2
the TDA (tournament directors’ association) rules include the following:
“34 misdeals include but are not limited to …. (6) in flop games, if either of the first two card dealt off the deck or any other two downcards are exposed by dealer error …
58 a penalty *may* be invoked if a player exposes any card with action pending, throws a card off the table, violates the one-player-to-a-hand rule, or similar incidents occur. [emphasis in original]
59 players are obligated to protect other players in the tournament at all times. therefore, players, whether in the hand or not, may not: (1) disclose contents of live or folded hands …
60 a player who exposes his cards with action pending may incur a penalty, but will not have a dead hand. the penalty will begin at the end of the hand …”
3
your narrative reports, “Souza sat waiting for his next hand just as the dealer started pitching cards. The first card accidentally hit Souza’s hand and then flipped over. It was a 7 exposed. Souza was then dealt his second card, and oddly enough, that card landed face up, too when it bounced off his thumb. It was also a 7.”
4
apparently, both cards were dealt properly by the dealer (pitched to the player, face-down, close to the table, at a reasonable speed), but happened to strike the player’s hand, and landed face-up. i am unaware of any rule which specifically requires a player to hold his hands palms down, fingers upraised slightly, with the heels of his hands in contact with the table, so as to give the dealer a target. i have not been able to find any specific language which would resolve the issue of whether what you described constitutes a dealer error or a player error. if it is considered a dealer error, the cards were “exposed” and do not play (and a mis-deal has occurred). if it is considered a player error, the cards will play.
5
however, this might actually be a case where no “error” – by either the dealer or the player – occurred. if there was no error, the hand plays.