Another Interesting Home Game situation
 

So my friends and I take poker seriously but play a 'gentleman's game' and try to be proffessional, practical and friendly about how we play...

The OFFICIAL ruling on this one is fairly obvious...but I'm curious how you 2+2ers out there in similar non-cuthroat home tourneys amongst friends handle this one:

After seeing a flop of Kd Jd 10c I push all-in on a shortish stack from the big blind. (I had Qx but that is mostly irrelevant.) A couple limpers fold around to the button. The button makes no motion for his chips, says nothing out loud and flips over his cards on the table:
(A h Q h)and THEN states - 'I flopped the straight.' I tell him that he exposed his cards and should be counted as a fold...There is some murmuring at the table...because everyone knows that while technically I am right...NO ONE at the table (or reading this) can doubt his intention to do anything other than call...but it IS technically a fold since he exposed his cards unnecessarily.

What made it especially tough is that everyone usually leaves the tough decisions up to me - and it was my tournament life on the ruling.

Everyone kinda looked at everyone not knowing what to rule...fair vs. right.

So I have two questions:
1) What would your home game rule here?
2) **IF** its a tough borderline decision...HOW would you make the official ruling. (Its usually left up to me - but my tournament life is on the line.)

Re: Another Interesting Home Game situation
 

It is my understanding through many many posts here on 2+2 that exposed cards in a tourney are NOT ruled dead, but a penalty may be assesed to the exposer. You'd have to look up robert's rules of poker for the exact ruling however.

Re: Another Interesting Home Game situation
 

It's heads up. He flopped the nuts, he clearly meant to call. You lost. Who cares what the rules are, it's so obvious what is intended and even you know it, AND it's a friendly game. The end.

Re: Another Interesting Home Game situation
 

Exposing cards is not a fold in a tournament. The hand is still live. He can call.

You can impose a penalty if you want. I would not personally cause this is a home game.

Re: Another Interesting Home Game situation
 

What everyone else said...the hand is not dead, so he can call. Even if it was "dead", if you ruled it that way then you were probably being selfish and unecessarily jerk-like :P

Re: Another Interesting Home Game situation
 

I ruled it a call. Just curious what everyone else thought

Re: Another Interesting Home Game situation
 

Was he last to act. Because in a tournament, you are allowed to expose your cards if no more bets can be made. This would be the case since your all-in and he is last to act. However, even if his hand is really dead, he has the nuts, your just being an [censored] if you make him fold this.

Re: Another Interesting Home Game situation
 

No offense but you're completely wrong here Shnarf. While you are right, the ruling is obvious, the ruling you think is obviously correct is actually wrong. In every tourney I've ever played in, and according to any official tourney rules I've read, when the pot is headsus a player may expose his/her hand at any time. Since it was folded around, this player may show his cards before calling.

Re: Another Interesting Home Game situation
 

Oh yeah to the second question in your poll you should add the response "The tournament director, but only is he/she is knowledgable about the rules of tournament poker."

Re: Another Interesting Home Game situation
 

[ QUOTE ]
No offense but you're completely wrong here Shnarf. While you are right, the ruling is obvious, the ruling you think is obviously correct is actually wrong. In every tourney I've ever played in, and according to any official tourney rules I've read, when the pot is headsus a player may expose his/her hand at any time. Since it was folded around, this player may show his cards before calling.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well then you have never read the TDA rules. Under TDA rules even heads up with no further action to come from another player, a player may not expose his cards. However under TDA rules the hand would not be dead, exposing the hand MAY result in a penalty (time away from the table) but not a dead hand.