[sweetjazz]

It's a bad rule in that it gets used much more often for a purpose for which it wasn't intended, and (theoretically) gives players who ask an advantage over those who don't. Meanwhile, if everyone asked after any tricky hands, it would slow down the game and completely go against the spirit of the game.

So not asking is the classy thing to do. If someone is using the rule unscrupulously to get an edge, then it's debabatble whether you're entitled to do so in return, whether you should do so in return, etc.

In this case, I doubt the old man got much use from the info, and bk is perfectly capable of adjusting his game to get extra bets from the old man who figures bk must be overplaying his hand again.

To me, asking to see someone's mucked cards is kind of like how George pushes the old woman and the children out of the way in the fire on Seinfeld. Strictly speaking you can get away with it, but it's also worthy of derision by society.