Yes, I know I'm a dink, but is this ILLEGAL?

[Slow Play Ray]

Friendly home game Friday night, $20 buy-in NL hold'em tourney, 7 people, top 3 pay.

We're down to 4-handed, I'm big-stacking and playing pretty aggressively. My buddy makes a comment "man you're playing a lot of hands tonight huh?" right after I limp in with K7 and the flop comes K78. I reply, verbatim, "that's because I've been playing garbage like K7." Fast-forward, after some betting, there ends up being a one-card-to-the-straight board, I make a big bet, and he lays down AK. I show him my K7, and he flips out "that's cheating, you can't tell me your hand, what you said made me think you didn't have K7, etc, etc etc." - he's been harping on it all weekend.

My question is - I know I was a dick (that was clearly the intent), but did I technically do anything illegal? I couldn't find any specific reference in Robert's rules or anything.

[jackdaniels]

I think you were fine... If you accept Bill Clintons definition of Sex then your definition of doing nothing illeagal is appropriate.

What I am trying to say is that you technically skirted doing something illeagal (by saying "hands like" - without reffering to the specific hand in play) - but you obviously circumvented the spirit of the rule (don't discuss hands in play) - and any tournament director may find that this is enough to penalize you.

Oh, I forgot to add:

Stop being a dick.

[SamIAm]

I've always felt that any information that you SAY is legal, as long as all the players can hear, and you don't show any cards.

Now, there are certainly actions that are obnoxious, but I wouldn't say 'illegal'. Like when you fold and the flop comes all diamonds, don't say "Aw, man. I had two diamonds!" Sure, you could be lying, but you're probably not, so you're influencing the game.

I don't know if Robert agrees with me, but I say that trash talk should be taken as just that: trash. If the other player believes it or doesn't believe it, as long as you didn't show any cards and it's tell-one-tell-all, it's fair in my book.
-Sam

[jon_1van]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't know if Robert agrees with me, but I say that trash talk should be taken as just that: trash. If the other player believes it or doesn't believe it, as long as you didn't show any cards and it's tell-one-tell-all, it's fair in my book.

[/ QUOTE ]

What he said

[imthatguy]

If your friend was lame enough to think that you were "cheating", then he didn't deserve to be in that pot. It's like when Nguyen said "Call, and it's all over baby." Was he cheating because he knew he had the other guy beat? Sheesh. Whatever you say at the table should be taken with a grain of salt. End of story.

[Slow Play Ray]

[ QUOTE ]
any tournament director may find that this is enough to penalize you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah right. I've seen rules broken far more blatantly countless times in live casino tournaments, and I've only seen one player ever punished. With something like this that is clearly "gray area" at worst, they wouldn't do anything but maybe warn you.

For the record, I would never do something like this in a casino tournament, or in any other setting that wasn't with all good friends. Unless maybe someone pissed me off. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[ QUOTE ]
Stop being a dick.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, I didn't ask for advice.

[jackdaniels]

I did qualify that a tournament director "may" penalize you - not that they should or would.

As for the next statement, I take it back. Feel free to be a dick to your friends, it really isn't any of my business. I merely mention it because of the prevalent notion that keeping the poker game a friendly place for everyone will keep the game going. Being a dick will ensure the game ends and does not resume. That stated, if your objective is to have fun in your game (not necessarily just win the money), and part of having fun is poking fun at your friends (being a dick), by all means do so.

I used to have a regular poker game - then one of my friends decided he was going to be a dick (trash talking a sensitive and obviously worse player). That player stopped coming and others were turned off by the trash talk as well.

Once again, none of my business, but I guess I was trying to impart some of my experience to you - just doing it in a smart ass way.

[Slow Play Ray]

I know what you're getting at, but you have to understand my home game and my friends that play it. Trust me - we're all dicks to one another. It's fun; it's our twisted version of camaraderie. It's not like he's actually mad at me about it, but that he really, honestly thought that what I did was cheating - all I am trying to do is address that point.

[EStreet20]

What's he bitching about? He got saved by the one card straight. I'm assuming he'd have at least called your big bet with AK.

Matt
P.S. You did nothing wrong.

[hachkc]

I know some casinos have rules that say you CAN LIE about your hand but you CANNOT TELL THE TRUTH about your hand.