rules -home tournament

[yvon]

no-limit TEXAS hold-em home tournament. Players deal in turn. Cards are dealt. I am the small blind. 3 limpers ahead of me. I complete the big blind and the big blind checks. I pick up an open-ended straight draw. I check the flop; all players check. The burn card is placed next to the first burn card, below the flop cards, and the turn card is put on the table. I make a pot-sized bet. Everyone folds to the button. He decides to look as his hole cards before making his decision but he picks-up the two burn cards instead of his hole cards and says "those are not my cards" and shows them to me. He then picks his hole cards and then calls my bet. An argument starts. I say his hand is dead. I should win the pot. Other players have divided opinions. The tournament host is puzzled, never saw that situation. Suggest that maybe we could stop the hand, I take back my met and we divide the rest of the pot. We do that but I feel that I have been wronged.

[HalfSugar]

That is a weird one. I don't know the right answer here so below is by no means 'the ruling' but I would rule as follows:

1) Your opponent's hand is not dead assuming it has not hit the muck or been mixed with the burn cards. If the burn cards and his hole cards were mixed, his hand is dead and you take the pot as it stands prior to his call.
2) The burn cards should be exposed to all active players (sounds like they were) so that any advantage or disadvantage to seeing them is the same for everyone.
3) The hand should continue as normal.

It's not ideal, and the ranks/suits of the burn cards could easily be vital to the hand (eg flop of AAX, you hold A2 and see an A in the burn cards) but I see no other way to rule on it. I would learn from this escapade that all players should protect their cards with a chip so that there can be no mistaking other face down cards for hole cards.

[crack]

His hand is dead.

[HalfSugar]

Why? Let's assume this is a mistake and not an angle shoot.

[crack]

Because it was his mistake. It wasn't another players who has influenced this happening or a dealer in the casino. He should be paying attention to what he is doing and playing the right cards.

And also as you said. You should also dead his hand to detract people trying it as an angle shoot to gain more information in future. That said it's a home game so you know, whatever. If it was my game though that would be my ruling.

I'd suspect the hand would be dead in all tournaments, WSOP APT etc etc.

[HalfSugar]

Fair enough, I suppose I had not though about it like that. You are most probably correct.