Possible Collusion?

Consider this.

I was at a casino yesterday at a cash table. One of the players at my table was deaf. Another player at the table must have been with her because they were using sign language to communicate. What concerns me is they could use the sign language to their advantage. I saw the deaf players using his fingers making a shape of a heart (and the board showed three hearts on the flop). The dealer nor the pit bosses seem to question it. Now, I know casinos have cameras anywhere. I figure they would have somebody there who knows sign language. I mean, I know the dealer warns players for speaking in a foriegn language.

Dealers and/or the pit may not question what the players do not bring up. If it was a concern, then you should have said something. It may or may not have been collusion, but now you'll never know.

Next time, mention it to the dealer. If addressed by a player, the dealer or room manager has to rule. If they chose to permit sign language at the table, then I would have collected my chips and left the table. You are right, sign language is no different than speaking a foreign language at the table, imo.

^^^This.
I suspected a deaf man and his neighbor of collusion at a table I was playing at. I watched for awhile and detected what I felt were 2 signals, they were doing squeeze plays. I finally got up and informed the poker room mgr and they thanked me profusely. Apparently 3 dealers had already mentioned they felt the players were colluding and I was the only player to mention something. Apparently they have some stupid rule about collusion, players have to report it, not just dealers. So since I spoke up they asked me to write a report on my observations, (I did after I was done playing though) and security reviewed the tapes in conjunction with my written report and the players were then banned from our casino's poker room. (After my initial conversation they were moved to different tables so they couldn't sit together).

Anyways, if you suspect, say something, if you don't feel comfortable saying something while the players are at the table then get up and report it to the floor. And for the record, there is no reason to make a heart symbol while in the hand - they were cheating.

i don't understand, even if one was deaf, they'd need to communicate while in a hand, he sees the cards and the chips still.

I understand blind players needing assistance but a deaf player shouldn't need help other then the occasional communication barriers.

I'm deaf.It not as easy as everybody thinks it is.I will guarrenteed you that it wasn't collusion.He probably more than likely talking about the hand before.In which I do as will with another person at the table with me.He won't know how much the bet is unless he signs to the person with him.There are certain reason when deaf people need assiastice if you are not deaf ,blind ,and anything like that don't question one integrity until you know what it like.

all jokes aside. i used to be somewhat involved in guide-running blind track athletes (it was more my dad)...but we had a special olympics blind athlete come stay with us every year and they'd train together. or we would, or we'd guide him in a race or two (with a shoestring!)...and i played poker with him...it was draw though...i had to tell him his hand though so...it wasn't much fun. i think he did end up winning some silver and bronze though

I don't know what it like to be deaf and can't imagine how difficult playing poker live can be as a deaf person. Although I don't know what it is like, I still have the right, as do others, to question their integrity. Just because they are deaf doesn't mean they are ethical. Any poker player should know, handicapped or not, to not discuss hands - even prior ones - while you are in a hand. Perhaps it was just poor judgment on the part of the deaf guy who made a heart symbol, but I think we have an obligation for the integrity of the game to ask questions if we aren't sure about something and to not feel bad about it just because someone is handicapped.

I am not trying to sound mean and/or unsympathetic and apologize if it sounds that way. I have questioned the integrity of a close friend of mine and behavior that I felt was unethical at a poker table, I see no reason why it should be different with a stranger.

If it really was collusion, you would think they would come up with a better sign than a heart shape. Come on!!!