Procedure Question - Kindly Help

Hello everyone I love this forum and will be visiting it regularly. In just a few days your insights have made me a better player. I have a question as to a situation that occurred in our Cash Game of Texas Holdem. Excuse me if my scenario is not worded correctly but I'll give it my best shot.

We are playing a Cash Game of Texas Holdem with 7 players. The dealer is also playing. The dealer deals out the correct number of cards. 2 to each player. The SB picks up the 2 cards directly in front of him not realizing that they belong to the BB. No one at the table realizes that the BB has no cards (perhaps he wasn't paying attention lol). The 1st person to act raises. The Next 2 to act Fold. (I am the 2nd to fold).The person sitting to my immediate left re-raises. It is NOW that the error is discovered. The SB has looked at the cards that rightfully belonged to the BB. His correct cards are sitting face down next to the dealer. Nobody knew what to do and I am certain there must be a rule to handle this situation. After a few minutes of discussion we agreed to let the BB have the cards that belonged to the SB since no one had seen them and we let the hand progress. It was the 1st Folder who objected and thought the hand should have been called a mis deal. Probably because he had crappy cards. The 1st Player to Act insisted the hand should be played. He had the eventual winning hand. I informed every one that I hadn't the slightest clue as to the correct way to handle this event but that I could certainly find out. Short of driving to Atlantic City and asking a Floor Person. I found this wonderful Site and knew immediately I could get the correct answer. PS. I have only been playing at our game for a few weeks and I am a total Noob when real money Games are involved.

Thanks in advance for you Expert replies.

Best Regards,

Vinny

We have a number of folks here well versed in the rules of the game. Likely one of them will stop by & explain the what's & whys. Welcome to the forum.

This is not a misdeal. It would however be a dead hand for both the SB and BB, it is the players responsibility to protect their cards. This situation happened in our group, I tweeted to Matt Savage and he said both hands were dead and play continues.

The one thing I'm confused on is how do you get a flop if the BB has not looked at any cards? Is he just checking blind?

I would also explain to people that when dealing make sure the cards are in front of the correct people and if not get their attention and tell them that is their card.

Grossberger said:

This is not a misdeal. It would however be a dead hand for both the SB and BB, it is the players responsibility to protect their cards. This situation happened in our group, I tweeted to Matt Savage and he said both hands were dead and play continues.

The one thing I'm confused on is how do you get a flop if the BB has not looked at any cards? Is he just checking blind?

I would also explain to people that when dealing make sure the cards are in front of the correct people and if not get their attention and tell them that is their card.

Click to expand...

Sorry About that Grossberger. I just realized that the Flop had not been seen. Thanks Very Much for your reply. I edited my original post to reflect that change.

Here is the tweet to Matt savage and his answer.

Thank you Sir. Your Expert help is very much appreciated. I am trying to bring a semblance of order to an otherwise chaotic game lol. A game that most on here would die to play in by the way. Thanks again

Interesting - Robert's Rules doesn't seem to cover that scenario. It doesn't fit any of the criteria for a misdeal or a dead hand either, which means you go back to rule #1 of poker: you have management make a ruling on the spot based on what seems fairest.

Killing both hands is probably the right call.

wow.. I need to make sure nobody steals the cards on top of not allowing them to steal my blinds...interesting.... you learn something everyday

If you were in a casino it would have to be ruled by a floor person (though it would have been much less likely to happen in a casino).

If I were in charge of making the decision, I would say that both SB's and BB's hands are dead, and the hand continues. The cards were not dealt incorrectly, so it is not a misdeal.