Would you look? A cash game dilemma...

[puzzlefish]

I think the right move would be to ask for clarification from the floor admins regarding what your responsibility is in this kind of situation. The onus is on the opponent to cover their cards. If you're not doing something extraordinary and still seeing their cards, then it is the opponent's problem and not yours. Once the floor is aware of what is happening and allows it to continue, there's no reason to do anything else differently.

Had the question been worded differently, such as if you hadn't warned the other player first about the issue, then it becomes a more complicated situation where you may be getting an unfair advantage over the rest of the table without everyone being aware, which to me is fraudulent as it isn't just the card shower that is affected but instead the entire table. The game is no longer pure poker. Ethically and legally, the right move is to notify the table about what is happening so that everyone is informed and can make an informed choice regarding whether to continue playing or not.

 

[ebazynski]

If I have already told you that I can see your hand and you blow me off or choose not to be more careful, then I feel no guilt if it happens again. Not saying I would make an effort to look, but if you are that careless, I'm not going to look away if I happen to get a glimpse of your cards if you do it again.

Is this cheating? I don't think so, because to me cheating implies deliberately doing something against the rules in order to win. Taking advantage of your mistakes or hubris, especially after having been warned, is not cheating in my book.

 

[Gallarado777]

If I see cards I tell my opponent that I see your cards and warn him to be more careful next time if he doesn't listen to my advice and shows his cards again and I see them again, it's not my fault because he doesn't protect his cards himself I think there's no deception because I warned him to be more careful

 

[pentazepam]

The opponent was rude and dismissive in response to a friendly reminder.

Looking at his cards is now more on him than me. I take the information without feeling guilty.

In general, I am polite enough to remind people to cover their cards even if I don't think is it cheating per se if they act carelessly.

In this particular case, I would enjoy looking after the rude comment and repeated mistakes.

It seems he has to learn his lesson the hard they.

If I play with people on a regular basis I of course inform them if they show their cards.

This case is a little different since he is unknown AND rude.

 

[Argonaut]

Yes, it is cheating for you to look at someone's cards after realizing they're not protecting them very well. Doesn't matter what you told them already, you still shouldn't look.

 

[Spielkind]

such a behavior is to know its a new player. I never look into othe rplayer cards on a table--and if im the dealer i ll tell to handle his cards secret and covered with his hands. Normal!

 

[AzdajaD]

Hmmm, maybe not...But, I'll give 1 warning in the name of etiquette and fair play and to help him out if he’s new or just a casual player. After that, if he wants to keep flashing his cards to me that's on him!

 

[nameless]

Well he is being aware and warned so if he keeps doing it is his problem .. maybe i will say same thing twice trying to be nice 2 times and after that i wouldnt care if he keeps showing it thats on him and his responsability he has to learn and change it or he will lose more money

 

[acidburnfx]

For this there is the function of the dealer in giving the closed cards to the players, as well as conduct the pot and bets made during the betting rounds so that the game happens naturally and smoothly between one hand and another. He is also the person who defines if there is something wrong happening at the table, just like a referee in a match.

 

[Gh0stL]

Hi, this is depend of the people and if is fault for someone he doesn’t protect her hand maybe he can learn in bad way, but is not frequent that this happend, I think the the majority of player respect and they don’t are looking to see the cards of their opponents.

 

[Like2Play2]

I remember once being at the table at pokerstars and one player kept on telling everyone in the chat window what his cards were.
I really did not like it. I found that my play was being obstructed. I was unable to concentrate. I did not enjoy the game anymore.
I told him to stop. He did not listen. So I had to close the chat window.

 

[Andyreas]

In my opinion it would definitely be a form of cheating to look at his cards since I would have an unfair advantage of knowing someone else's cards. I would easily know if he bluffs or value bets and get insightful information others don't have.

But it would not only be me cheating, if I would continue to look but also him, since i made him aware and he does not change his behaviour. So he facilitates some sort of cheating, which is in fact another form of cheating.

To the other part of the question if I would look, it's genuinely a hard question. Since he does not seem to care, it makes it hard to refrain from it, even knowing it is wrong. Just being hones, here.
So, I would try not to follow the urge to look but I could not guarantee to look every now and then.

 

[DiegoRamos]

Part of being successful in poker (just like life in general) is to think about various situations ahead of time and decide how you would react. When the time comes, whether you change your mind or not, you at least had a plan of action in mind beforehand.

So what would you do in this situation?

The young, aggressive cash player next to you isn't doing a great job of protecting his hand. The way he looks at his cards makes it really easy for you to see what he has. You quietly let him know to be careful, but he just laughs and tells you to worry about your own game. Would you keep looking at his cards when you get a chance? And do you think this is a form of cheating if you do look? Why or why not?

You can earn 10 VIP Chips with a thoughtful, quality reply to this thread.

Yes, looking at someone's cards is cheating and immoral.
But I would never alert someone for an error or even a tip without being asked, it may seem arrogance on my part or simply being treated badly as was the informed answer.
The ideal would be just to play, without cheating, and he would try to find out why he ended up in that situation.

 

[Dzill_230]

I warned him, he ignored him. The rest of his problem, rightly said, is that there is no nanny here. I'm not going to intentionally look at his map. Everyone knows the rules of conduct at the gaming table.

 

[Poker Orifice]

It absolutely is a form of cheating because you have information that the rest of the table doesn't have.

this ^

I think a lot of the responses here aren't considering the disadvantage the rest of the table is at as they cannot see the dumb-dumb's cards but we can.

If you're HeadsUp vs. dumb-dumb, then so be it... take him to the cleaners! Otherwise, you need to inform the dealer.

 

[shanest]

I would let him know his cards are visible.

I wouldn't be going out of my way to see but if i can still see his cards after notifying him then it is a hard lesson he will learn

 

[RhinoRyan89]

I believe it would still be classed as cheating if you looked at his cards while he is peeling them poorly.

Even if you have previously made them aware of the fact even if they are or have been arrogant.

Speaking to the dealer or the floor management would have to be the next option.

Poker etiquette is paramount

 

[najisami]

The twist in this question is the fact that the player openly ignored the "advice" and doesn't seem to care. Therefore I think I would look whenever there's no one else in the hand though I'd still have a strong feeling of guilt. It is definitely a form of cheating and would not be fair to the other players if I take advantage of the situation in case of a multi-pot.

 

[gabryyyel31]

I don't think it's a form of cheating in the true sense of the word, but it would certainly be a way lacking fair play to create an advantage in this way. Even if you were kind in advance and announced to your opponent to be more attentive to this aspect and he showed evidence of ignorance, I think it would be a supreme proof of fair play to also announce to the dealer to do an observation to the respective player to protect his hand properly so that all players have a fair game without immoral advantages for any player at the table.

 

[Gritz18]

And do you think this is a form of cheating if you do look? Why or why not?

In this situation I would not be comfortable at the table, if it happened to me I would of course warn the player in question and if he persisted with such behavior I would make a comment with the dealer or the tournament supervisor.

 

[YLAN]

Thank you for the question. No, I would not intentionally look at his cards.
It is certainly a form of cheating. One-player-to-a-hand rule is in effect. I myself could be warned or penalized for collusion.

In fact, I wouldn't even attempt to quietly let him know to be careful lest could also be warned or penalized on "discussing during a hand" rule. Instead, would immediately address & inform the dealer about the situation for a ruling.

Its not pleasant to become a suspect of anything in the table other than being a fish or donk so it pays to know the rules & etiquettes of poker play.

 

[nba2009]

It really is a way of cheating, now the situation is quite complex in poker we always have to take advantage of the weaknesses of the opponents, if it is a cash game the correct thing would be to stop the table, if it is a tournament it is more complicated I think that I would take advantage of the situation

 

[zorro222_zorro222]

So this actually happened to me a few years ago, except in my situation it wasn't a young aggressive player, it was an older gentleman who didn't seem to care at all that he was doing it (probably because he was very intoxicated). When I play live, I always look at my opponents when they look at their cards to try and get a read but when the action was on this player I felt really uncomfortable because even though I was trying to only look at him, it was really hard not to see his cards so I eventually started to turn my head and look away from him whenever the action was on him. I was actually relieved when our table broke (it was a tournament not a cash game) and I wasn't seated next to him anymore.
To answer your question I do think it is cheating, maybe not in the conventional way but still a form of cheating. I believe that if a player has the ability to see another players cards then the game is compromised even if the player/s don't care.

 

[ToNy70929]

If, according to the rules of the game, it is not punishable to see the opponent's cards by chance, then I see no problem using this. The opponent himself must take care of the safety of his hand, no one has canceled peripheral vision, of course I will see the cards if they are on display

 

[Balou1982]

Is it cheating? Of course it is.

Would I do it? Will you throw stones at me if I say yes?
Considering that the player was already made aware of his behaviour, and yet he changed nothing, I'd say that seeing his cards and using that information is fair game. If we won't exploit this situation then we should ask ourselves what will we exploit? Will we also refuse to play against noob fish that doesn't know what he/she is doing, or against someone so drunk that he can't see straight but isn't thrown out of the casino?
If poker raises too many moral questions for us then we shouldn't play at all.

I would say to use this information is not prohibited and if im gonna use this information on table nobody except me would know that so i don#t care about other players on table because there will be always players who will profit from such situations!

In my opinion this is a good chance to take this payer out if he means he is very intelligent and don´t wanna respect a good advice, so why should this be cheating if you take the advantage of his non protected hand - stupid people will always be punished in life and on poker tables there always will be another villain who will profit from it.