Seeing Opponents Cards

[Sdtex]

Thanks to all the responders. Didn't think it would get this much interest, but it is something that we may all face at sometime. I guess the consensus is this:
1) It's up to the players to protect their cards
2) Take advantage of everything the other players give you.

BUT, curiously it's kind of split on whether you should say something to the player or not. Some (like Mikeg and Tusabes) say (paraphrasing here)......"Don't tell him and take him down" others (Like Mortis, Leo50, yotalover and many others) say to mention it one time and if he continues it's on him and continue to take the advantage he gives you. I do like MediaBlitz's response (and those who agree with him) regarding quietly telling him so that nobody else overhears, then it's "fair game" from then on.
The one thing I really don't believe are those few that say they wouldn't look at all..........it's almost as you couldn't help but NOT look. For those that wouldn't look, if you accidently saw your opponents cards, would you take the high road like MediaBlitz did and either declare a "misdeal" or eliminate yourself from the hand??
Great responses guys and now I don't feel so bad. Even knowing that the person across from me made a comment about getting a good look (jealous, maybe??) Thanks everyone!!

 

[MediaBLITZ]

Even knowing that the person across from me made a comment about getting a good look (jealous, maybe??) Thanks everyone!!

And that's why you need to wear sunglasses - DOH!!!

 

[Mortis]

One of the first bar tournaments I played in, the guy next to me was always showing his cards, and I turned my head a few times.. then my neck started to ache from turning so much, and well, I just stopped turning my head and ended up knocking him out, lol.

 

[epicsqueeze]

My instinct would be to say that anyone who isn't aware enough to cover their business, isn't going to trouble me at the table. My eyes light up if I ever see anyone who lifts their cards off the baize.

Like most peeps have said, I would mention it once but then feel fine about using any info I gleaned in the future, without deliberately trying to crane.

Of course, in multi-way pots, having such a huge edge over one player can cause you to over-play your hand against the other(s), and land you in trouble.

A friend of mine had this issue at a tourney once and bled a third of his stack trying to stay in three or four-way pots with sir showalot. Later, he was joined by the same guy at a different table, and bust him easily from the seat opposite.

 

[BM0529]

In a case like that I will generally warn the player once and thats all...if he continues to do it thats his loss...I'm not going to intentionally try and look every hand but if I happen to see it every 5 hands or whatever then thats that...I cannot say I didn't let him know. One thing I always do and have been called just about every name in the book by my friends for doing this is that if anyone asks "did anyone see that?" if a card sort of tilts or flips as it is dealt my answer is always no...the reason being that the dealer should void a card every time that happens and many dealers will automatically turn the card in those cases without even asking anyone which is what should be done...if they are not smart enough to do their job correctly I'm not going to say anything, not to mention the player can also request another card if he or she is relatively confident someone did see the card....furthermore, rarely knowing one card any particular player is holding is going to help you anyhow since the odds of getting involved in a big pot with any particular guy at the table where the knowledge will provide you any edge is remote.

 

[BigJamo]

You cant be responsible for his poker actions, if you have been tring to tell him that he is showing his cards, to no avail, then do what you have to do.

 

[noname65]

I've had two incidents that are similar to this.

The first one was also the very first time I'd ever played holdem. On my opening hand I did what this old fellow was doing, picked my cards up and looked at them. The guy next to me said: "I can see your cards." Then he showed me how to look at them properly by demonstrating with his own cards. I appreciated that and never made that mistake again.

The next time was in a limit game when I was sitting next to a shark who talked on his cellphone during the entire time I was there. (This was a small cardroom at a local fair and they had no electronic equipment.) I'm pretty sure that he was leaning back to see my cards because, when I flopped two pair with my A9 suited and bet hard, he kept reraising me until the very end, finally making a small bet that left me with one $5 chip in my stack. He also had two pair with AQ. When I was out this scumbag said: "You're a very sympatico man, but you shouldn't be playing poker." I didn't mind losing but I did mind (1) being insulted by his final bet that left me with one useless nickel, (2) having him cheat.

 

[Poker Orifice]

What if you logged onto an online poker site one day & you could see the other player's cards? Would you tell them?

 

[pokerman27]

What if you logged onto an online poker site one day & you could see the other player's cards? Would you tell them?

It's an interesting question but I genuinely think my first response would be - can they see mine too?

 

[blackmax]

I hear what your saying about the guy not protecting his hand but thats 100% on him no need to feel at fault at all.The only thing you can do is play your hand and if that guy doesn't want to protect his hand than so be it.Its amazing how many times i read about players holding their cards to high though.

 

[MediaBLITZ]

I gotta say I just don't think I can jump on board the, "after I've told him I'm not going to go out my way to look" train. If I have seen that the issue exists and I have gone out of my way to warn them, then I sure as hell will go out of my way to see if this "tell" is still present. I don't mean like start leaning back, but will certainly glance down in the same way I caught it in the first place. I don't understand how you couldn't - human nature at the very least would want to know if someone is taking your advice or ignoring it to their detriment. My integrity only goes so far

 

[mrmood6007]

I feel like this would just be a really uncomfortable situation for you though. Even though you are obviously not trying to look at his cards, the fact that you are limited to when you can look at him would be kind of tedious. I think it would just become really annoying to keep reminding him to protect his cards, and then being able to see his hand every time you play. Did you ever get into a situation where his cards influenced your decision? I feel like it would have been pretty interesting if you raised, you saw his cards were better than yours, he re-raised, and you folded or something.