Don't be a flasher

A few days ago I was at Mandalay Bay, in the 1 seat (on the dealer's immediate left). The guy in the 5 seat was a habitual flasher. That is, when he was thinking about what to do, he would shuffle his cards in a particular way that I've seen several other people use: The cards are face down, horizontal (i.e., the ends are to his right and left), and he lifts up the bottom one by its right side, using his right hand, and puts it on top of the other, repeating mindlessly.

Well, there are some problems with this. First, anything that you do without much thought (chip shuffling, tapping your fingers, bopping your head to your iPod music, chewing gum, eating an Oreo cookie, etc.) provides opponents with a tell, because you will tend, without knowing it, to change the manner or pace of the thing when you have a strong hand versus a weak hand.

But for this particular tic, the more important consideration is that, unless you're extremely careful, you'll expose your cards to the people on one end of the table. That's just what this guy was doing, obviously without knowing it.

So when I caught a glimpse of one of his cards, I told him (after the hand was over) that he was putting himself at a disadvantage by letting others see his hole cards. Other times that I have warned players of this, they have been grateful. Not this jerk.

First, the guy said, "So what? Have you actually seen them?" Yes, I replied. The player two seats to this guy's right spoke up and confirmed that he had been able to see them, too. Then the dealer confirmed that it was a problem, and said he had intended to warn the guy himself, but then had gotten busy in the hand and had forgotten it.

But rather than be thankful, or just accept the advice quietly, or even ignore it if he wanted to, this idiot felt the need to defend himself. He told the dealer, "They're my cards, and I can show them to anybody I want to."

I won't bore you with the tedium of the ensuing incredibly stupid argument between the dealer and the jerk. I will, however, point out that it's a gray area of the rules (unless the casino has a specific house rule), when a player may deliberately expose his cards to another player or players before action on a hand is concluded, and what, if anything, is to be done in the case of accidental exposure. Furthermore, these rules may vary depending on whether it's a cash game or a tournament, and whether the action is heads-up or multi-way. And some sets of rules require showing both cards if one is exposed (at least deliberately). It's kind of a messy technical problem.

But put all that aside. Even if there are occasionally legitimate tactical reasons that you might want to expose a card or two to an opponent during the play of a hand, if the rules governing the situation allow it, why in God's name would you want to defend ACCIDENTALLY doing so? That makes no sense at all. And that's precisely what this idiot was doing--all because he couldn't accept a little friendly helpful hint. And, really truly, I was being friendly and helpful about it, not criticizing him. I was blown away by his incredibly defensive, aggressive reaction. But at least he stopped doing it.

Please don't be a flasher. I'm tired of having to tell people that I can see their cards.