Another cautionary tale from today's WSOP event

Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh
out of the mouth, this defileth a man. (Matthew 15:11, King James Version)

I've written several times before about how being careless about one's words can cause all sorts of troubles at the poker table; see, e.g., here. Today at the World Series of Poker Deuce-to-Seven Triple Draw event, a player had to learn this the hard way. PokerNews tells the tale:

That's Tilt-Inducing

There was a little bit of controversy on Blue #2. A floor was called
over to make a ruling on the final round of betting after one player checked.
His opponent claimed that he then asked, "Did you check?" The original player
only heard "check" and exposed his hand: 9-8. Allen Kessler, also seated at the
table, said he only heard, "Check." No other player expressed an opinion. The
floor ruled that the second player checked as well. Disgusted, he turned up his
hand to show a wheel and said sarcastically, "Yeah, I definitely checked this
hand."

I think we can safely assume from the cards that he showed down, the player's protest at not being allowed to bet, and his comment when it was all over, that he really did ask--or at least intended to ask--about his opponent's check, rather than intentionally checking himself. What we don't know is exactly what he said. Although he claimed after the fact to have said, "Did you check?" it is, in my opinion, just as likely that he actually said just "Check?" with a raised inflection in his voice, intending it as a question. I have heard such careless questions from players countless times.

Such subtleties are easily lost in a noisy poker room. Also there are players with impaired hearing, others with music blaring in their ears, and yet others with a native language in which a slight raise of the voice does not communicate a question as distinguished from a statement.

If you ever have need to inquire what action has transpired, you should not include any words which, if taken alone and out of context, might be erroneously interpreted as a statement of your own action. If you ask another player "Did you raise?", you might have just inadvertantly committed yourself to a raise. If you ask the dealer, "Did he check?", you might have just inadvertantly passed up your opportunity to bet. If you eyeball the stack that an opponent pushed forward and ask, "100?", but it was actually only 10 because you mistook the colors of the chips, you might have just committed yourself to a raise to 100.

The only safe way to ask is with words that cannot be misinterpreted as a declaration of your own action. For example, ask the dealer, "What is the action so far?" or "What did Seat 4 do?" (By the way, such questions are better addressed to the dealer than to an opponent in the hand. The dealer will answer; the opponent may choose not to. Furthermore, if the dealer gets it wrong, and a controversy ensues, the floorperson will be more inclined to see things favorable to you than if you rely on something another player has said that is inconsistent with what action was actually taken.)

Occasionally there is a situation in which I need to use the potentially dangerous words. For example, I have asked the dealer to count an opponent's all-in bet. He then tells me how much it is, but he has a thick accent, and/or the room is extremely noisy, and I'm not sure I heard it right, and I need to repeat back to him what I think I heard him say. In such cases, I always make sure that I have his full attention and we have direct eye contact, and I ask it with a full sentence (e.g., "Did you say 150?" rather than just "150?"), all in an effort to minimize the chance of a misunderstanding. If I haven't yet decided whether to call, I don't want my repetition of the amount of the bet to be interpreted as a statement of my bet size.

This all must seem incredibly picky and burdensome to players used to online play or casual home games. But you don't have to spend too much time in commercial poker rooms to see exchanges exactly like the one that occurred today at the WSOP. Misunderstandings happen all the time.

As long as we're stuck with the now-entrenched dogma that verbal declarations are binding as to one's actions, and other players are entitled to rely on what comes out of your mouth, you have to think carefully about what words you put out there. They might come back to haunt you.