Floor!

Saturday night at a 1/3 cash game, the table is a mix of older & middle aged men, it's a very friendly table, everyone is talking, joking, it's a very light, relaxed atmosphere, more like a home game than a typical 1/3 table..Then the following happens and everything changes.

The two friendliest of the table are on my right and they get involved in hand that's heads up by the river. The board reads 676-T-A. I'm not sure of the pot size by this point, but the older man, first to act, has led the whole way with the other guy just calling. As the older man is thinking about what to bet on the river, he's looking at his chips and says, "How much do you think you'd call?" The younger man says, "Oh, I'd probably call up to $120." So, the older man bets exactly that, $120.

The younger man, on my immediate right, likes to hold his cards where I can see them when I'm not in the hand. He holds up 57o as he folds. The older man quietly shows 66. Everyone says "nice hand", the pot is pushed and we get ready to move on to the next hand when the dealer suddenly looks at the guy on my right and says, "I think that's binding, you said you'd call $120. I think I have to call the floor."

Now, I know technically verbal is binding, but really? It was clearly just talk, not to mention he had used the word "probably", but sure enough, the floor agreed that he had to honor the $120 and pay him anyway even though he'd folded. Everyone at the table was surprised by this.

Was it an angle by the sweet 80 year old casino-savy man? Did he set up the younger, mostly home game player? I don't know, he never asked to call the floor, the dealer did that, so who knows..But, be warned readers, I guess it's best to just stay quiet during a hand, even in a seemingly friendly game. Lesson learned!