I can't tell you how sick I am at what happened during one cash session during the WSOP.
After 2 months of pure anger and frustration I'm finally ready to discuss this and get opinions and thoughts.
I swear, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the following story is true.
I finished top 75 in event #2, $1500 NL, for a $7K cash.
Frustrated by this I decided to play cash.
I play cash for a living, mostly $5/$10 at commerce.
In 7 years of full time playing I've never been so disgusted by a situation as this.
I sat at a $5/$10 uncapped buyin table with $5,000 at the Rio shortly after even 2 finished.
The table was exceptionally deep, multiple people had me covered.
It was a $5/$10 NLHE game with everyone straddling to $20 on the button.
UTG makes it $60 and gets 3 calls. I'm on button with 10d/10h and make it $200. Initial UTG raiser calls as do two middle position players. Pot is now roughly $800.
Flop comes 10s6c4s.
Checks to me and I bet $600. Initial raiser calls and so does one MP player.
Pot is now $2600.
Turn comes 2h.
Checks to me, I bet $1800, and only initial UTG raiser calls.
Turn comes 6s. Board is now 10s6c4s2h6s... flush completed.
UTG leads $1K and I jam remainder of stack. He snaps and rolls over 6-6 for quads. Top boat no good and I lose $10K plus pot.
Part of the game... not running good... such is life.
I re-load for $5k and we move on. We play no more than 2 orbits when the following happens.
It's again $5/10 with a $20 button straddle.
UTG again opens to $60 with two calls.
I'm on button with 10dJd and make it $200. All 3 players caller for an $800 pot.
Flop comes Qd9s4d. I'm o/e with the flush draw. Checks to me, I bet $600 and all three players call. Pot is now $2600.
Turn comes Jd. That's correct, board is now Qd9s4dJd, and I'm holding 10dJd. My hole card just fucking appeared on the board. The deck is obviously fucked. It checks to me. I just got stacked for $5k, and there's a $2600 pot in front of me. If I bet big I know odds are nobody has the flush and I can take down the pot like a scumbag, earn back some of my losses, and get out of there before anybody knows the wiser.
But I'm not a scumbag and I have ethics, so I immediately call the floor.
He comes over, I show him the turn card and my hole cards, and he correctly decides to re-construct the action and give everyone their money back.
But now I'm upset because I'm stuck $5k from the sick cooler hand 2 orbits before, and the deck is obviously flawed.
I just lost a $10K+ pot to a one outer with this same deck. It hasn't been changed and we're less than 2 orbits past that hand.
So I demand they count the deck in front of the table.
While this is happening, it's about 4am and there is one floor man. No backup in site.
During the commotion and my exaggerated frustration all 15 tables surrounding us quit playing.
While I'm arguing with the floor to count the deck, the winner of the $10k plus pot immediately racks up and heads for the door. Exasperated I demand they stop him and make a decision. There is nobody to help the floor and the guy skates out the door without a problem.
FURIOUS I start demanding they do what's right and count the deck in front of the table. At this point I have no idea if the deck has one extra card or it's a fucking 65 card deck. Anything is possible.
Everybody at the surrounding tables are now uncomfortable playing and play has stopped at all their tables.
The floor man senses this and takes a hard-line stance that it has become a security issue, that he won't count the deck in front of us and puts it in his pocket. Players from other tables start demanding that he show down the deck and he refuses. I demand a second ruling and there is nobody in sight to help.
He calls security over and says that I'm becoming a distraction. He offers me two $10 food vouchers for the mistake, and tells me that my options are to accept the vouchers, or if I continue to protest they will throw me out of the rio and I will lose the privilege to play in any further events or cash games.
Disgusted by the ruling at least 3 $10/$20 tables in the immediate area break because players are no longer comfortable with how it was handled or the decks in play.
What choice do I have at this point except to walk away?
My options are to continue a pointless argument or to lose my ability to play the rest of the WSOP.
So I do the right thing and will NEVER know what really happened.
I have to chalk up losing a $10K+ pot to a faulty deck, with no closure, and walk out of the rio never knowing if I got 1-outed in a natural unlucky hand of poker or if there were 7 6's in a deck of 60+ cards.
All because I did the right thing.
I've played poker full time for 7+ years and this is the first instance, EVER, where I literally had ZERO idea what to do or what was right or I was entitled to as a player.
WTF would you do in this situation?
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