Strange things happen at the poker table. I’ve seen fistfights, rivered one-outers at a final table and even players injured after falling off a chair or thumping the table too hard in disgust.
However, I’ve never seen the same card dealt twice on the same board. I’m sure it happens from time to time – something goes wrong in the printing and packing process and you get a few repeats – but it’s rare and I’ve certainly never seen it myself at a major tournament series.
The offending hand
Yet a bizarre incident in the WSOP US$1,500 PLO event saw just that take place when the Q of hearts was dealt twice – and nobody noticed until it was too late! The unfortunate victim was Chris Ruby, who might never have known what had happened himself if he hadn’t taken a photo of the hand as it played out.
There has been plenty of discussion since about what should take place, with many criticizing tournament director Jack Effel for refusing to pay Ruby some form of compensation, but our man on the ground Damon Shulenberger provided a more reasoned perspective in his WSOP blog, stating “This is technically a correct decision, as once the next hand is dealt, the time to contest the hand has expired. If the hand had been contested within the appropriate time frame a misdeal would most likely have been declared, with play reconstructed and chips returned to appropriate stacks.
“Compensating Ruby would have been a nice move by the WSOP, for publicity reasons if nothing else. Unfortunately, it would have opened the door to further such claims in the future and the even the possibility of other people in the hand asking for some sort of compensation – they were affected (directly or indirectly) by the hand and how that affected subsequent stack sizes and play.
“Tapes were reviewed and the Nevada Gaming Commission was finally brought in to investigate, finding no wrongdoing. Meaning, get over it. This also means that Phil Ivey has a slam dunk case against the Borgata in their baccarat edge sorting lawsuit – hand’s over, dudes.”
You can read Damon’s WSOP blog at http://wsop14.blogspot.com.au/
