EPT Cyprus: Controversial Poker Hand Sees Cards Retrieved from The Muck
There's always at least one hand in every poker tournament that causes a stir, and this was no exception during Day 1a of the $2,200 Eureka High Roller at the ongoing PokerStars EPT Cyprus festival.
Merijn van Rooij and Maan El Hachem were the players involved in the hand which saw cards retrieved from the muck after an all-in and call situation. There was a lengthy deliberation by the floor, that also saw their initial decision overruled by EPT Tournament Director Toby Stone.
Mucked Cards Declared to Be In Play
There was around 60,000 in the pot on the 3?2?8?7?J? board. Van Rooij announced all in from early position, and his opponent, El Hachem, called off his remaining stack of 17,200.
Van Rooij tabled his K?K? for a pair of kings. El Hachem kept his cards face down and pushed them forward, thinking Van Rooij had K?J? for a flush. The dealer then placed his cards on top of the muck, where they were still easily retrievable.
"At all-in and call, it is the dealer's responsibility to protect the player's cards."
El Hachem then realised that Van Rooij had just a pair of kings, and he could beat that. El Hachem said he had deuces, which was good for a set. The cards were taken from the top of the muck and turned over. It showed that El Hachem indeed had 2x2x.
The floor was then called over, and the initial ruling was that El Hachem's hand was dead due to going into the muck. El Hachem and a few players at the table then said his hand should still be alive because when there is an all-in and a call, the cards should go on their backs.
The floor went to Toby Stone for a final say due to the grey area about hands going into the muck in this scenario.
It was the final hand of Level 10, and the decision was made during the break that marked the end of late registration. The original ruling was overturned, and it was declared that El Hachem's hand was still in play. With that, he scooped in the pot.
"At all-in and call, it is the dealer's responsibility to protect the player's cards, so for this reason, the hand is still alive," said Stone.
WSOP Tournament Director Andy Tillman also gave his thoughts on the hand and wrote on Facebook, "Completely the correct ruling. All hands must be shown in an all-in-and-call situation."
"A player in a tournament is not allowed to fold their hand face down. So, as long as the cards are clearly identifiable and retrievable, the hand is turned up and shown. It's the dealer's responsibility to protect the game for the entire tournament and not let that hand be folded. Great call by Toby! I would've ruled the exact same."
In this Series
- 1 PokerStars European Poker Tour Set for First-Ever Cyprus Stop
- 2 Cyprus Gears Up for First Ever EPT; Where Else Should PokerStars Go?
- 3 EPT Cyprus Main Event Livestream Coverage; Mini EPT to Run Alongside
- 4 Oleg Semionov Wins EPT Cyprus $10,200 Mystery Bounty; Takes $192,900 Including Bounties
- 5 Alexander Tkatschew Dominates Final Table to Win $25,000 NLHE Event ($432,090)
- 6 Paulius Plausinaitis Turns the Tables to Win $25,000 NLH at EPT Cyprus ($264,690)
- 7 EPT Cyprus: Controversial Poker Hand Sees Cards Retrieved from The Muck
- 8 Hall-Ahuja! Ankit Ahuja Wins Eureka Main Event In Cyprus For $362,365
- 9 Valeriy Pak Wins $338,460 and the Eureka High Roller Trophy After 17 Hour Poker Session
- 10 Juan Pardo Makes Short Work of the EPT Cyprus $50,000 Super High Roller ($688,560)
- 11 Maher Nouira Books a $25,000 NLH Win at EPT Cyprus ($180,120)
- 12 Aleksejs Ponakovs Bounces Back With a $25k NLH Win at EPT Cyprus ($216,810)
- 13 Quan Zhou Wins the $3,000 Mystery Bounty at EPT Cyprus ($242,623)
- 14 Gilles Simon in the Driver's Seat Ahead of EPT Cyprus Main Event Finale
- 15 PokerStars 'Dare2Stream' Winner Gilles Simon Becomes Inaugural EPT Cyprus Main Event Champion ($1,042,000)
- 16 Career Defining Win for Ilia Pavlov in $10,300 EPT High Roller ($787,400)
- 17 Albert Daher Caps Off EPT Cyprus With Crazy Prop Bets & $25,000 Title
