The setup:
A fairly chatty table, filled with a somewhat inebriated reg, who while acting over the top, is questionably falling on the floor drunk. In other words, I think he's playing it up a little bit. His act is working though, as the money is being thrown around quite a bit and raising or calling with 95o is commonplace. People are getting coolered left and right -- tilt is evident throughout the table. The subject in question is in for a buy in - perhaps a retired guy - maybe in his mid-60's. He just won a pot to double him up, and I've been talking about the rule of poker where if you win a big pot, it's mandatory to play the next hand. The subject is fairly tilted himself, being subject to both poor play and coolers
This guy is on the BTN in this particular hand and it has limped around to him. He does not look at his cards, but puts out his $3 call and we see a 6 or 7 handed limp flop of A x x. It checks around to a mid-position bet and folds to the BTN who looks down to check his hole card(s). It is at this point that he says, “I only have 1 card!”
“Floor!” says the dealer, realizing the situation immediately. What happens to a player playing only 1 card? I’ve never seen this situation. Floor rules that pending “significant action” which constitutes the many calls plus a flop, and action, the hand is dead on arrival. I’m assuming the ruling is correct… and it aligns with the rule that a player must show down 2 cards to win a pot, so the hand is disqualified. It seems to me that the ruling is only reasonable ruling in that spot – are there any other ideas of alternates? I'm personally satisfied with the ruling, and the player in question didn't protest at all (although he had an Ace for top pair), but was curious as to different points of view.
