Ruling! #6 – I See You… Are Very Strong

The Scenario

Two players are involved in a hand. After the river player A makes a large bet, and player B says “I see you,” but before he places his chips in the middle, player A quickly turns over his hand showing the nuts. Player B carries on “are very strong, and I fold,” and claims that he was never intending to call, and that he merely said “I see you are very strong”. What is the ruling?

Kelli’s Ruling

Most games use the terminology bet, call, fold, or raise. “See” is an outdated term that is rarely used so I would not assume the player intended to call the bet, if he were quickly interrupted by the player flipping up his hand. With that said, IF it DOES happen to be a game where the term “See” is commonly used and the player was so slow in speaking that it came out, “I see…you are very strong,” then it’s considered possible trickery and I would rule it a verbal call and the player must pay up.

The same would hold true if a player faced with a bet said, “I call…this a very tough decision”. Verbal is binding so be careful not to use words such as “call” or even “see” except in the proper context, or be prepared to pay the consequences for your mistake.