Tips on How to Protect Your Hand in a Live Game

This is in response to poker stories I have been reading where the dealer by mistake mucked a player’s hand while still in the hand. Usually this happens to players playing next to the dealer. But not always. I have seen a player who is folding his cards in disgust by throwing them face down in the pot and they hop over and get mixed in with the middle seats cards because he did not protect his cards. This hand could be called dead. This should never happen.
Here’s two tips you should do. Tip one, use one hand to count or to move chips to the pot. Put the fingertips of the other hand on your cards. Seems simple. But I have seen it all. I have seen where a player turns around to get a drink and oops, his cards are gone. KEEP YOUR FINGERS ON THE YOUR CARDS.
Tip two, after a show down, KEEP YOUR CARDS UNTIL THE POT IS PUSHED TO YOU. Get the pot first, then give the dealer your cards. I see this mistake all the time. Usually no problem, we all know you won, right? Wrong. You think you won, and throw your cards away and oops, one player is still left that you and the dealer missed and did not see or worse he had his hands over his cards. I have had dealers asking for my cards after a hand, and I have to say, “no” push me the pot first. I take no chances. What about a player last to show his winning hand and throws them down towards the pot, what he thinks, face up and one card hits a chip in the pot and is now face down. The dealer or nobody else can touch that card. (This is the one person to a hand rule). The player better be quick and turn it over before the dealer mucks it. A down card in the pot can be called dead. I know these might be extreme examples but please keep your cards until you get the pot. Good luck at the tables.

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Why not just put a poker chip on top on your cards-seems to work for me:)----------And keep your cards close to you.

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Of course, that will work too, but believe me, I have seen that get messed up also. And every time you remove the chip to peek at your cards it gives a tell away.

I honestly NEVER had to move my chip as i remembered my cards-your right though, most ppl. do look at their cards more than once n give off tails.