A online poker player who folds a hand, is said to “muck” them. Most often folding online poker players just toss their cards into the middle of the table or on top of any other discarded poker hands. Once a hand is mucked, it is considered dead and out of play. Sometimes controversy does arise about whether or not a hand is actually mucked. A player may accidentally start to muck a hand, then realize it is wrong to do so and try to pull it back. For instance, when the big blind that is not raised, a player may forget that his big blind is already in the pot and can just check instead of betting or folding. Card rooms can vary on how they define what constitutes a mucked hand. For instance, some rooms follow a strict rule in which cards pushed over the bet line are automatically mucked. This present hazards to those in the two seats on either side of the dealer because their cards are sometimes mistakenly collected by the dealer during the action and cannot be retrieved. That is why players in those seats should always cover their cards with a card protector. In some card rooms, the rule is that the released cards must touch the other mucked cards before they are declared dead. If a player releases the hand, but then quickly pulls it back before it can touch the muck, then the cards can be retrieved. The WSOP has the most liberal rule in that if the two released cards can be identified, they can be retrieved. When you are in one of these ambiguous situations, ask the dealer to call the floor manager over to explain which rule applies.

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