Poker player draws backlash for allegedly making an angle shoot to split the pot

A move by a player during a live-streamed hand at The Lodge Card Club in Texas drew a reaction from viewers. The move appears to be a deliberate angle shoot.

The hand, with a pot of 28,000 dollars, involved a player known as Justin. There were 6,460 dollars on the table. San Kim bet 2,500 dollars and Justin called. The river card was 6 ♣, and neither player could improve their hand. As a result, the hand was likely to end in a split pot.

Because he had a bigger stack, Kim put pressure on his opponent with an 8,700 dollar all-in bet. Justin went into thought and said, "I have to go anyway. I call," then pushed his chips forward. When Kim started turning over his cards, Justin pulled his chips back and showed that he did not want to call. However, pushing his stack forward and his verbal statement suggested the opposite.

Justin denied saying call, even though the audio recording clearly picked it up. The room manager, who was called to the table, ruled that Justin had to call. Both players showed their cards, and the pot was split.

The video drew sharp criticism in the poker community. User @gabe__irl responded to a clip shared by Skull Mike with a sarcastic comment: "Good thing he didn't say the binding, clear 'I call.'" In the comments, the incident was criticized as a confusing judgment error over the pot.