Marcus Befuddled by Ruling

[user38449]

Van Marcus pondering the rules of tournament poker...

Van Marcus was involved in a recent pot that left him a bit tilty, although he ultimately won the hand.

Action had folded around to Marcus in middle position, but before he could act, the player sitting to his immediately left moved all in for a total of 16,200. The floor was called and Marcus inquired about his options and perhaps more importantly, questioned what would happen to his opponent's premature all-in bet.

He was basically told that all of his options remained available, and that his opponent would be forced to match whatever bet he decided to make, which is exactly what happened (after heaps of commotion); Van decided to make it 8,100 to play and his opponent was forced to make the call, leaving herself exactly 8,100 behind.

Marcus' biggest gripe with the ruling was the fact that if he decided to make it 6,000 to play -- a min raise at the time -- his opponent would be forced to call, thus creating much better pot odds for other potential callers. He suggested that the rule perhaps punished him, moreso than the player who acted out of turn and he seemed to have the support of several others at the table.

In any case, as it turned out, Marcus' 8,100 bet successfully forced everyone else out of the pot, leaving him heads-up with his neighbor.

The flop then came {Q-Hearts}

and Marcus immediately put his opponent all in. Not a fan of the flop, Van's opponent flashed a pocket pair of fours before tossing them back to the dealer.

"How could you lay that down?" asked a third party, seated to her left, pointing out the fact that she had just 8,100 behind.

Marcus then flashed {A-?}