Chance Kornuth has been called out over allegedly trying to angle shoot an amateur during the WSOP Main Event. Fellow pros were chief among those unhappy with Kornuth’s actions on the feature table…
This is horseshit. There are clearly things you are allowed to do within the rules, that you just shouldn’t do. He wouldn’t do this vs Jason Koon. Just a cheap trick only worth trying vs an amateur. Surprised he’d do this on a televised broadcast. https://t.co/YikjcTyclY
— Jason Strasser (strassa2.eth) (@strassa2) November 14, 2021
Angle shoot at this year’s WSOP Main Event?
Kornuth’s arguably dubious actions came as he contemplated a turn decision against Texan player Kyle Arora, making as if to shove a chunk of his stack with both hands but eventually just repositioning them sideways– all the while staring at his opponent.
“Wow, here it comes,” announced PokerGo commentator Lon McEachern, quickly adding a “Maybe!” as Kornuth let go of his stack. “I’m not a fan of that…you know, it’s allowable and I still never like it.”
On Twitter, the reaction was naturally a bit less restrained.
Chris Brewer kicked it off by tweeting: “There should be penalties for intentionally moving your chips in a way such that you are making opponent think you are calling/raising for reads.”
“Fwiw not trying to say Chance is awful or anything similar. I like him, he’s always friendly at the table, and it is within the rules, but I don’t think it should be within the rules.”
Then came Jason Strasser’s tweet above, claiming Kornuth would never try this against a seasoned pro. That claim, however, was refuted by Ike Haxton…
He 100% would do this against anyone. We’ve been laughing at him for it for a decade, but he won’t stop.
— Isaac Haxton (@ikepoker) November 14, 2021
Further controversial moves at the table
The rules state that if a player uses “forward motion” or crosses the betting line with his chips, then he is committed to the bet, but in Kornuth’s example that didn’t happen.
Twitter poker fan Clayton Maguire took exactly this view: “No issue here. People separate calls/bets/raises from the rest of their stack all the time, never motioned forward or anything.”
Ryan Leng was of the same opinion: “Just a part of live poker. Rules involving forward motion keep it from getting out of line.”
Dan Zach joined the debate, but on the opposite side…
Disappointed by responses on here. I agree this should not be allowed. Under current rules it is so obviously nothing should be done here… just think this *should* be made against the rules.
— Daniel Zack (@Dan__Zack) November 14, 2021
Brewer wasn’t swayed by the arguments in favour of Kornuth’s play. He stated: “I think it’s just a form of cheating and not a poker strategy. It shouldn’t be on an opponent to have to know person they are playing is trying to angle them…”
Angle shoot or not, players need to be aware of all the possible tricks and traps in the book that they might meet when playing live.
One of the most blatant angle shoots in recent times was seen in the EPT Barcelona main Event. This time with the cards, not the chips, doing a little tour of the felt…
Controversy❗
Get @Stapes and @spraggy's thoughts on a possible angle in the #EPTBarcelona Main Event 👇
Cards-up coverage continues at https://t.co/hRFaQAqWdk pic.twitter.com/Ok0y6NN5rS— PokerStars LIVE (@PokerStarsLIVE) August 28, 2019
Official WSOP rules
The WSOP rules themselves mention forward motion of the chips and the cards several times. Rule 105 dealing with “dead hands” while rule 33 deals with Limit Hold’em only.
- In limit poker, if you make a forward motion with chips and thus cause another participant to act, you may be forced to complete your action or forfeit your hand and the chips already
Rule 174, below, is the one that probably should have been enforced in the 2017 WSOP, when Matt Glantz was angle shot by Sam Grizzle, with Mike Matusow there as a witness to the egregious forward motion incident.
Rule 174 states: “A wager is not binding until the chips are actually released to the felt, unless the participant has made a verbal statement of action. However, a forward motion with chips in hand may result in a participant being forced to leave the minimum amount allowable to call the bet, at the Floor Supervisor’s discretion, especially if the forward motion elicits an action from another participant involved in the hand.”
You can check out our previous article on the lengths some people will go to win at poker, including the “Worst angle shoot in poker history.”
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