The 2019 EPT Barcelona Main Event is over, but there was a hand that had pros and fans debating whether there was a case of what’s known as “angle-shooting.”
That term is basically the poker equivalent of balking in baseball — in many cases, it’s faking an action at the table like betting or moving like you’re about to fold because it may cause other players to react a certain way, whether it’s a facial expression or a movement with his or her own cards.
The case in question came during a Day 3 hand between Quan Zhou and Nikolay Ponomarev, the latter of whom has Ace-King offsuit and who makes a bet that forces Zhou to either call with 12,500 chips. But as Zhou — with his pair of sixes — appears to slide his cards toward the dealer, he pulls them back.
As you’ll hear, the booth reacts to the move:
Zhou ends up calling and Ace-King-4 comes out on the board so Zhou eventually folds for real.
So why did Zhou pull back like that? It appears he got a glance at Ponomarev’s cards.
It seems like most people agree that was a case of angle-shooting:
