According to the history books, in the old Wild West of the United States, a poker player who was caught trying to steal or cheat usually ended up taking a permanent dirt nap. Fortunately, we’ve advanced 
substantially since then, but some still think that they can game the system. It was seen when Leon Tsoukernik claimed to be “drunk and tired” to get out of paying a gambling debt owed to Matt Kirk last year and in countless other cases. However, using the “I was just kidding” excuse is probably the weakest attempt to get out of a bet.
During a cash game at the Bicycle casino in Los Angeles, poker pro Ryan Feldman found himself in a hand against “Armenian Mike” and several other players. The action started off smoothly enough and, by the time the river card was shown, Feldman and “Mike” were the only two left in the hand. Mike, who was holding A-10, made a ridiculous shove all-in with $10,300 against a pot only worth $900 and, after thinking about it for a few second, Feldman called. This is when things got interesting.
Feldman was holding K-7. The board had produced two Kings and a 7 to give him the boat, and he easily took the pot. At this point, Mike began to try to weasel his way out of the bet, saying that he had only been joking about going all-in. Any poker player–even beginners–know that once a play is called, it stands.
A ten-minute argument ensued at the table that involved virtually all the players, with Mike repeatedly trying to welch on his bet. Joey Ingram later posted on Twitter about the bizarre incident, adding “Here is video of the worst angle I’ve ever seen last night on @LiveAtTheBike. Ryan checks, Mike bets 10k on river, gets SNAP CALLED and says it is a JOKE. Floor rules that Ryan gets to decide what to do and Mike cries for 10 mins.”
https://twitter.com/Joeingram1/status/1005529438786764800
According to the rules, the floor supervisor told Feldman that the bet had to stick, but that he could make the decision to either keep the chips or return them to Mike. As expected, and as should happen, Feldman kept the chips. Better luck next time, Mike.
