I don't opt out to screw everyone else...

DF 1-2, 10-11pm-ish

My $5 button straddle, a younger euro player I've got a small bit of history with (ruined his day in a tournament calling him down for his stack over three streets with AK/Nut-Nothing, it was good) in SB opens to $20, folds around to me, I've got pocket 2's so I call to see what the flop brings.

AAA

He checks, I monkey bet I'm not even sure how much but it felt like $40-$45(if I had thought about it I'd have either checked or bet $30). He calls pretty snappy, D'oh I'm 100% dead (80% Quads / 20% a Full House I can't ever beat). As the turn is coming out, I pick up my "No Bad Beat" button (which he's been fiddling with no less than 3 different times when we're not in the hand) and show/wiggle it at him to send a message to him. We come to an understanding that he sees me trying to convey this "You see this thing? Yeah this sure must mean something relevant to the present situation.", evidently something was lost in translation.

AAAQ, check, check. AAAQ9

He bets $75... I fold. He shows an A and doesn't reveal his kicker, claiming it to be AK (which would be a very believable story from what I had observed of him). Now I'm very opposed to criticizing poor play at a table, however sometimes I will try and give just the slightest bit of suggestion to see if I can't nudge someone up so that they're a little easier to navigate. This is something I should be more selective with, but I also find that it's frequently a window into unhinging someone's game when they realize they may have really fucked something up and it's not until someone else puts a spotlight on it that they clue in.

So I inquire what his goal of betting $75 was? He says something to the effect of having me fold so that he won't have to show. This poker room has a "High Hand" promotion, where his AAAAK could have won him $200 at the time, clearly he doesn't understand this. He then says if I had a full house then I would call. I tell him that I did have a full house but I still folded since it was a pretty transparent read that I can't win. I point out my "No Bad Beat" button and remind him that the signal that I gave him clearly wasn't for deception since he's (allegedly) holding Nut-Kicker Quads. So you're risking losing out on $5,000 to try and win... $75?

The wheels are clearly starting to fall off his mental wagon at this point, and I don't believe it to be a language barrier issue so much as I don't think he has any remotely firm grip on how Bad Beat's work. The conversation clearly wasn't going to pay any immediate dividends so we gave it a rest at this point, he departed shortly thereafter.

Had the scenario where I was holding pocket 10's or better for the other half of the eligibility requirements if there was an idiot betting out $75 and I was confidant that a Bad Beat were live, I would pony up the $75 to get the players on my table the jackpot even though I wouldn't be able to get the $10,000. I hadn't really thought about being in a spot where I'd actually need to consider a decision in that spot, since anyone who understands the details is just going to check to get to showdown, or if they are betting it it's definitely not live anymore and they're betting that I'm a sucker. I'm opting-out as a decision for myself, not so I can fuck over everyone else at the table. Easily a positive scene-reputation decision.

I ended up seeing the euro kid later that night when I rolled into work. While dealing to him he was telling me that "if you had a full house you would call" / "if you folded a full house there you would show". Telling him "You're mistaken" on both counts, and "Look you really don't want to have this conversation with me while you're playing at a poker table" didn't really seem to register very well. I think when he brings it up to me again, I'll just try and coach him that no matter how much you're annoyed with how someone played a hand poorly, never berate a player into leaving a game (especially not when they have $1100 they got on a bad play that ran out fortunately). That's probably an easier lesson that can be a greater benefit to my bottom line!