[Bobby C]

Based on my years of experience as a poker dealer and floorman, here are my thoughts:

--The biggest myth in poker is, "if you expose your hand, it's dead". There is no rule that says such, except for house rules written by managers who have idiot floormen, who cannot be relied upon to make a judgement call. In cases where no one is left to act, showing your cards cannot affect the action, so why mandate the "death penalty" for something so harmless? If showing your cards does affect the action, then Robert's Rules and the Tournament Director's Assn's rules say that "a penalty may be enforced". Killing the hand is not the only penalty available. A 10-minute or 20-minute "time-out" from the table may be executed. But in almost all cases, the player exposing his hand did it with no sinister intention, and a warning should suffice.

--James sounds like he's new to the B&M game. I think it's possible that the facts of this hand are not as he relates them. For example, he said this dealer is in the habit of pointing to a player when it's his/her turn to act. The fact that she didn't point to this last player, coupled with the last player not considering to put chips in, indicates to me that she was the bettor or last raiser, and owed no more chips to the pot. She acted like this was the case; so did the dealer; and so did all the other players in the hand. Now it's possible that you're right, and all these experienced players/dealers are wrong--but I doubt it.