In poker, every player has a responsibility to be aware of his or her surroundings. That includes following the proper order of action and paying attention to the clock, stack sizes, etc. If you fail in that responsibility, chances are you'll make mistakes, and we all know that mistakes are what hurt your bottom line.

I saw a great example of this play out in a recent telecast of the World Poker Tour. The hand took place in the 2015 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Just four players remained in action, and with blinds at 60,000-120,000 plus an ante of 20,000, Bill Jennings looked down at A K and made a minimum raise to 240,000.

Ben Yu and Kevin Eyster folded from the button and small blind, respectively, which put action on Jake Schwartz in the big blind.

“How much did you start the hand with, approximately?” Schwartz asked.

“2.5 [million],” Jennings answered.

Schwartz then moved all in holding A J, and Jennings snap-called off for what turned out to be 3.15 million.

“I should have asked for an exact count; he just said 2.5 million,” Schwartz told his friends on the rail. He then watched helplessly as the board ran out 6 9 K 5 5.

“I guess it's cool to angle at final tables for hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said a frustrated Schwartz after taking the devastating loss.

Jennings defended himself by saying his chip count was wrong on the monitor that players use for reference, but this explanation did not pacify an angry Schwartz.

As things got more contentious, Jennings ended it by saying, “You should have asked for a count [from the dealer].”

Whether Jennings intentionally misled Schwartz was left up to the judgment of viewers, but in my opinion, it's a moot point. As mentioned earlier, each player has a responsibility to know the size of their opponent's stack, and when in doubt, they have the right to ask the dealer for an exact count if there is an all-in situation.

Instead of asking the dealer, Schwartz asked Jennings, who provided incorrect information. If it was done intentionally, then it was indeed an angle and in very poor taste. On the other hand, innocent mistakes do happen. Whatever the case, Schwartz opted to accept Jennings' chip count without verification.

It was a big mistake on Schwartz's part, as he busted out in fourth place soon after. Schwartz blamed Jennings for his misfortune, and while I can empathize with him, it was Schwartz's responsibility to gather all the facts before making his decision. It was as simple as asking the dealer for a count.

When you find yourself faced with an all-in shove, ask the dealer for a chip count. Don't take the other player's word for it. On the flip side, don't lie when asked about your stack size. It can be a violation of the rules, and it's considered a major breach of etiquette.