Dear Mark,
I have a couple poker questions that have started arguments at our house poker
game. Hopefully you can clear them up for me.
Question 1: We had a player, a relatively new guy to poker playing, get
excited and show us his pocket cards before we all were allowed to bet. Some
of us agreed that him showing his cards only ruined things for himself, but
two of the players demanded that the rules say the hand is called a misdeal
and that we re-deal. I claimed that since the player, not the dealer, revealed
the cards prematurely, that we should continue the hand as normal, and the rest
of us would just have the advantage over the other player. But these two guys
insisted that the rules stated the hand is re-dealt. To prove his case faulty,
the very next hand when I knew I was losing, I flipped my cards over and said,
"Re-deal". What are the rules in this case?
Question 2: This problem, I believe stems from the fact that people are
learning Poker from watching "The World Series of Poker,” and view
that show as the end all when it comes to the rules for poker. My question pertains
to the "burning" of cards. Is that a World Series of Poker rule or
typical casino policy? Doug F.
In stud or flop games, if the pocket card(s) that are dealt face down to each
player are inadvertently exposed due to a dealer error, the card(s) is ruled
dead, that is, not legally playable.
But your question deals with a player who intentionally exposes his cards during
play. No misdeal here, Doug. It’s free ammo for all the other players on
the game. I state “all” because if any player at the table sees an
exposed card(s), all the other players have a right to know what the exposed
card or cards were. Even if a player unintentionally exposes his cards during
play, his hand will still not be ruled dead, and again, if any player at the
table saw the exposed card(s), then every other player at the table has the
right to know what the exposed card(s) was. The reasoning behind this rule is
to avoid players in collusion from privately showing cards to one another.
As for burning cards, Doug, that’s called burn and turn, where the function
of the poker dealer is to burn a card before the draw cards (the flop, the turn,
and the river) are distributed. It’s commonplace in all casinos and card
rooms and it is done to prevent cheating.
Dear Mark,
I had the biggest bet of my life ($100) on the pass line when the dealer called
out, “Seven out, line away.” My gripe is that one dice was leaning
against the wall and not laying flat. It looked to me that it could have been
any of three possible outcomes, not the three that he paired with the other
dice that was a four. Was I robbed of my $100? Ken L.
Sorry, Ken, three/four, and now you’re poor. Your pass line Benjamin belongs
to the casino.
Dice that end up leaning against the wall or gaming chips are called cocked
dice. A stickman will make his or her call based on the natural lean of the
cocked die as if the intruding object were taken away. Of course, you can challenge
a stickman’s expertise, but most are skilled at making the correct call
to a fault.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "I'm shocked, shocked to find that
gambling is going on in here." --Captain Louis Renault, "Casablanca"
