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Dealing TipsMechanics - Make sure the button is correct and start dealing to the SB. -Keep the deck low to the table so as to avoid flashing the cards as you're dealing them. If you have to choose, it's better to not get the cards all the way to the player, then to throw them from a higher angle to get them farther. - If you accidently expose a card on the deal, leave the card there, contiue dealing and come back to the exposed card and replace it with the top card after everyone else's cards have been dealt. The exposed card becomes the first burn card. I suggest that you place it face up on the top of the deck and turn it over as you burn it before the flop. -Remember to burn. In our game, this is more for custom then it is for the real reason for doing it. BUt if we're going to burn, it needs to be consistent. I've started keeping the burn cards seperate from the muck so that they act as a reminder. Sometimes you'll burn and then something will come up before you flip the card. Then you can't remember if you burnt or not. You can just look at the burn card count to know where you stand. -If you forget to burn and there has been action on the round before it is caught, the card stands. If it is caught before there is action, take the card that was put into play out and deal the next card. -When dealing the flop, deal them out one at a time face down and then turn them over. This will minimize the chance that you'll accidently expose a fourth card. - Be very sure that the action has closed for a round before you expose the next card(s). To me, this is the worst mistake that can be made. Yes we have procedures to handle this mistake, but once cards are exposed after there has been action in a hand, it's really bad to have cards exposed. If this happens the proceedure is as follows. Turn River - If a player exposes one or both of his cards, make sure that everybody at the table has a chance to see them. Running the Table - Make sure people act in turn. If they do act out of turn, remind them of the rules. - Make sure people don't string raise. If they do correct the action (raise doesn't stand). If a player is new, and there has been no action following his bet, then you can let it slide once and warn him/her that it won't be allowed again. If the table objects as a group, then the table is right. - Make sure people know it is their turn to act and prod them a little if they are slow. You don't have to be a bully about it, just keep prodding especially if they are regularly slow to act. - Make sure that raises are legal. A raise must be at least as much as the previous bet. If player A raises the opener to 75 (25 + 50), the following raise (in that round) must be at least 50 ( a bet of 125). The only exception to this rule is of course an all-in raise. - Make SURE that you are awarding the pot to right player. Some hands require that you do a double or triple take on the showdown. Make sure that everyone in the hand is happy with your decision before shoving the chips. Mistakes can be corrected while the chips are still in the middle. Once they get added to the wrong stack, it can be problematic. -If someone goes all in, count the chips and get that player's acknowledgement that your count is correct. -Side pots. This can be very challenging especially if you have more than one all-in. I try to make it as simple as possible, even if it is slower than other may be able to do it. 1. Take an amount equal to the lowest all-in count from each active bet and put it in the main pot. 2. Take an amount equal to the next lowest count from each active bet and start a side pot. Continue this for each all-in. (there's rarely more than 1 or 2, but you could conceivably have all but 1 player all-in on one hand. 3. When you get to showdown, settle the winner starting with the sidepot for those not all-in, or those that had the higher all-in amount. Award that portion of the pot and move to the next side-pot or the main pot. Compare the winner of the previous side pot to those in the running for the current side pot or main pot. - It's up to you to interpret the player's "actions". Verbal actions stand. If a player announces "raise" then he must raise. The only exception that I've granted to this rule is if someone says "raise" and is unaware that the pot has been previously raised. If he had put chips in to raise and it constitutes a legal raise, then it stands. We all have different "check" taps. Get to know the players "taps" and say "check" out loud for each player. If you're not sure what the player intended, then double check with the player before preceeding. -Making change from the pot. It's your responsibility to make change to players who throw a bigger chip to cover a bet. If you kep the players bets in front of them, it's easier to remember who needs change. (One regular mistake that I see players do to themselves is when calling a raise befoere the flop. Their already in for 25 and it gets raised to 75, They pull their green chip back and put in a black one. They think they've already made their change but they haven't. They have effectively made change for 125 and still have 25 coming back.) -Don't allow players to buy chips to their stacks in the middle of a hand. They can buy chips during the hand, but they are not in play until the next hand. If they've requested chips, and their on route, those chips are in play. The player may act as if he had the fresh buy in front of him. Either sell him the chips from someone elses stack or let him play light. -Be aware of the rules in play for that night. For example, this week, we have a host that wishes to deviate from our standard one "chip rule". Enforce the rules that are in play for that game. You as a player. - Keep your cards protected and well out in front of you so that others will know that you too are in the hand. - Make your personal actions very clear. When you muck exadurate the motion. WHen you check, make it obvious. - Make sure you keep the muck cards away from your hand. - Make sure you keep your stack away from the pot. |
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