Poker News

Jan Fisher

There are so many rules and scenarios in a poker game that you can’t possibly know or even learn until you or someone at your table screws up! There also are many “decisions” that can’t be made until the exact sequence occurs and then a floorperson does the best that he can under the circumstances.

Having worked as a tournament director and floorperson, I often found myself jolted awake at night rethinking decisions I made. With more time to think things through, I frequently came up with better solutions.

Yes, all floor supervisors make mistakes, and the good ones admit it. As long as a ruling is made in good faith, players should be OK with it. Nevertheless, there are some rules that could be better served if the randomness of cards was truly accepted and common sense used. I have seen the following situation come up so many times and ruled upon in many different ways that I want to ask you, the reader, to tell me what you think about a four card flop and how you’d like to see it addressed?

I have seen the floor rule where the dealer decides which the errant card was, takes it back, and uses it as the second burn. Personally, I hate this decision. I have also seen the entire flop taken back, reshuffled into the deck and redealt. But there’s a better way, and some cardrooms already use what I am about to suggest. When a four card flop appears, the four cards are turned face down, scrambled well by the dealer, with the top three comprising the new flop. The fourth is used as the next burn card.

While everyone would know the next burn card no one is really at a disadvantage. Perhaps the original three cards would be used. At the very worst, two of the three original flop cards would be there while the burn card would be interspersed with theoriginal flop card, leaving the turn and river cards intact. This adulterates the hand as little as possible; don’t you think? Please email me your thoughts to Jan@cardplayercruises.com whether you agree or disagree and if you have a better solution. I also want to remind you that it is a rule in poker that your highest denomination chips be visible at all times. You cannot conceal the amount of money you are playing. A player should be able to eyeball your stack and get a pretty good idea of how many chips you have. If you keep your highest denomination chips in the back, you might find that they don’t play if another player’s view was blocked by your stacking method. Think about it … what’s fair is fair!

The proper way to stack your chips also means no barber-poling or peacocking. I am sure you know what I mean by those terms, but in essence, you can’t intermingle your stacks with differing denominations of chips. You must maintain clean stacks. That isn’t to say you can’t shuffle odd or colorful arrays of chips, but the majority of your chips must be so they can be easily counted down by the dealer and the other players.

Keeping your stacks in twenties is also helpful, though not mandatory. You are always entitled to know how many chips your opponent has, however your opponent is not required tocount them for you, nor is he required to tell you. If he chooses to not count them personally, he must make them available to the dealer to count or for you to easily eyeball them.

Moving right along…

Filed under: Poker News