Sunday, December 20, 2009

Question for dealers

A long time ago there was a one-page article in, I think, Bluff magazine, written by a poker dealer, about things that players can do to help (or at least not unnecessarily hinder) the dealer. Most of them were pretty obvious to me (such as, do not move the button unless you really, truly understand when it is to be moved--and the great majority of players who think they do, don't).

But one request she had puzzled me, and I've wondered about it since then every time it comes up. So let me ask my poker-dealing readers.

She said that if you're the under-the-gun player, and have made your decision quickly, wait until all the cards have been dealt before you act (call, raise, or fold). She said that it gets confusing to the dealer and/or players to have action commencing before all the cards have been dealt.

I haven't really noticed this to be a problem. But maybe it is an annoyance when I act too fast in that situation, and nobody has told me.

So, dealers--what's your preference? Does it make your life easier if the UTG player holds up the action a few seconds until the button has all his cards, or does it not really make any difference to you?

4 comments:

carl said...

I'm not a dealer, but do deal home games. It definitely takes a little more mental energy when there are cards coming out to the middle while trying to finish the last few players.

Mostly because it's different than the normal routine, and it just takes a few extra seconds to process and make sure everything is OK.

I'm sure someone that's actually good at dealing could handle it better, but you know how some dealers are when you do things that mess with their routine, like touching the button...

Pete said...

It depends on where you are and how you fold. It can get confusing sometimes when you are delaing out cards and all of a sudden two cards come rocketing in. aside from being unexpected, we are unable to immediately card the folded cards because our hands are busy.

Also I have had a problem arise once and seen a few close calls where the folded cards fly into the card being dealt.

If you are sitting next to the dealer and you just push your cards in out of the way that's fine.

Dominick Muzio said...

It is better for the UTG player to wait till all cards are dealt. It can confuse dealers and player, true, but the real reason is sometimes players who fold pitch their cards rather strongly, and if the dealer is still in the middle of the deal, their discards may come into contact with another players cards, therefore fouling their hand and possibly causing a misdeal.

--S said...

I don't mind UTG mucking as soon as s/he gets the second card, provided UTG is someone like you. Having played with you, dealt to you, etc., I know that you are going to muck your cards exactly how I wish everyone would muck their cards.

You are not going to see how high over the table you can helicopter the cards before they land. You are not going to flick your cards towards the middle with enough force that they will impale into the chest of the person at the other end of the table. You are not going to wing them with a flick of your wrist that causes each card to land at opposite ends of the table. You are not....well, you get the picture ;)