You Make the Call

As I write this column, I am on my way to Tunica, Mississippi, for the second annual World Poker Open. Let's hope that all poker players read my column about acting in turn and that all of the games at this tournament will proceed at a perfect pace. Wishful thinking.

I recently received an E-mail from Denise Graham, a poker room dealer and floor supervisor. Denise had run into a situation in which she had made a decision according to her poker room rulebook. Here is her explanation of the situation:

I was informed by a customer that when the dealer burns and turns before action is completed on the fourth or fifth card in hold'em, the end result is for the dealer to have four burn cards. Our procedure and any procedure I've read about and personally seen in other clubs is that you complete all action, pull the fourth boardcard aside, burn and turn – and the fourth boardcard is now actually the river card. Then, using only the stub in the dealer's hand and the misdealt turn card, you do a complete shuffle and, without burning, turn the river card. This results in seven of the eight cards being in proper play. Is there a different way of doing this? This customer was so angry that we did not do a fourth burn prior to turning the new river card, professing to be a seasoned Vegas pro, that I nearly had to ask him to leave. Your input would be very much appreciated.

What Denise ran into here was a "seasoned player" who thought he knew the rules. The rule concerning burn and turns varies from cardroom to cardroom. I have written rulebooks that contain burn and turn procedures that result in both three and four burn cards.

The rule, as it is written in many rulebooks, is as follows:

Three burn cards: Should the dealer turn the fourth card on the board before the betting round is complete, the card is taken out of play for that round and the betting is completed. The dealer then burns and turns what would have been the fifth card in the fourth card's place. After this round of betting, the dealer reshuffles the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not including the burn cards or discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and turns the final card without burning a card. If the fifth card is turned up prematurely, the deck is reshuffled and dealt in the same manner.

Four burn cards: Should the dealer turn the fourth card on the board before the betting round is complete, the card is taken out of play for that round and the betting is completed. The dealer then burns and turns what would have been the fifth card in the fourth card's place. After this round of betting, the dealer reshuffles the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not including the burn cards or discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and burns and turns the final card. If the fifth card is turned up prematurely, the deck is reshuffled and dealt in the same manner.

The reason for the two different rules is an answer I do not have. There are actually a few other rules concerning burn and turns used in poker rooms today that are different from the two above. One calls for the card/cards that was/were prematurely exposed to be taken out of play completely and never given a chance to be put back into play. The above example is just a small part of the overall picture when it comes to using standardized rules in poker rooms throughout the country, and possibly even the world. Until this happens, players will assume that the rule used in their hometown cardroom is what is supposedly "correct," and Denise and all other floor personnel will have to try to explain why one rule is better than another when, in fact, they are both correct.

Editor's note: Michael O'Malley's E-mail address and website are [email protected] and http://members.home.net/rzitup, respectively.