As I write this, the
World Series of Poker is in full swing, and I have never heard more complaints about such a variety of things. Even the winners are unhappy, something that's virtually unheard of in the gambling world. While I would like to relate them all to the readers of
Card Player, it would take several full issues to list all of the complaints. I will begin by addressing one of the major sources of these complaints - dealer incompetence. A lot of the problems revolving around the dealers could be solved by instituting standard dealer procedures and making sure that dealers are trained to follow them. Since Harrah's seems unwilling or unable to create some sensible dealing standards (perhaps the fact that top management doesn't include anyone with poker knowledge and experience exacerbates the problem), I have taken it upon myself to start the ball rolling. I have tried to create a simple set of procedures that all dealers should follow consistently. My list is really only a first draft of my opinions. I'm sure there are some omissions and/or alternatives that need to be covered. It should serve as a basis for any dealer in any home game or cardroom, and can be applied to either cash games or tournaments.
Steve Zolotow's Recommended Dealing Procedures
These procedures give some basic guidelines for dealing the most commonly dealt games. I have not covered Chinese poker, triple-draw lowball and Badugi, or single-draw games, but anyone planning on dealing them should be aware that they also all have standard rules and procedures.
Shuffle:
1. Give cards a slight scramble as you pull them in.
2. Riffle shuffle twice, box shuffle once, and make a final riffle shuffle.
3. Square the deck and release it completely in front of you.
4. Pull in the antes, if any.
5. Cut the deck onto the cut card (yellow backer) and start to deal.
All Games:
1. Announce bets, raises, and reraises by saying bet or raise.
2. In no-limit and pot-limit games, never announce the amount of a bet or raise unless someone asks.
3. Announce the number of players on the first round.
4. Announce whenever someone is all in.
5. Tap the table before dealing, to give anyone who hasn't acted a chance to stop you.
6. If it is ever unclear what is happening, clarify it by asking the players involved before you proceed with the deal.
Stud, Stud Eight-or-Better, and Razz:
1. In stud and stud eight-or-better, the lowest card is the bring-in. In razz, the highest card is the bring-in.
2. Announce the bring-in card by rank and suit (for example, three of diamonds). You need not point at the bring-in card or the player.
3. Announce the completion and any raises or reraises.
4. Call all open pairs the first time they are dealt. Some casino dealers prefer not to call pairs in razz, but it is best to call new pairs in all games.
5. Call the hand that is first to act on each round.
Split-Pot Games:
1. During the hand, sort chips by denomination, if you can. Make sure that the sorting doesn't slow up your dealing or block players' views of boardcards or opponents' hands.
2. When a pot becomes twohanded, leave the chips in front of the players.
3. When the hand is over, split the side pot(s) first, and then the main pot.
4. Always start by splitting the highest-denomination chips first.
5. An odd chip of the smallest denomination goes to the high hand, if possible; if not, it goes to the hand to the left of the button.
Mistakes, Irregularities, and Accidents:
1. In general, call the floorman unless it is a common situation and you are completely sure of the rule being used by the cardroom.
2. If a card may have flashed, treat it as a flashed card; don't ask players if they saw it.
3. Call string-bets and raises; don't leave it up to the players to call them.
Steve "Zee" Zolotow, aka The Bald Eagle, is a successful games player. He currently devotes most of his time to poker. He can be found at many major tournaments and playing on Full Tilt, as one of its pros. When escaping from poker, he hangs out in his bars on Avenue A in New York City - Nice Guy Eddie's on Houston and Doc Holliday's on 9th St.
