Each one has a random number generator, assigns each card a random position in the shuffled deck, then moves it to that position in the stack. In fact, the machines genuinely randomize the deck. The machines also produce a more thorough shuffle than do dealers using the standard casino procedure. These are a great time-saver for everybody, and more hands per hour means making money faster, if you're a winning player. Many poker rooms now have automatic shuffling machines built into the tables. If they do replace the whole deck, it's usually just to give them an opportunity to inspect the rest and not because they're going to dispose of the other 51, if they prove to be perfectly good. And, yes, most card rooms replace just the faulty card, not the entire deck. You should always point out such defects to the dealer so that the card can be replaced. The players are angry and about to lynch the dealer, until M&Ms come to the rescue, giving him a mess-free way to get his chocolate fix. Those of us of a certain age might remember a funny TV commercial from the 1970s for M&M candy that featured cards covered with chocolatey fingerprints because the dealer was improvidently snacking on regular chocolate bars. The replacement cards that are brought to the table are just as "used" as the ones they're replacing. They are carefully put away when a table closes in order to be used again. (I don't pretend to understand how they come to such hare-brained ideas.)Īs I discussed in my last article, poker room cards are expensive, and made to last. These players somehow convince themselves that new cards will be luckier than ones that have been used before. Some players assume that when requesting a new setup, the cards brought to the table will be brand new ones. My hope - which is probably misplaced and futile - is that the needling effect of forcing the player to admit that there is no rational basis for his belief will make him think twice before making this request again in the future. Of course, the player can never produce any coherent explanation of this, because there isn't one. I ask him to explain how a different deck of cards will make any difference in what hands he gets. When I'm in an impish mood, I'll pass the down time by quizzing the requesting player on why he's asking for the change. However, I don't hold out any serious hope that any poker rooms will actually implement this brilliant plan.) When the requesting player returned, everybody would just lie and tell him that the cards had been replaced, on the theory that what he doesn't know won't hurt him. During that time, play would continue as usual, with the same cards. (As an alternative, I long ago proposed that poker rooms should require the player who requested the new setup to leave the room for 10 minutes. I really wish they would refuse such requests. The poker room is simply indulging the fancies of one player to the detriment of the rest. If there were some tangible benefit to it, fine - but there isn't. It stops the game for five minutes or more while the dealer goes through the security procedures of inspecting the replacement decks and getting them shuffled properly. Please don't ever be one of the players who does this. They perceive that they have been getting an unlucky series of hands or bad beats, and they irrationally believe that a different deck of cards will change their luck for the better. The chief reason players make this request is superstition. A "setup" is a pair of decks with contrasting back colors, so that they do not get intermingled. Almost all poker rooms keep two decks of cards in rotation at each table. Once in a while, you'll hear a player ask the dealer for a "new setup." What he's asking is for the current cards in play to be replaced with new ones. But there is much more to know about cards, and what poker rooms do with them. I spent the entire article last time discussing the flexibility of the plastic cards used in modern casino poker rooms and how to use this feature to your advantage. The series is great for newcomers, and likely useful as well to those with experience playing in casinos and poker rooms. note: For those who might have missed it before, we're reprising Robert Woolley's series of articles for poker players who are new to live poker.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |