Month: January 2020

In Texas hold’em poker, it is not uncommon for the dealer to accidentally expose, or ‘flash’, one or more cards, such that the rank and suit of the card(s) can be seen by one or more players. If the first or second card dealt is exposed, or more than one card is exposed, the mistake is considered serious enough to warrant a misdeal; in that case, the dealer should collect all the cards, shuffle the deck and start dealing again from scratch.

However, aside from the first or second card dealt, a single exposed card does not warrant a misdeal. In fact, the dealer should complete dealing hole cards to each player before dealing the player with the exposed card a replacement card, face down, and announcing the rank and suit of the exposed card. Play continues as normal, except that, at the end of the first round of betting – when the dealer would normally discard, or ‘burn’, the card at the top of the deck before dealing the flop – the previously exposed card becomes the first ‘burn card’ instead.

If the dealer, by the act of dealing or otherwise, causes a card to fall off the table, the card should be considered exposed, regardless of whether or not it has been seen by any of the players. In the event that one or more burn cards is exposed – at which point there will, by definition, already be bets in the pot – the dealer should return the exposed card(s) to the deck, shuffle, burn another card and continue dealing as normal; no misdeal should be called.

Of course, it is possible to win at roulette, as it is at any other casino game, in the short-term. However, even if you play the European, single-zero version of roulette – which offers a significantly lower house edge than the double-zero, or triple-zero, American versions – the game is designed to give the casino an inherent advantage, so you will always lose in the long-term. Furthermore, the longer you play roulette, the more likely it is that the percentage return for the casino, and hence the percentage loss for you, the player, will approach the house edge. Casinos lack clocks and windows and often ply players with free alcoholic drinks, so that they play, badly, for as long as possible.

Mathematically, it is impossible to win at roulette in the long-term, so the best a player can do is reduce the house edge to a minimum, focus on outside bets, which pay only even money, or 1/1, but offer a near 50% chance of winning and manage their bankroll. A European roulette wheel, with a single green zero pocket, offers a house edge of 2.6%, but an additional green double-zero pocket increases the house edge to 5.2% and an additional green triple-zero increases the house edge to 7.69%, or one of the highest that you are likely to find in the casino, outside of some ‘sucker’ bets on craps or keno. Granted that the payouts for all bets, inside or outside, are identical in single, double and triple-zero roulette, it becomes clear that players of either American version immediately place themselves at a disadvantage when compared with players of the European version.