If you are a serious poker player, you will want to know how to shuffle and deal cards in Texas Hold'em. In a home game, you probably won't deal exactly as a professional dealer would, but you can do your best to emulate his technique. After practicing these steps and tips, you will be able to shuffle and deal effectively in home games. This will allow you to reduce fights between friends and problems at the table.
Steps
Step 1. Shuffle before dealing cards
The first thing a professional dealer would do is fan the deck and inspect the cards to make sure they are all there. Then, turn the cards face down and shuffle them. You will also need to check that all cards have the same back. Now group them and mix them.
Step 2. After shuffling twice, cut the deck
Hold the deck with one hand. Use your other hand to remove the first third of the deck and place it on the table. Then take the middle section and place it on top of the cards on the table. Finally complete the deck with the last third on top of the others. Now shuffle the cards again.
Step 3. Cut the deck on the bottom white card and prepare to deal the cards
Step 4. After the blinds have been placed on the table, give each player two cards face down, starting with the next person (clockwise) to the dealer button
Step 5. Note:
There will be four betting rounds. During each round, move all the passed cards into the "muck pile" under the hand with which you hold the deck (the stub). When each round is complete, the dealer moves all of the chips in a stack to the center or right (or left, if holding the deck with his right hand) of the table (the pot, or pot). Betting always starts with the player seated after the dealer clockwise, and continues until all players have folded or called the entire bet, including raises.
Step 6. Round 1 (Preflop):
Betting begins clockwise with the player after the big blind. Each player can: 1. Call the big blind amount as a minimum 2 Fold his hand 3 Raise the bet, according to the rules of the table.
Step 7. Round 2 (the Flop):
The dealer takes the top card of the deck and burns it, face down under the pot. This is a protocol rule, which does not affect the randomness of the cards. However, it helps prevent players from marking cards and cheating. The dealer then places three cards face up on the table. Another round of betting will begin.
Step 8. Round 3 (the Turn):
the dealer also in this case burns a card and puts another face up on the table. Another round of betting will begin.
Step 9. Round 4 (the River):
the dealer burns a card again and places the fifth and final card face up on the table. This will be the last betting round before the players reveal his hand.
Step 10. The Showdown:
after betting or checking the river, the players remaining in the pot will have to show their hands or fold them. Traditionally, the last person to bet or raise will have to show their hand first… IF there was a bet on the last round. If everyone checks on the last spin, the player to the left of the dealer button will show first.
Step 11. The player with the best hand wins the pot
Announce what the winning hand is, and take the cards of all losers. Push the pot to the winner. Leave the sails (the Board) and the winner's hand face up as you push the pot. Do not perform this step too quickly. Make sure everyone sees that he has the winning hand, so that there are no fights. All people at the table, whether they have participated in the pot or not, have the right to correct the dealer. This is nothing personal, just a measure to avoid mistakes.
Advice
- Remind players to keep their bets in front of them and not in the center of the table. This will make it easier to remember the bets. When a round of betting ends, the dealer can move all the chips to the center of the table.
- In Hold'em there are 4 betting rounds and 3 burned cards.
- The basic blending is: blended, blended, cut, blended. This technique is used throughout the poker industry. If you don't use the cut, mix five or more times.
- If you don't want to shuffle the cards like the dealers do, that's not a problem. Make sure you shuffle the cards well at least four or five times though.
- To speed up the game it is useful to use two decks with different colored backs. While playing a hand with one deck, you can have the next dealer shuffle the other.
Warnings
- Another element to consider in home games are the players sticking the chips. Whoever pushes the pot towards the winner should always turn their palms towards each other to show that they have not taken any chips. This is standard practice even between friends. Professional dealers must do this in all live games. In tournaments a professional dealer would have no reason to take tournament chips, but in a home game you will avoid all questions about honesty this way.
- All cards should remain on the table and in view of all players at all times. This will prevent players from hiding, swapping or marking cards.
- Burning a card before the flop, turn and river is a practice used to discourage cheaters. The cards are burned because many high-level professional players used to lightly mark the back of some cards, to get more information about the cards that would be played. Likewise, in games where the dealer plays, it is good practice to have another player shuffle the cards and have another player raise the deck. This allows you to prevent many cheating techniques.
