Midstream Switch?
17 March 2003
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
While playing Pai Gow the other day, the dealer
set his cards and was in the process of turning
the players'. He turned my set and announced two
winners. As the dealer was checking the next
player's cards, the pit boss came over and had
the dealer reset his cards. This resulted in me
getting a push. This doesn't seem fair unless
the casino will also let us reset after we see
the dealer's cards. I would appreciate your
comments. Lane B.
Casino dealers must set their hands according to
strict, fixed house rules. Says so in the fine
print. Once all the hands are set, the dealer
turns his cards last and compares the player's
hand rank with his own. You win if both your low
hand and high hand have higher poker rankings
than the dealer's low and high hands. That is
how it is supposed to work.
In your case, Lane, the dealer apparently set
his hand wrong and an observant pit boss had him
reset his hands according to the house rules.
Nevertheless, I believe you caught a fair call.
Despite the dealer's probable mistake, the game
was played out according to the rules that were
already in place when you bought in.
Here's an example of the sort of thing that
could have happened. Say the dealer had an 8 of
spades, 8 of hearts, 9 of spades, 9 of hearts,
and a 5, 6, and 10 of hearts.
The strong hands would be a flush or a pair of
8s and 9s. Had the dealer set his hand with the
8 and 9 of spades in the front and the flush in
the back, it could (not "would," as each casino
has different house rules on dealer
hand-setting) have been set incorrectly. Typical
house rules dictate that the 8s should be in the
front and the 9s in the back, with the flush
going by the wayside.
Same idea shows up if a blackjack dealer holding
an Ace, 2, 2, Ace, and a face card, stops at a
hard 16. If he proceeds to pay the table, an
eagle-eyed pit boss would come over and make the
dealer take another hit.
You didn't mention, Lane, whether the dealer
possibly had a "foul" hand. A Pai Gow poker hand
is foul when the hand has either the wrong
number of cards, or when the two-card hand has a
higher poker value than the five-card hand.
Using our example from above, the dealer would
have fouled the hand had he put the 9s up front
and the 8s in the five-card hand. In that case,
the foul hand would have been a losing hand for
the dealer, and you would have been paid.
Dear Mark,
I get plenty of high pairs in video poker, but
rarely convert them to better hands. How often
should I be getting two pairs, trips, etc? Todd
N.
Here is the list, Todd, straight from Valhalla,
of just how often certain combinations should be
obtained when you are holding a high pair.
Two pair: Every six times 3-of-a-kind: Every
nine times Full House: Every 98 times.
4-of-a-kind: Every 360 times
Of course, by holding a single pair you cannot
get a straight, flush, straight flush, or a
royal flush. Matching your conversions against
these average outcomes should more or less tell
you how your luck is running.
Gambling thought of the week: "There is not much
of a gamble left in a casino. Chance is only an
illusion." John Alcamo
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