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There are
a few casino rules that don't fit under any particular aspect
of play. The first of those is the infrequent card-down
situation. Early in my career, I was playing at a full table
when the dealer accidentally dealt a card to me over the
edge of the table. Since it was very difficult for me to
reach down under my stool to get the card, I thought one
of the other players might get it. No one moved a muscle.
Typical, I thought, of the modern version of John and Jane
Q. Public. The dealer evidently hadn't seen what happened
at first, but noticed I had only one card on the table as
I started to bend down. He said, "Don't worry about
it" and called, "Card down" over his shoulder.
I went ahead and picked up the card with a helpful, "I
don't mind."
When the pit boss arrived, the dealer handed him the card
and pointing to me said, "He got it." The pit
boss carefully looked over the card, then looked at me and
gave it back to the dealer. Feeling stupid, I realized that
players aren't supposed to retrieve cards from off the table.
An experienced friend told me later that cheaters will mark
or switch cards underneath the table whenever possible.
I must have looked touristy enough that they didn't feel
it was necessary to swap decks to see if I had pulled a
switch. Whenever a card goes off the table, tell the dealer
and let the pit boss retrieve it.
Another rule goof I made nearly was in playing more than
one hand at a time. At first, I picked up both sets of hands
I was playing and was immediately informed by the dealer
that I was not allowed to do that. When playing more than
one hand at a time, you must fully play out the first hand
before going on to look at the cards in the next hand. The
only exception to this is when the dealer is showing an
Ace up and asks for insurance bets. In that situation, you
can look at all your hands to see which ones you might want
to place the insurance side bet on. |
