As a poker dealer I’ve seen a lot of what people like to refer to as “bad beats”. Getting AA all in preflop only to be called and cracked by A6, miracle one outers, hideous runner runners, quads cracked - I’ve pretty much seen it all.

In reality I’d take cracked quads over a ‘worst’ beat any day. Sure having your quads cracked is unlucky, sure it’s a bad beat, but it’s not even remotely close to a ‘worst’ beat.

The worst beat I’ve dealt was a straight flush that was cracked by trip sevens. <READMORE>(I’m aware casino decks don’t have the hand ranking index cards in them, but hear me out, that’s not the issue here.) While the 8d makes the nut straight flush on a 6d 7d 4d 9c 5d board, it doesn’t beat 7c7h when you only show one card and muck your other one. If you’re a novice player, you might not know that. Unfortunately, ignorance of the law provides no exemption from it, and a mistake like that could easily cost you hundreds, perhaps even thousands of dollars.

The ‘worst’ beats, as I refer to them, have nothing to do with hand rankings, nothing to do with odds of a particular card hitting, and nothing to do with how somebody played a particular hand. They occur when someone at the table makes a mistake, almost always without malice or by design, which ends up costing someone money (usually themself). The saddest part? Unlike the miracle turn/river that cracked those quads, these ‘worst’ beats are preventable 52 times out of 52 (for all you crazy math geniuses, that 100% of the time).

Poker rooms have all sorts of rules. Rules that often aren’t easy to figure out, let alone locate, even for experienced casino goers and savvy online veterans. But you don’t need really need to know the nuances of how to muck your cards, or how to showdown your cards do you? It’s not like they’re going to take a $10,000 pot away from you just because you accidentally threw the winning hand at the dealer would they?

Yes, they would. And they will.

That is why it is imperative that before you sit down at a live poker table, you at least familiarize yourself with some of the more important casino poker room rules. I’ve seen people lose a lot of money over technicalities, and believe me, it’s never fun for them. While every casino in North America is slightly different, the following nine tips should serve as a fairly reliable guide to helping you understand what you can, can’t, should, and shouldn’t do at the table.

1. It Takes Two to Tango.

You need two cards in order to win a pot. Two. If the board is 5d5c5s 10h Ad, and at the showdown you flip over your 5h but muck your 9s (perhaps you were embarrassed you called a preflop raise with that hand), guess what? You just lost the pot.

The second you muck one of your cards both become dead. Keep them live until you’ve got the pot in your hands and the dealer mucks them for you.

2. Cards Don’t Lie. People Lie.

It's what you have that counts, not what you say you have, and some players will use this to their advantage.

You make it to the river with trip 9's against a player you think might have the flush. The betting’s over and at the showdown he announces "I made the flush" and slowly begins to turn over his cards. You immediately pitch your cards into the muck.

The problem is he didn't make his flush - your 9's would have been good - that is, if you didn’t toss them away. It’s not fair, not ethical, but unfortunately that pot is his money now. While players are technically not allowed to purposely misrepresent their hand, it is definitely a grey area and it’s best to stay on the safe side. If you make it to the showdown, wait to see your opponent’s cards, and double check you’re beat, before you throw your cards away.

If you really want to be safe, just turn your cards over and let the dealer interpret them, sometimes you might have more than you thought, and this way there's zero chance of your good cards being mucked.

3. Protect your Assets.

If you think people with card covers look silly, you won't when your AsAc is mucked by the dealer because the player next to you inadvertantly pitched his cards into yours on the table, ruining your hand. If your cards are not protected, and someone else's cards come into contact with them in a way that raises doubt about which one are yours, your hand becomes mucked. Protect them!

Also, if you don’t keep your cards close to you, especially if you're next to the dealer, they could very easily be interpreted as folded... once the dealer has them, you don't get them back.

The easiest way to prevent these problems is to simply drop a chip on top of your cards. This lets the dealer know your cards are live, and which two exactly are yours.

4. Focus!

Generally, you are held responsible for any money you put into the pot, even out of turn. For example, in a $1/2 NL game you’re sitting in seat 6 with pocket sevens. You’re not paying attention and announce raise and throw $20 into the pot. The problem is, the action is actually on seat 4, and he pushes all-in for $160. You have the option to fold, but most casinos aren’t going to return that $20 to you.

Be aware of betting or raising ahead of you, and make sure you’re acting in turn (even when you’re folding, as if you consistently fold out of turn you will likely be penalized). Also, never try to act out of turn to purposely confuse or trick an opponent – it’s unethical, not to mention a form of cheating, and will be treated as such.

5. Say it, don’t splash it!

There are all sorts of rules regarding what is considered a raise or a call when you throw chips in without verbally announcing anything. If you’re not 100% confident you understand the casino’s particular rules, then verbally announce your raises or calls every time. This way, there is ZERO confusion, and you won’t accidentally throw in too few/too many chips - because once they’re in the pot, you're responsible for them.

Nothing's worse than having the dealer interpret your raise as a call (rightly or wrongly) when you have AA and 6 people then see a cheap flop. Verbally announce your intended action to protect yourself. If you're going to raise, you don't have to indicate the amount right away, but be safe and announce "raise", then take your time to count out your bet and announce the amount.

Announce what you’re going to do, and then do it. Also, don’t splash the spot. If your chips land in the main pot, you may have just donated those chips to the pot.

6. Kill the power before you check the bulb.

Players can generally request to see the cards of any player who makes it to the showdown, even if they fold their cards at the showdown. The mitigating factor here, however, is that if the cards hit the muck, they are dead.

For example, you and one other player make it to the showdown. He shows first, and you throw your cards in. If you pitch your cards directly into the muck your cards cannot be turned over. However, if you simply throw them forward, the dealer can show the table your cards if it is requested. The point: when folding your cards, try and pitch them into the muck so they can’t be shown by request.

Also, and this is extremely important to note, if you win a pot, especially a big one, and you do not have the nuts and would like to see what someone else threw away, make sure you remind the dealer to touch the cards to the muck before exposing them.

If the dealer does not touch the cards to the muck before flipping them over, then they are technically live, and if a player folded a better hand (i.e. he misread his hand), and the dealer flips them over without touching them to the muck first, then they are still live and can still win. This happens.

7. Play Nice.

Each casino affords their dealers a certain amount of discretion dealing the game. It is always a good idea to stay on the dealer’s good side, as his interpretation of an exposed card or whether or not you made a bet or a call can turn out to be critical to your session. Try to keep up with the action and post your blinds before the hand begins, and there shouldn’t be any problems.

8. Show One, Show All.

If you purposely reveal your cards during a hand your hand will probably be rendered dead. Also, any cards shown to another player at the table will be shown by the dealer to all the players. There’s no reason to expose your cards during the game, so don’t.

9. Speak Up!

If you have a question about something, then ASK IT! It’s much better to feel a little silly asking the dealer a procedural question than it is to look a lot silly when you lose a pot because you were too embarrassed to ask a question that would have prevented it from happening.

And if you’re unsure, be certain to ask your question BEFORE you act!

Good luck!
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