The game of Texas Hold’em requires a dealer. In casinos, a professional takes on this role, while in home games, players often take turns executing the role, or one person is given the responsibility for the entire session.
Regardless of who is acting as the poker dealer, their job is quite demanding, as there are many things to worry about while dealing the game.
If you are thinking about throwing your first home game or want to learn how to deal poker for future reference, keep reading to find out what it takes to do the job professionally and with class.
The Responsibilities of the Poker Dealer
Dealing poker is not just about giving each player their cards as it may be in many other card games. In fact, the initial deal is only one small part of the job.
A poker dealer has many responsibilities, including:
- Shuffling the deck to ensure randomness
- Moving the dealer button
- Dealing the hole cards
- Following the action
- Collecting the mucked cards
- Counting out the bets and calls
- Dealing community cards
- Identifying the winning hand
- Passing the pot to the winner
- Splitting pots
- Enforcing the rules of the game
While a poker game is running, the dealer is the first person tasked with making sure the game runs smoothly and within the rules.
While casinos and poker rooms also have floor people who are in charge of making the tougher decisions, they are only called to the table at the players’ request.
In other cases, the dealer decides who is right and what the poker rules dictate, which means the dealer must remain focused at all times.
To make things easier, the dealer should deal every hand one task at a time, ensuring one task is done before proceeding to the next one.
Step #1. Preparing for the Deal
When thinking about how to deal poker, remember that the process does not start the moment the first card is dealt, but rather quite a bit earlier.
Before any cards can be dealt, you must make sure that the setup is right for the game to start and that there is nothing missing.
The first thing you should do when you sit at the table is ensure that all 52 cards are present at the table, which is usually done by professionals by displaying all the cards for the players in one skillful move.
If you are not skillful with the cards, you can count out all the cards. Just make sure that there are 52 cards in the deck and that no cards are missing.
Once this is done, you must shuffle up the deck before assigning the dealer button by dealing one card face-up to every player at the table.
The player with the highest up-card is given the dealer button for the first hand. The two players to their left must post the small blind and the big blind for the first hand.
Once all the obligatory bets are in place, the dealer must shuffle the cards once again before proceeding to finally deal the first hand of the session.
Step #2. Dealing the Hole Cards – Preflop
Once the blinds are posted and antes are collected (if antes are in play), you can start dealing the hole cards.
In this first round of dealing, each player will receive exactly two cards face down. These are the hole cards that are unique to each player.
Begin by dealing the hole cards by passing the first card to every poker position starting with the player in the small blind. Go around the table, passing one hole card to each player until you reach the dealer button. Once everyone has one card, go around the table again and give each player the second hole card.
Once you reach the dealer button for the second time, everyone should have two hole cards in front of them, and action can start.
Preflop betting action will start with the player to the left of the big blind, also known as “under the gun,” and go around the table clockwise.
Step #3. Dealing the First Three Community Cards – Flop
When all preflop betting action is completed, it is time to deal the first community cards, called the flop. It is important to ensure that all preflop action is completed before you deal out the flop.
Once you know for sure that everyone has acted on their hand and you have collected all the folded cards, you can proceed to deal the flop.
Before dealing the cards, take the top card from the deck and place it next to the community card area face-down. This is the first burn card, whose purpose is to ensure the fairness of the deal.
Once you have burnt the top card, deal three cards from the top of the deck on top of each other, face down. Turn the three cards over and spread them in the community card area to reveal them to all the players.
Once the flop is dealt, the action starts with the player in the small blind position. If they have folded preflop, go around the table in a clockwise order. The first player to still have cards is the first to act.
Step #4. Dealing the Fourth Community Card – Turn
Once all flop action has been completed and you have collected any folded cards, you can proceed to the next step, which is dealing the turn.
This time around, you are only dealing one community card next to the three you dealt earlier. Before you do, however, make sure to burn the top card from the deck like you did before dealing the flop.
Now, place the top card from the deck next to the flop. This is the turn card, and it acts as the fourth of the five community cards.
The action again starts with the small blind or the next player to still have cards, and ends when all players have acted on their hand.
Once all turn action is completed, you will repeat the exact same process to deal the final community card, the river.
Step #5. Dealing The Fifth Community Card –Rver
Burn the top card, place the next card face up next to the flop, and turn to complete the five-card board in the middle of the table.
Once the river card is dealt, players will get one last chance to act on their hands before the showdown. The action once again starts with the small blind or the next active player in the hand.
Step #6. Identifying the Winner – Showdown
The showdown is the last step of any poker hand. A hand only goes to showdown if more than one player still has hole cards after all river betting is completed.
If this is the case, you will make sure that all action is done and announce a showdown. At this point, players are expected to show their hole cards.
Traditionally, players should turn their cards over in the same order they made bets on the flop, turn, and river, with the small blind the first to show their cards and the dealer button the last.
However, if any aggressive action is taken on the river, the player who took the last aggressive action is expected to show first, with other players following him in a clockwise rotation.
Once the cards are on their backs, you have one last task: determine the winner by comparing the hands the players have shown.
Take your time, think about all parts of the poker hand rankings chart, and make sure you identify the best hand before mucking any cards.
Once you are sure who the winner is, announce it out loud and muck the other players’ cards. Push the entire pot the winner’s way, collect all cards, and prepare to shuffle them for the next hand.
In case two or more players have the same hand, you will need to split the pot into even parts and award each player with one portion of the pot.
In such cases, take your time to count out the pot and split it in order to ensure every player receives their fair share of the pot.
Player Actions and Controlling the Pot
As the dealer, you will ensure that everyone acts in turn, knows the size of the bet they are facing, and puts the correct amount of chips into the pot.
In each of the four betting streets, you will give every player who still has hole cards a chance to act on their hand.
Preflop, the player in the UTG position will act first, with all other players acting after them one by one. In this betting round, players must at least match the size of the big blind (call) to stay in the hand or fold their cards.
In all subsequent betting rounds, players can check their options, passing the action to the next player until a bet is finally made.
Whenever a bet is made, all players must either match the bet, raise the size of the bet, or fold their cards before they can proceed to the next step in the hand.
When dealing poker, make sure to always remain calm and collected. Players will act out of turn and make mistakes, and it is your job to fix these mistakes to the best of your ability and keep the game flowing without significant interruptions.
Dealing with Side Pots
Perhaps the most complicated part of dealing poker is dealing with side pots and ensuring every player is paid according to their stack size.
The only time you will need to form side pots is when there are more than two players involved in a hand, and one of them is all-in while the other two still have chips behind. Knowing the intricacies of the all in poker rules is vital when managing side pots.
For example, imagine dealing in a poker tournament. There are 10,000 chips in the pot. Player A bets 8,000 chips, player B calls but only has 7,000 chips in their stack, and player C also calls. Players A and C still have about 20,000 chips behind each.
In the above scenario, player B can only play for the main pot of 10,000 and 7,000 chips from each of the other players. So, you would put 7,000 chips from each player into the main pot, along with the 10,000 already out there, for a total of 31,000.
The remaining 1,000 chips from players A and C must go into the side pot. If further betting ensues between players A and C, those chips also go into the side pot, as player B does not get to compete for chips he could not cover.
At showdown, you will identify the winner of the main pot and the side pot and award each of the two pots to the appropriate winner.
Remember that there are times when hands go multi-way and more than one side pot is required. In such situations, stay calm and collected, create each pot independently, and only proceed with the dealing when all the side pots are right.
Dealing Texas Hold’em FAQs
How do I determine the dealer button in poker?
Before a poker game can start, the dealer must determine the dealer button. This is done by dealing each player one card face up. The player with the highest up-card receives the dealer button for the first hand. The button moves one spot to the left every hand.
What order should I deal poker in?
Poker is always dealt clockwise. The first card is dealt to the small blind, and other players receive their cards in a clockwise order. In all betting streets, the betting is also done in a clockwise order, with the dealer button having the last action.
What is a burn card in Texas Hold’em?
The burn card is the card the dealer removes from the top of the deck and places it on the table before dealing the flop, turn, and river. Card burning was initially introduced to prevent avoid poker cheating and has remained a part of the game to this day.
What is a split pot in Texas Hold’em Poker?
A split pot is a pot divided between two or more players. When two or more players have the exact same hand in poker, they will split the pot. In such cases, the dealer must divide the pot into two or more parts and award each player with an equal portion of the pot.
What is a side pot in poker?
A side pot is a pot formed when a player does not have enough chips to cover the entire bet, but other players are involved in a hand as well. The player who bet all his chips is not forced to fold but can only play for the main pot, while the remaining players play for both the main pot and any additional chips they invested, which are placed in the side pot.
What if a card is exposed during dealing?
If a card is exposed during the dealing process, that card is taken from the player and set aside to be used as the first burn card. If this happens while you are dealing, keep dealing in the regular order. When everyone has two cards, take the exposed card from the player and deal them the top card from the deck. Place the exposed on top of the deck and use it as the first burn card when the time comes. If more than one card is exposed during the deal, the hand should be ruled a misdeal.
What is a misdeal in poker?
A hand is ruled a misdeal when a mistake is made by the dealer that cannot be rectified. For example, if the dealer skips a player while dealing and deals their card to the next player or exposes more than one card during the dealing process, the hand is ruled a misdeal.
