Three card poker, dealt four cards.

Imagine sitting at a 3 card poker table, having a $10 on the pair plus (we all know its a sucker bet, but you were feeling foolish) and you see your first three cards are a straight flush!

But..... You also see the dealer has accidentally dealt you a fourth card!

Would you point out the error and risk not being paid the straight flush?
Would you slyly throw the spare card on the floor, in the hope that it gets seen later and put back. (assume here that the cameras, dealer and pit boss would not see you drop it)
Or would you be sneaky and palm the spare card in case it came in useful on a subsequent hand. (assume here that if you get spotted, your on your own!)

As a side topic, if you could successfully palm the card and replace in subsequent hands, what would be your strategy? I believe the pair plus would become a massive advantage bet in this situation.

Would this kind of game make a fun alternative, if you were allowed to carry one card over to the next hand, if the payouts and dealer qualification were altered? Maybe the dealer could have the same privilege?

>Would you own up and risk not being paid the straight flush?
Own up?? I ain't got nothing to own up to. Its that blithering dealer what gots to own up to being an all-thumbs idiot.

>Would you slyly throw the spare card on the floor
No, I avoid doing things slyly, particularly in a casino.

>Or would you be sneaky
No. I would not be sneaky. At this or anything else.

>if you could successfully palm the card
How would I know if I could successfully palm a card? Such knowledge only comes to people who try to palm cards.

?Would this kind of game make a fun alternative,
No.

if you were dealt a fourth card... alert the dealer immediately before viewing ANY cards...
2 reasons, 1 - the dealer (especially in small casinos) may just move the last dealt card on one (if he hasnt dealt more) and 2 - if its a re-deal, you dont know you have a straight flush!

I would alert the dealer immediately. Sneaky moves such as palming are asking for trouble.

Last year I was at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. I found a cash ticket worth S$70 on the floor and wondered whether I should cash it or hand it to the supervisor. I decided to be honest and handed it in, based on the fact that all entrants to the casino have their passport or ID card scanned as they enter. So I could easily be traced.

About two weeks ago someone got arrested and fined S$1500 for doing the exact same thing I was considering doing. Honesty is best.

With electronic shufflers that spit out three cards at a time, I don't see this happening. There is a rule to not look at the cards until the dealer/shuffler confirms there was no mis-deal. Therefore, I don't see how this scenario can even take place.

On the assumption that it did somehow happen, there are signs that say mis-deals void all hands, or something like that.

If you palm the card, A) I believe it's a felony, B) It will be discovered when the shuffler counts only 51 cards.

If it's a hand-dealt game, the only thing you can do is stop the dealer when he gives out the fourth card, and hope that he simply backs up rather than calling it a mis-deal.

The deck would be counted down before any large payoff (such as a PP SF) was made, so ditching the card wouldn't work. But depending on the casino, you WOULD get a free ride to the jail or the hospital.

Quote: mkl654321

The deck would be counted down before any large payoff (such as a PP SF) was made, so ditching the card wouldn't work. But depending on the casino, you WOULD get a free ride to the jail or the hospital.

I disagree, here its not common to see the CSM's being used for TCP. They used to be everywhere, but when I ask these days the reply is usually that they are broken or jam all the time, probably down to poor maintenance or age of the machine. I have also NEVER seen a deck counted down after a straight flush. Although I know that the CSM would count the counts every 'shuffle'.

Quote: WizardofEngland

I disagree, here its not common to see the CSM's being used for TCP. They used to be everywhere, but when I ask these days the reply is usually that they are broken or jam all the time, probably down to poor maintenance or age of the machine. I have also NEVER seen a deck counted down after a straight flush. Although I know that the CSM would count the counts every 'shuffle'.

I had the deck counted down after a straight flush once, at Trump Plaza in AC. So it does happen. Not common, but it happens. And I've not once seen TCP dealt by hand, in over 5 years, at more than a dozen casinos. It ALWAYS comes out of a machine here in the US.

To answer the original question, everywhere I've played, 4 cards in a hand would be a misdeal. No sense in getting upset, the hand was never live so it never happened.

Quote: Mosca

No sense in getting upset, the hand was never live so it never happened.

That's not necessarily true. There have been a few slot machine malfunctions which resulted in erroneous jackpots. While the games very clearly say "malfunction voids all pays and plays", a casino will often settle with the patron for a small sum just for publicity's sake. I have first-hand knowledge of a nickel-slot player's case -- she was playing an older 5c progressive machine when it locked up and then told her she had won a $16M jackpot. There aren't any 5c games with 16M jackpots, and the machine clearly malfunctioned. But the casino brushed her off so she went to an attorney, and the attorney dug deeper and realized that the casino's investigation was, shall we say, deficient. Rather than incur any further expenses toward a confrontational situation, they just paid her a few grand. She was happy, the casino was happy, everyone wins.

I don't know of any similar malfunctions on the table game side, however.

Quote: Mosca

I had the deck counted down after a straight flush once, at Trump Plaza in AC. So it does happen. Not common, but it happens. And I've not once seen TCP dealt by hand, in over 5 years, at more than a dozen casinos. It ALWAYS comes out of a machine here in the US..

I guess you've never played in Kansas and Oklahoma. Come to think of it some Nor Cal Indian Casinos are hand dealt.

Quote: Mosca

It ALWAYS comes out of a machine here in the US

I can honestly say that in the last 12 months, I have probably visited 10-15 casinos in the UK, and not one of them used a CSM on TCP.
Two years ago, they were everywhere.

I will even go so far as to say that they are disappearing from blackjack too. They are still about, and some casinos use them across the board on the blackjack. But I wonder if they only use them when they suspect a counter, as for the casual player I think I remember the wiz saying a CSM is better than a shoe.

To the OP... I would never risk the chance of going to jail for a felony to get paid on a misdealt hand.

Quote: WizardofEngland

I disagree, here its not common to see the CSM's being used for TCP. They used to be everywhere, but when I ask these days the reply is usually that they are broken or jam all the time, probably down to poor maintenance or age of the machine. I have also NEVER seen a deck counted down after a straight flush. Although I know that the CSM would count the counts every 'shuffle'.

I was referring to a situation where the deck was hand-shuffled. But beyond a certain payout threshold--which varies from casino to casino--the action would indeed be interrupted and the deck counted down before it was either hand-shuffled or placed in the CSM. I saw it done at Fitzgerald's twice in one shift (the dealer probably was afraid she would be taken out and shot, given how much they sweat the action there).

Quote: mkl654321

I was referring to a situation where the deck was hand-shuffled. But beyond a certain payout threshold--which varies from casino to casino--the action would indeed be interrupted and the deck counted down before it was either hand-shuffled or placed in the CSM. I saw it done at Fitzgerald's twice in one shift (the dealer probably was afraid she would be taken out and shot, given how much they sweat the action there).

I was playing Let It Ride (I know, I know...) at the Tropicana in AC, and two straight full houses to two different players had them count and replace the cards before the next deal. It was a CSM.