You saw dealer's undercard...

In a similar vein to my overpaid for blackjack thread, let us take this scenario....
You saw the dealer's undercard, a nine, and the dealer's top card is a 10.
You are playing first, and the dealer says 'hit or stick'.
Can you request a misdeal, stating, I saw your 9 undercard?
If the dealer says no, do you feel comfortable hitting your hard 18?
Can another player with 20 request that it NOT be a misdeal?
Dealers out there, how is this handled?

You can request a misdeal, and probably get it, with the bets pushing. The dealer would be in a little trouble for sloppy dealing.
Hitting a soft 18 against a 9, 10 or Ace is actually a common and normal play in any case, regardless of whether the hole card was exposed.
Yes, another player can request that it not be a misdeal, but may be denied; up to the floor.

Just goes to show that all anomalies in the game are trouble. Either for the dealer, the player, or both.

As to the question, if I had a hard 18, or even a hard 19, I'd like a misdeal. If I had a 20 or a BJ, I hope I'd ask for one.

I gotta say, if I am holding the 20 on that hand, I expect to be paid!

A little slip and error by the dealer should not negate my victory, and accidentally exposing a hole card to one player would be the very definition of a minor error.
Now if the dealer skipped a player, so that we all had cards that should not have been ours, then I would say a misdeal is called for, and no hands get paid.

If I were the floor and could make the decision, I believe I would allow each player at the table to accept a push, or play the hand out. Especially if it is $10 table.
Why risk the ill will? If I was holding 20 and I did not get paid, I would cash out and head to the door forever.

First of all, it's not a misdeal, because the cards were not misdealt. Everyone got the cards they were supposed to.

The players are not harmed by the inadverent exposure of the hole card.

Therefore, I would rule (if I were the floorman), that the hand proceeds as normal. Any player may hit or stand as he chooses.

As a player, I would not only feel quite comfortable hitting my hard 18, I would feel quite stupid if I didn't. I would also have no problem telling anyone else at the table why I had done so.

Quote: mkl654321

... I would also have no problem telling anyone else at the table why I had done so.

mkl, do you intentionally try to see hole cards as an advantage play, the way that some members here say they do? If so, making the announcement would likely clue in the dealer and decrease your future advantages. As a side question, do you view hole carders as cheats? If you don't, would it concern you that your announcement could decrease the long-term advantage of other players at the table?

I would not intentionally put myself in a position to try and see hole cards. I feel that is not playing fair. However, if during the course of play I happen to see a hole card, I would use that information for that hand. It comes down to that premeditated statement. If I know it was going to happen, then I can't claim it was an accident.
This is my personal belief. I pass no judgement on others who hold different view points.

I believe someone else mentioned what about when the dealer checks for blackjack? When they are putting cards in the mirror I always watch their reaction. Do they try the cards a couple of times? Do they know right away? Do they look closer at the mirror? All of those can be an indication of what is in the hole. I do not consider this cheating. The casino has plenty of options on how to handle this procedure, and if the procedure they are using is not 100% infallible that is a choice they have made. I know the same argument can be made for hole-carding, but I don't see it like that. Perhaps I am being arbitrary and irrational with my reasoning.

Ideal situation: You point it out and they call a misdeal. Your bet pushes and the dealer never does it again.
Bad situation: You point it out and they don't call a misdeal. You hit your hard 18 and lose (someone can point out the math but there's a high probability you'll bust. The dealer never does it again.

Don't point it out and take advantage of it later.

If the dealer reveals a hole card by accident, the pit will be called and the hand will be played with both cards up. No misdeal is called. If you're always surreptitiously picking up the hole card and are varying your strategy accordingly, you'll likely get backed off.

Quote: Doc

mkl, do you intentionally try to see hole cards as an advantage play, the way that some members here say they do? If so, making the announcement would likely clue in the dealer and decrease your future advantages. As a side question, do you view hole carders as cheats? If you don't, would it concern you that your announcement could decrease the long-term advantage of other players at the table?

I don't hole-card, because I don't think the opportunity comes up often enough to make it worthwhile. I don't view hole-carders as cheats, and the courts have made rulings that support that view (with the authorities, acting as lackeys for the casinos, prosecuting a person accused of cheating because he was holecarding).

As far as my hypothetical announcement, that would be in a one-time situation, and I would feel pretty stupid trying to proffer some lame explanation for hitting my hard 18 like, "I just felt lucky".

My question was in regards to whether a player can request a misdeal and be granted it. mkl says that it will not be treated like a misdeal. Someone earlier said it may be. If I were the casino I would treat it as mkl stated, that for that one hand all players would see the card and be able to alter their strategy accordingly. Of course the pit boss would counsel his dealer on proper technique to avoid such occuurrences from happening again. If you were allowed to ask for a misdeal, then an AP would only do so if the dealer had better cards than the AP had, thus even increasing the player advantage. If I believed that the dealer was intentionally letting me see his card in the hope of getting bigger tips, I would leave that table immediately. I have only played once at a table when I could frequently see the hole card. I was betting $5 per hand (25 years ago) and was so nervous when I would make strategy 'errors', that I did not enjoy the time at that table. I left after making a whopping $30. I think now i would sit until the dealer's shift was over.....

Not a misdeal..
Options given to player in such scenerio:
1) Players have the option to play or take their bets back. 20 will play and 18 will take his bet back.
2) Players have given the option to play their hands with the public knowledge of hole-card. yes, hit my 18..

(1) is more common for regular gamblers, while (2) for smart anonymous winners..