One of the things that irk many other players in poker rooms and me is an arbitrary rule that prevents dealers from either washing the deck or bringing in a new setup of cards.
Now I realize some players take advantage of liberal policies and call for an over-abundance of deck washes and card changes. They do it for many different reasons. They are losing; they are superstitious, they want to influence their luck for the better --- the list can go on and on.
But my point is simply this: without the players, a poker room would not exist. The players' money and presence support that poker room and is the reason for its existence. And some poker room managers can be decisively arrogant when it comes to defending the rights of players.
The fact is that poker players spend thousands of hours playing their games of choice. With the use of the automatic shuffler and the occasional washes by dealers, the cards should be dealt on a somewhat random basis, meaning players will receive a reasonable number of good hands vs. poor hands.
But sometimes that does not happen. A player will be in a seat and will be dealt poor hand after poor hand until, in desperation, he cries out for change. That change would be a new setup of cards or a scramble or washing of the decks in order to change the sequence of cards.
The Wild Horse Pass Casino near Chandler, AZ. does not permit decks to be scrambled. In fact, a female poker room supervisor told me a dealer would probably be fired if he or she spent too much time scrambling the cards.
I fired back, advising her that would be a poor policy that would reflect poor management. She didn't respond to my criticism.
Talking Stick Casino, a rival of Wild Horse Pass, does permit deck scrambles. However, Talking Stick will not allow setups upon request, something that gambling casinos in Las Vegas, Reno and other casinos across the state have practiced for years.
Poker is a game of choice. Poker room supervisors need to keep their dealers working in order for the drop to continue profiting each of those poker tables. But in their frenzy to deal a more substantial number of hands per hour, some poker room supervisors are in danger of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
My personal belief is that poker rooms should let the players make the policy. If a person requests a dealer to wash the deck, it only takes a couple of seconds to do it. Let it happen. Random choice can sometimes be a killer and the House should give a player every chance to change the odds, even if it is more illusion than fact.
When a card room adopts a no-washing policy or refuses to change decks after a certain number of hours of play, it sometimes drives the players a little crazy. Their only alternatives are to stop playing or to change seats or tables. This can launch players into a motion involving musical chairs. It's funny to watch, but it builds frustration and is not good for the game.
It isn't easy to run a poker room and some players can become childish in the demands they make on management. But poker is a player's game and there is an old adage that says 'The customer is always right.' I just wish more poker room supervisors would realize that and practice it as policy.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
