Misdeal Review

What Is Misdeal ?

The term “misdeal” refers to an incidence in casino card games, such as Poker, whereby the dealer makes a mistake while dealing the cards to the participants. A misdeal can occur in many ways, but it must be addressed in time before the players can use their cards. If it is not dealt with in time, the game must go on, and none of the money or chips can be returned to players who might miss out in that round.
As soon as the misdeal is addressed before the players start, the dealer would collect the cards again, reshuffle and deal the cards to the players as a new round.

Misdeal Explained

A ‘misdeal’ can occur in many scenarios. Some of these are when a dealer deals cards to the wrong player, deals cards in the wrong order, assigns the button to the wrong player, gives players extra cards, accidentally shows cards, or forgets to use up the previous hand before dealing cards.
When misdeals occur in Poker, it’s never a good thing, particularly in games played at home, where there is no specific dealer as in casinos. So, the players take turns to deal the cards and may make mistakes in the process. Casino dealers, on the other hand, are experts, who are dealing cards continuously, and rarely make mistakes. However, sometimes, misdeals do occur among the casino dealers too.

To ensure a fair game, the players have to address a misdeal before the first two players play with their dealt cards. Therefore, the players do not consider the small blind and big blind as used. If the first two players make their first moves, they can no longer point out a misdeal. Thus, the players must continue to play and strive to win. Dealing the cards facing down will not affect the game even if it is incorrect, but showing the cards will change the game and the strategy of the players, as they can quickly know which cards are invalid.