Foul Hand Review

What Is a Foul Hand ?

When a hand has been disqualified from the game, mostly because it has been over dealt with cards, it is referred to as a ‘foul hand.’ There are other reasons why a hand could be fouled, including touching other cards or mishandling a card. A fouled hand is immediately stopped and disqualified to continue playing the game. Usually, a ‘foul hand’ typically occurs in a home or in amateur games; you rarely see them in professional casino dealers.

Foul Hand Explained

Although it sometimes occurs, it is rare to see a foul hand in poker. Essentially, if a hand commits an offense by breaching the rules, the hand will be considered fouled. Most times, a foul occurs if you handle or obtain too many cards. Meanwhile, you can be judged a ‘foul hand’ if you touch the cards of a different player or the discard pile.

Sometimes, unskilled players that overexpose their cards or do not give enough attention to their hands might also be inadvertently disqualified for ‘foul hands.’ The reason for disqualification is because team players sometimes deliberately mix up or exchange cards to take advantage of the game and share the profits.

As soon as a hand is judged ‘foul,’ the hand is immediately disqualified from the game. As a hand is removed from the game, not only is the player going to submit his card to the discard pile, he is also going to lose his stake in the pot. The only condition whereby a player is safer in this scenario, is when the foul hand was as a result of a dealer’s error, and not the fault of the player in question. If this happens, the hand would be removed, but the player still has the right to ask for his stake in the pot to be replaced. This is usually done to compensate the player. The floor-man’s duty in a casino is to settle such disagreements and ensure proper supervision of the foul hand.