How to Treat the Cards

To win in the game of poker, the player must master the specific rules of the poker variant that he has chosen to play. This is because on poker variant, such as Texas Hold'em, has different rules from another kind of poker, such as the Five Card Draw. Another thing to master so that the player will win in poker is the poker strategy. But knowing the rules and strategies is not enough.

The poker player must also be familiar with the unwritten norms that are followed by players during a live poker game. Some of these norms are about the way a good poker player should treat his cards. There are only three things to remember. First, the cards should be left face down on the table. Second, the cards should be protected. And third, the cards do not belong to the player until all the cards have been dealt.

During a live poker game, the pocket cards given to the player should be left faced down on the table. The player can look at his cards by cupping his hand over them and then turning up the corners. After that, he leaves his cards on the table. He proceeds to observing his opponents and other events at the table. Of course, he should never forget what his cards are so that he need not take a look at them again.

In some casinos, picking up and holding the cards is not allowed. This is because the cards, when held by the hand, can be easily seen by the players sitting on the adjacent seats.

The poker player has the responsibility to protect his cards, especially when the player is sitting next to the dealer. When a player sits next to the dealer, there is a chance that his pocket cards will be accidentally taken by the dealer. Of course, the dealer has no intention to take the pocket cards. But if the cards are unintentionally picked up, the poker player may not retrieve them again. Thus, to make sure, the player must place a chip on top of his cards to indicate that these cards do not yet belong to the deck.

The poker player must keep in mind that the pocket cards dealt to him do not really belong to him up until all the players have been dealt with their own pocket cards. That is, if the dealer makes a mistake and changes the poker player's pocket cards, which is a pair of Aces, the poker player should allow the dealer to make the change, even when the new card dealt has an infinitely lower value. Incidents like this are part of a live poker game.