Why doesn't every home game cut the deck?

[Bats]

There seems to be a constant stream of suspected cheating reported in this forum that could be eliminated if the dealer didn't shuffle for himself or at least have someone cut the deck after he shuffles. I play in a home game with a bunch of old guys where we play stupid games like Anaconda and Criss-Cross for ridiculously low stakes, yet the guy to the left of the dealer shuffles, puts the deck down and the guy to the right of the dealer cuts the deck. Only then does the dealer pick up the cards and deal. This is such an easy thing to do, and we do it in a game where it would be laughable for someone to even think of cheating.

Why does anyone play home poker without at least cutting the deck before the deal? (OK, I'm an old fart, but I was taught this about the same time I was taught to look both ways before crossing the street.)

[philr]

My rule is very simple

"No matter how dumb they look always take the cut"

If it is not offered i would insist because it is such an easy thing.

[HRFats]

deleted

[HRFats]

[tminus]

depends on the game. i trust my friends so we dont.

we start cutting when new people show up, more for their comfort level than anything else. there's more to worry about than just the cards when it comes to cheating.

[TexRef]

We pretty much always cut the cards -- it's easy and simple to do, so why wouldn't you? Standard.

The only time we don't is if we are playing heads-up or 3-handed ... It would be pretty difficult to set up a deck with that few people at the table and get away with it!

One discussion we always have is should you shuffle behind or shuffle ahead. That is, do you deal and then shuffle your own cards, or do you shuffle the cards that you will deal next hand? I have my own preference, but I'll wait to say until others weigh in on the subject...

[pfapfap]

Is the problem not cutting the deck at all, or just making sure someone else does it?

At my games, the dealer cuts the deck himself. There are a few of us who tend to deal most of the night because we're fast at it and it helps run the game more cleanly. I generally trust those who tend to take up this duty. However, since we want to have some time to, y'know, pay attention to the action, someone else tends to shuffle, but it's also usually just one person who does it for a while and then someone else takes over. Gives the shuffled deck to the dealer, who cuts and deals. Tho' now that I think about it, sometimes the deck is handed over ready to go. As we're getting more and more new people, I may start mandating that the dealer always cuts. Much faster than having one person shuffle, one person cut, and then finally the dealer picks up the cards.

That said, there are many times when the other dealer has dropped the ball and isn't ready, or it just ends up being me who deals for a while. I shuffle very quickly, in front of everybody, and cut it. If I were good at setting up a deck doing this, I wouldn't be running these small stakes home games. Truuuust me, I'm not cheating. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[PITTM]

a) our homegame is 8 close friends. i trust them. in an unknown game its a good idea for sure.
b) it slows the game down when its already a social game.

[Taso]

In my home game we USUALLY do not. The only times where I start doing it are when new players come and I want them to be sure nothing fishy is going on, and I want to be sure they're not doing anything wrong too.

In a game I play in in Jersey, the dealer always puts the deck down. When I first started there, they always cut the deck when I put it down, and I always cut the dealer ahead of me, but now I put it down, and they tap it, indicating it does not need to be cut...Once that trust develops I don't see the need. But again, in this game, when a player that is new to me comes, I always cut.

[pismeyer]

Deck is always cut, either by the person to the right of the dealer or the next and so on until someone cuts it.

It's not that hard to do.

P [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]