Dear Mark,
Pardon the simplicity of this question, but how do
they figure who deals, and when, when I am watching
televised poker? Tammy J.
When
you watch televised poker, you are watching Texas Hold¹em
played with as many as 10 players. Look closely at the
TV image next time, Tammy, and you¹ll notice a
small disk (brings to mind a hockey puck but usually
white) sitting just in front of one of the contestants.
This disk is called the "button."
The button shows who
would be dealing the cards if he or she were actually
the dealer. Holding the dealer button is an advantage
in Texas Hold¹em because the dealer is the last
player to act. By acting last, that player has valuable
additional information when it's betting time.
This positional advantage
remains throughout the hand, then passes clockwise
to the next player for the next hand. Thus, all players
in the game have equal opportunities to hold this
rotating positional advantage.
