Burn cards and how Online Poker "works"

[Barrettm95]

I was wondering (If anybody knows) how online poker, (specifically FullTilt cause thats where I play) picks which cards to deal. Whether it shuffles the deck into a random and unchanging order before each deal and burns cards as required in real life play. Or simply picks cards at random based on which cards are left in the 'deck'.
Does it matter? I think it does. If the latter is true then the outcome of a hand can change based on how long you take to act. Think of the deck as continually shuffling. When you stop it by acting affects which cards it picks. That doesn't specifically benefit anybody but its true. Try dealing from the bottom or middle of the deck in your home game and see if you get thrown out a window. :smile: On the way down say "But its still randooooom!"

Ok seriously though what is the real point of burning cards? To make it harder to stack the deck? Just a bit of protocol to remember?

 

[zachvac]

It doesn't matter if it's unknown, it's related to chaos theory, look into that if you want. Basically if you take an extra little bit of cereal in your bowl you'll take an extra bite, take an extra few seconds to get in your car to work, you'll just barely not make the light instead of make it, and end up being on the train tracks when the train comes. But you didn't know it at the time. It's also possible that the extra bite kept you back and saved you from being hit by the train. The point is everything we do impacts us, but when it impacts us in a neutral and unknown way, it doesn't matter. So if the deck is continuously shuffled or if it's determined like a real life deck, it doesn't matter to you. Sure if you had taken an extra second you could have hit your royal flush, but it's also possible taking the extra second will cost you getting your royal flush.

Burn cards are to make sure people can't see the top of the next card to come, which would allow for marking the deck or even just observing natural differences (say the A of spades had a ticked edge or something, of course if this is true with the burn card people can now know which card is NOT coming and which card is NOT in anyones' hand, but that's better than people knowing exactly what's going to come before the betting).

 

[Barrettm95]

So, since the reason for burning cards is not relavent to a virtual deck there is no need for it. (it never occured to me to pay attention to the burn card for 'natural differences'. Would that be cheating?) I guess it works but messes with me when I think "gee if I hadn't folded I woulda hit that str8" which in the strictest technical sense isn't necessarily true. Had I taken the different ammount of time to call, it would have chosen a different turn or river. Maybe Im thinking about it too hard.

 

[Mortis]

So, since the reason for burning cards is not relavent to a virtual deck there is no need for it. (it never occured to me to pay attention to the burn card for 'natural differences'. Would that be cheating?) I guess it works but messes with me when I think "gee if I hadn't folded I woulda hit that str8" which in the strictest technical sense isn't necessarily true. Had I taken the different ammount of time to call, it would have chosen a different turn or river. Maybe Im thinking about it too hard.

Yeah, I think you are thinking about a bit too hard.

They don't even show the burn card in online poker.. so how would you really know if they actually burned a card or not? Hmmmm?

I'm assuming they still do, technically, burn a card in online poker as well.. since that is stated in the Hold 'em rules... why change it for online poker? It's the same game.

 

[jdeliverer]

pokerstars preshuffles and doesn't use a burn, FTP deals as the hand goes on without using a burn. I don't really know about other sites.

 

[Barrettm95]

It occurred to me that someone who learded to play online and plays online exclusively might not even know about the burn cards. Off topic playing mostly online with auto posting and all sometimes gets me in trouble at the home game. "You gonna put in your blind or what? " Not only in ettiquette but in also checking out of turn which kinda screws me. "it wasn't on you but in that case I raise "