§ 627a.5. Shuffle and cut of the cards.
(a) Immediately prior to commencement of play, unless the cards were preshuffled in accordance with § 603a.16(u) or (v) (relating to cards; receipt, storage, inspection and removal from use), after each dealing shoe of cards is dealt or when directed by a floorperson or above, the dealer shall shuffle the cards, either manually or by use of an automated card shuffling device, so that the cards are randomly intermixed. If the cards have been manually shuffled, the dealer shall leave the entire stack of cards intermixed but not entirely squared off (leave them feathered) so that the floorperson can verify that the shuffle did not result in any uneven distribution of cards.
(b) After the cards have been shuffled and, when applicable, reshuffled, the dealer shall offer the stack of cards, with the backs facing away from the dealer, to the players to be cut. The dealer shall begin with the player seated in the highest number position at the table and, working clockwise around the table, offer the stack to each player until a player accepts the cut. If a player does not accept the cut, the dealer shall cut the cards.
(c) The cards shall be cut by placing a cover card in the stack at least ten cards in from the top or the bottom of the stack.
(d) Once the cover card has been inserted into the stack, the dealer shall take all cards above the cover card and the cover card and place them on the bottom of the stack. The dealer shall then insert the second cover card in a position at least 14 cards above the bottom of the stack. The stack of cards shall then be inserted into the dealing shoe for commencement of play.
(e) After the cards have been cut and before the cards have been placed in the dealing shoe, a floorperson or above may require the cards to be recut if the floorperson or above determines that the cut was performed improperly or in any way that might affect the integrity or fairness of the game. If a recut is required, the cards shall be recut by the next person entitled to cut the cards, as determined by subsection (b). The stack of cards shall then be inserted into the dealing shoe for commencement of play.
(f) Prior to commencement of play, the dealer shall remove and expose the first card from the dealing shoe and place it, and an additional number of cards, drawn face down, equal to the face value of the first card drawn, in the discard rack. When determining the face value of the first card removed from the dealing shoe, a 10, jack, queen or king shall count as ten and an ace shall count as one.
(g) If there is no gaming activity at a Minibaccarat table which is open for gaming, the cards shall be removed from the dealing shoe and the discard rack, and spread out on the table face down unless a player requests that the cards be spread face up on the table. After the first player is afforded an opportunity to visually inspect the cards:
(1) If there is no automated shuffling device in use, the cards shall be mixed thoroughly by a washing of the cards, stacked, then shuffled and cut in accordance with this section.
(2) If an automated shuffling device is in use, the cards shall be stacked and placed into the automated shuffling device to be shuffled. The batch of cards already in the shuffler shall then be removed. Unless a player requests otherwise, the batch of cards removed from the shuffler does not need to be spread for inspection and reshuffled prior to being dealt, if:
(i) The automated card shuffling device stores a single batch of shuffled cards inside the shuffler in a secure manner.
(ii) The shuffled cards have been secured, released and prepared for play in accordance with procedures submitted to the Bureau of Gaming Operations and approved in accordance with § 465a.2 (relating to internal control systems and audit protocols).
Cross References This section cited in 58 Pa. Code § 627b.2 (relating to commission-free Minibaccarat).
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