- US players acceptedIn any poker game once a card has been discarded out of the game, then there is no way that it can be brought back to the game. Discarded cards are known as dead cards and they should be treated as nothing. The dealer will collect all dead cards and will keep them within a separate file. They should be away from the cards used in play. The pile of discarded cards is called “muck”. These cards are all facing down and the dealer needs to do his job to protect these cards. He has to make sure that there are no live cards that can enter into the muck.
This is vital for the game play as live cards that will enter into the muck will be called as foul. There are times when a player can lose his or her winning hand because his hand was fouled by the muck. So, all players must be very careful not to touch the muck. In poker rooms, they do not consider a hand valid until all cards are facing up for everyone to see.
As you turn your card and when it accidentally lands on the muck, it can lead to fouled hand. Aside from preventing all live cards from entering into the muck, the dealer needs to stop dead cards from coming out of the muck. The dealer should protect the muck at all cost. Some cheaters may try to get cards from the muck to cheat. They can try to peek to know what cards are already out or they might attempt to get a dead card and use the card as live hands. This can happen and it is called mucking.
Rules can vary according to different poker rooms, but the muck is treated as dead end. In short, hand is considered as live for as long as it will not touch the muck. Once it touches the muck, then it will be considered as a dead card. The dealer cancels hands that touched the muck and it player will be discarded. As a player, it is your responsibility to protect your live hand, so it will not be fouled by the muck.
The best thing that you can do is to know where the dealer is hiding the muck and you need to stay away from it. In order to protect your cards, you can place another object on top while it is still in play. You need to always remember that the muck is not good for your hands. It depend on the house rules, they can let a card from the muck to get into the game even if it has been cancelled in the game. They can do this if they think that it can benefit the game. Player must be very careful as the dealer may think that a card on your hands is a dead card from the muck even if it is not.
