The Riffle
Watch the dealer next time you are at the poker table. You will see that he or she shuffles exactly the same way every time. The number of cuts, the number of shuffles and how the cards are placed before the deal; always the same in each house. In many card rooms the deal is uniform by country or region. Now watch again, when the dealer cuts the deck and then peals back the corners to shuffle the two piles of cards together–that is called a riffle.
The riffle becomes important in tournaments because when the blind levels increase they often take effect during the tournament play, which means different tables are at different points in a hand or a deal. The standard rule is: If the dealer has started the first riffle then the new blinds will start on the next hand. Anytime before that first riffle and the blinds are in place on the immediate hand. This can make a difference to the players in the blinds, particularly if they are short-stacked and trying to get through the blinds one more time.
Automatic shuffling machines have, in some houses, made the riffle obsolete. At tables with an auto-shuffler there will be another signal to signify the beginning of a deal and he cut-off for new blinds to begin. Sometimes it is when the auto-shuffler is opened or when the newly shuffled deck is cut before dealing. Another ‘local rule’ worth knowing.
-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #64
