Bluegate Dealer Button

About the Dealer Button. The Dealer Button, about 2 inches (5cm) in diameter, is used to designate the dealer for each hand. Some home games pass the deck of cards around the table as each player becomes the new dealer for the next hand. In a casino, the cards stay put with the professional house dealer, who deals every hand. A dealer button is then passed around the table to designate the player who is merely acting as the dealer (i.e. the last to act on the hand). In your home game, if you pass the deck, then you don't really need a dealer button, since it is pretty difficult to forget who the dealer is when he is holding a deck of cards in his hand!

I would suggest, however, that you use a dealer button and have only a couple players do all the dealing. In my home games, I sit in the middle table position and deal every hand. When I need a break, the person sitting opposite me takes over. Dealing is an art and takes some practice. Using a few well-positioned dealers, rather than 10 different ones, makes the game go much faster and cuts down on the mistakes. Good dealers, who control the pace of the game, will deal about 30-40 hands per hour. Home games, where everyone takes a turn dealing, average about 20 hands per hour. Over the course of the night, the difference really adds up. Shuffle up and deal!

"Black" dealer button is below. The "A" is fixed on the actual button. This was a draft photo.