Thomas,
I looked over some of the rulings and I am a little confused on a couple;
I question this one.
If the dealer fails to burn a card or burns more than one card, the error should be corrected if discovered before betting action has started for that round. Once action has been taken on a boardcard by any player, the card must stand. Whether the error is able to be corrected or not, subsequent cards dealt should be those that would have come if no error had occurred. For example, if two cards were burned, one of the cards should be put back on the deck and used for the burncard on the next round. If there was no betting on a round because a player was all-in, the error should be corrected if discovered before the pot has been awarded.
These are two separate procedures so I'll address this one first.
This is straight from RRoP.
From one Vegas cardroom reference:
If a Dealer burns two cards or fails to burn a card, the Dealer shall immediately notify a Supervisor who shall correctly position the cards to rectify the error if possible. If the Supervisor cannot correctly position the cards, then all cards shall be played as they were originally dealt.I can't find my other references at the moment, but similar.
The example is saying this: If the cards are labeled A (burn) B, C, D, (flop) E (burn), F (turn), G (burn), H (river) and the dealer accidentally burns twice or not at all, and action takes place, then action stands and the card error stands. If no action takes place, then the error should be corrected and the proper card placed. In cases where the error can not be corrected because of action or it is not determinable which card is the correct card, then the card in error stands, but an effort will be made to make sure that proper card for future bets is the correct card.
Example A: No burn and the flop is A, B, C with no action taking place. If the error is caught, the simple correction is burn card A and add Card D to the flop. If card A is undetermined, then action continues on the board cards. Then there would be a double burn to get to the correct turn card (burning card D and card E, in order to reach card F). However, you could also use the 4 card flop rule here by adding card D and scramble the 4 cards, picking one for the burn and using the remaining 3 as the board, which achieves the same but at least gives the board a chance to be the absolute correct board. Remember this rule was written LONG before the 4 card rule was instituted.
Example B: No burn and the flop is A, B, C with action. This time because there is action the board will stand. As in example A, we'll have to burn two cards (card D and card E) to reach the proper turn (card F).
Example C: Two burns and the flop is C, D, E with no action. Generally with two burns, cards A and B are most likely indeterminable, as is card E. If the error is correctable then proceed. But more often you'll have objectionable players with 3 cards out of proper order. You can't use the 4 card rule with 5 cards. Therefore, it is best to play with the cards as dealt C, D, E and use Card A or Card B as the second burn, leaving card F as the proper turn, and so forth.
Hopefully those flop examples will help also with any turn/river questions.