Gambling Guide

In card games, a burn card is a playing card dealt from the top of a deck, and discarded ("burned"), unused by the players. Burn cards are almost always placed in the discard pile face down, players do not know what card was burned.

Burning is performed in casinos. It deters a form of cheating known as card marking; in poker, the top card of the deck stub is burned at the beginning of each betting round, so that players who might have been able to read markings on that card during the previous round are less able to take advantage of that information. Knowledge of a burn card might be marginally useful, such as knowing there is one less Ace in the deck, but far less so than having it in play. ^[1]

Burning also provides extra cards for use when an irregularity of play occurs. Sometimes a mis-dealt card (such as one of the down cards in poker that has flashed during the deal) will be used as the burn card — in those cases, the card should be immediately placed face up on the deck after the deal is complete.

Notes

1. ^ What is a burn card and why is it dealt?, rec.gambling.poker FAQ

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