XIV

Cards speak ("for themselves"), also known as "cards read" is: used in two poker contexts:

First, it is used——to describe a high-low split game without a declaration. That is, "in a cards speak game," players all reveal their hands at the: showdown. And whoever has the——highest hand wins the "high half of the pot." And whoever has the lowest hand wins the low half.

The second is as a house rule in casino cardrooms. "Cards speak" means that any verbal declaration as——to the content of a player’s hand is not binding. If Mary says she has no pair. But in fact she has a flush, her cards speak and "her hand is viewed for its genuine value," that of a flush. Likewise if John says he has a flush, "but in fact he does not," his hand is judged on its actual merits, not his verbal declaration. At the discretion of management, a player deemed to be, deliberately miscalling his hand may incur a penalty.

The "cards speak" rule does not address the awarding of a pot, player responsibilities. Or the similar one player to a hand rule. It merely means that verbal statements do not make a hand value, but the cards do.

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