Flop (AJ7r) is out, four players. Three check. The fourth thinks for a bit before tossing out a bet. But as player four was reaching for the chips, the dealer burned and turned a 9.

This resulted in a bit of a commotion, as you'd guess. Player three was adamant that the turn card stays, and that so does player four's bet. (But if this was the case, player four would've been betting out of turn as he was the button, so clearly his bet would not stand.)

The dealer didn't seem to really know what to do. This was an informal club game, just a step above a home game.

I (not in the hand) said the thing to do was to reshuffle the 9 into the deck, and let player four's bet stand on the flop as he intended, and let the players decide what to do, not knowing what the turn card is going to be.

What the dealer ended up doing was to declare four as having checked the flop, the 9 stands as the turn card, and betting proceeds as normal, and player four was not held to his bet on the turn.

Turned out that player three had T8 for the gutshot nuts, no surprise, he was just arguing for his own interest in the hand, and probably would not have called the bet to hit a gutshot.

I wanted to look up the situation, and found this online:

"If the dealer burns and turns before a betting round is complete, the card(s) may not be used, even if subsequent players elect to fold. Nobody has an option of accepting or rejecting the card. The betting is then completed, and the error rectified in the prescribed manner for that situation."

I think this is just as wrong as making the card stand. It affects people, having the card be discarded, just as it affects people to have it stand.

Shouldn't the situation be re-randomized, and player four's bet stand, since it was dealer error?

1. Early Turn Card is put off to the side
2. Flop betting action is completed
3. Dealer burns and puts what would have been the River Card out as the new Turn Card
4. Turn betting action is comleted
5. Early Turn Card and stub of deck shuffled together. Cut (and burn, depending on exact procedure) and put out River Card. Early Turn Card has a chance to come out as River Card.
6. River action
7. Showdown

this is standard