Palo Alto Bridge / Deal the Cards

Dealing Machine Tips

The dealing machine works best with two decks of cards in the hopper at any time.

To avoid confusion (both while dealing the cards and when the cards are played) do not load two successive decks with the same backs into the machine. If necessary swap decks to avoid this but be careful to keep your boards in the proper sequence.

Cards which have just been played tend to have fewer problems feeding into the machine than cards which have been in boards for an extended time.

Especially hot or cold cards have more feed errors than those at room temperature so let them adjust to room temperature before dealing them. Especially hot cards may also stick together so badly that you will need to individually separate them to use them.

The dealing machine will not read decks with faded or otherwise indistinct markings in the upper corners.

If you can not use a deck you may want to save it as a spare as you may be able to substitute some of those cards for ones that do not work in other decks.

What to do if you get an error message.

  • Clean the feed rollers and opticical reader (you may want to do this after every two sets of cards you deal)
    • Open the lid of the denatured alcohol can and put a little alcohol on a clean rag.
    • Wipe the wet rag over the feed rollers at the end of the machine turning the rollers until you have cleaned the entire surface. You do not typically need to clean the rollers inside the machine.
    • Use a dry portion of the rag to clean the surface of the optical reader which is just below the feed rollers near the back of the machine.
  • Launch Dealer4 from the computer desktop.
  • Main Menu: Select File – Load from pull-down menu.
  • Open Deal File: Choose the file you previously created.
  • Main Menu: Select Deal on the pull-down menu.
Process Overview:
  1. Clean the feed rollers and optical reader before dealing your first box of boards and again after every two boxes you deal.
  2. Start the Dealer4 program and load the file to be dealt.
  3. Load the hopper with the cards from the last two decks to be dealt (you may have to use another deck near the last two to have different colored backs).
  4. Start the first deal.
  5. While each deck is being dealt, remove the cards from the tray the deal will be put into and put them into the hopper. Exception: If they have the same color backs as the top deck already in the hopper set them aside and find another deck with a different back color to load in the hopper.
  6. Load the completed deal into the proper tray (the one just emptied) and start the next deal.
  • Remove the cards from the last two boards to be duplicated, or as close to the last boards as you can such that the card backs do not match the first deck to be duplicated. Load the decks you removed into the machine.
  • If you are using boards that fit into the dealing machine:
    • Remove the card tray from the dealing machine.
    • Open the board to be dealt.
    • Insert the board into the dealing machine. It will automatically start dealing.
    • Load the next set of cards into the dealing machine while it is dealing.
    • When the dealing machine stops dealing cards check to see that the green light on the upper left corner of the dealing machine is lit.
      • If the light is lit, occasionally check the number of the deal shown on the monitor. It should be one higher than the board you just made (it always shows the next deal). If it is not your deals may not be in the correct boards.
      • If the light is not lit, check the monitor for an error message. If you get an error, see below for what to do.
    • Remove the board, close it, put it aside and load the next board. The next deal will automatically start.
  • If you are not using special boards:
    • Press the Start button on the dealing machine (or press Deal on the computer for the first board or Deal Next for subsequent boards).
    • Load the cars from the board which is being dealt into the dealing machine while it is dealing.
    • When the dealing machine stops dealing cards check to see that the green light on the upper left corner of the dealing machine is lit.
      • If the light is lit, occasionally check the number of the deal shown on the monitor. It should be one higher than the board you just made (it always shows the next deal). If it is not your deals may not be in the correct boards.
      • If the light is not lit, check the monitor for an error message. If you get an error, see below for what to do.
    • Remove the cards and place them in your board. Check the dealing machine card tray for any cards that you left in it by accident.
    • Put the board aside.
    • Repeat until all the boards are dealt.

When dealing your last board it may help to press on the cards with a finger to simulate the weight of a second deck.

To duplicate another set of boards:

  • Dealing Program: Select OK when it asks if you want to go back to the first deal.
  • Repeat the procedure, above.

To duplicate more than one board with the same hand:

  • Use the procedure, above, to select the deal file.
  • Dealing Program: Use the First, Last, Next and Previous buttons to select the deal you want.
  • Use the procedure, above, to deal the hand.
  • Dealing Program: Use the Previous button to go back to the same hand.
  • Use the procedure, above, to deal the hand.
  • Repeat as desired.

When you are done dealing boards:

  • Dealing Program: Press Exit.