One or more actual hands of playing cards are verified against respective expected hands of playing cards, to determine whether the playing cards actually dealt correspond to the playing cards that should have been dealt based on a starting sequence of playing card values. The starting sequence of playing card values can be computationally pseudo-randomly generated, where playing cards will be ordered, for example by printing or sorting, according to the sequence for distribution to the player and/or dealer. The starting sequence of playing card values can be determined by reading identifiers from a number of playing cards prior to dealing.