Bad dealers still working while good dealers can't find work.
Does it bother any of the rest of you that with so many really good knowledgeable dealers out of work here in Vegas that so many of the casinos continue to employ a lot of dealers that don't have a clue? I love to play but when I do I end up not being able to focus on the game because the dealers are making so many mistakes.
Back before Christmas I went to one of the "locals" casinos not far off the strip that stays very busy (I won't name the casino). After being seated, I never was greeted by the dealer (a simple "welcome to the table" is all that is expected with maybe a "good luck" thrown in by the really good dealers), never asked if I wanted to wait til the button passed or any of the other salutations, that as a dealer I feel every player deserves when joining a table.
Due to it being very busy I was at a table that did not have an automatic shuffler so the dealer was hand shuffling (a skill that every good dealer should be second nature). I was in shock when the dealer started shuffling like they were on a blackjack table instead of the poker table, the dealer was shuffling so high I could see the value of each card as it was riffled. After cutting the cards and placing them in there left hand again I was appalled when the dealer capped the deck (placed their right hand completely over the top of the deck to square it). While this dealer had a fairly good pitch no sooner than they got the last card out to the player on the button until they capped the deck again. well it was only a few minutes until the push so I got up and waited until I saw the next dealer approach the table.
I took my seat before the hand was over and awaited the new dealer pushing in. As soon as the new dealer sat down instead of greeting the table he engaged one of the other players (who I later found out also worked as a dealer there but had EO'ed) at the table in a conversation in Chinese. Now if I was managing the poker room this would be grounds for immediate dismissal, there is never a reason for a dealer to speak a foreign language while in the box, remember it is ENGLISH ONLY at the poker table. This dealer also shuffled so high it was possible to read the cards every time.
Over the course of the next three hours I witnessed so many procedural violations I finally just got up and quit. Of the six dealers that dealt to me; all six high shuffled, five capped the deck (some capped the deck after the flop and the turn in addition to before the first card was dealt and after the last card to the button), three rolled the deck when pulling the bets it, only two bothered to greet the table when they sat down and one had such a frown on her face the whole time she was dealing that most of the table did not toke her and talked about how she brings the whole table down when she deals by having a look on her face like her best friend just died.
Another dealer though he was really fast when he dealt pitched so high that if you were in the one or ten seat (I was in the one so I know this is correct because I tried one hand just to see) and you lowered your seat down and laid back a bit you could catch a glimpse of the cards. You might not be able to make out the exact value but I was able to tell the color and if they were paint or a card with very few or very many pips on it. (Like I said I only tried it one hand when I knew I going to fold because I needed a bathroom break). Another allowed a player to take a bet that had been put across the line to take it back even though she had announced the raise, this coming two hands after a similar situation in which she made another player leave the bet in when he had tried to just call a raised hand. Another dealer (who I later found out is a assistant room manager) started counting down the table bank on top of the table (where it easily could have gotten mixed in with the pot) in the middle of a hand. Yet another took it upon herself to tell two players, who were talking quietly amongst themselves about a mistake that a prior dealer had made, that they needed to "shut up and just play cards".
Now the worst part of all this is after my session was over I approached the room manager and voiced my concerns. He assured me that he would address these problems with his dealers. Well I returned three weeks later (plenty of time to address any problem and correct it) and I observed several of the dealers, there was no evidence that any steps had been taken to correct any of the problems I had spoke to the room manager about. Dealers were still capping the deck, rolling the deck, high shuffling, not calling action because they were to busy talking to someone else that worked there but was off work and playing and high pitching everywhere I looked.
I run into this at almost all of the casinos here in Vegas with the exception of a few like Binion's, and the Bellagio. It would seem to me that since Nevada is a right to work state, that any diligent poker room manager would start evaluating EVERY dealer on their staff and start firing those dealers who are incompetent. Unlike several years ago, when the poker rooms HAD to hire just about anybody that could hold a deck and pitch a card to have enough dealers to staff the room, today there are hundreds of highly trained, competent, diligent poker dealers in Las Vegas who would gladly work in any of these rooms. I would hope that every poker room manager would strive to have the best staff in the business but most are willing to sit back and conduct business as usual.
Well thanks for listening to my rant and if your a dealer who either can't find work or is not working as much as you would like feel free to add your comments and maybe things will turn around soon.
Back before Christmas I went to one of the "locals" casinos not far off the strip that stays very busy (I won't name the casino). After being seated, I never was greeted by the dealer (a simple "welcome to the table" is all that is expected with maybe a "good luck" thrown in by the really good dealers), never asked if I wanted to wait til the button passed or any of the other salutations, that as a dealer I feel every player deserves when joining a table.
Due to it being very busy I was at a table that did not have an automatic shuffler so the dealer was hand shuffling (a skill that every good dealer should be second nature). I was in shock when the dealer started shuffling like they were on a blackjack table instead of the poker table, the dealer was shuffling so high I could see the value of each card as it was riffled. After cutting the cards and placing them in there left hand again I was appalled when the dealer capped the deck (placed their right hand completely over the top of the deck to square it). While this dealer had a fairly good pitch no sooner than they got the last card out to the player on the button until they capped the deck again. well it was only a few minutes until the push so I got up and waited until I saw the next dealer approach the table.
I took my seat before the hand was over and awaited the new dealer pushing in. As soon as the new dealer sat down instead of greeting the table he engaged one of the other players (who I later found out also worked as a dealer there but had EO'ed) at the table in a conversation in Chinese. Now if I was managing the poker room this would be grounds for immediate dismissal, there is never a reason for a dealer to speak a foreign language while in the box, remember it is ENGLISH ONLY at the poker table. This dealer also shuffled so high it was possible to read the cards every time.
Over the course of the next three hours I witnessed so many procedural violations I finally just got up and quit. Of the six dealers that dealt to me; all six high shuffled, five capped the deck (some capped the deck after the flop and the turn in addition to before the first card was dealt and after the last card to the button), three rolled the deck when pulling the bets it, only two bothered to greet the table when they sat down and one had such a frown on her face the whole time she was dealing that most of the table did not toke her and talked about how she brings the whole table down when she deals by having a look on her face like her best friend just died.
Another dealer though he was really fast when he dealt pitched so high that if you were in the one or ten seat (I was in the one so I know this is correct because I tried one hand just to see) and you lowered your seat down and laid back a bit you could catch a glimpse of the cards. You might not be able to make out the exact value but I was able to tell the color and if they were paint or a card with very few or very many pips on it. (Like I said I only tried it one hand when I knew I going to fold because I needed a bathroom break). Another allowed a player to take a bet that had been put across the line to take it back even though she had announced the raise, this coming two hands after a similar situation in which she made another player leave the bet in when he had tried to just call a raised hand. Another dealer (who I later found out is a assistant room manager) started counting down the table bank on top of the table (where it easily could have gotten mixed in with the pot) in the middle of a hand. Yet another took it upon herself to tell two players, who were talking quietly amongst themselves about a mistake that a prior dealer had made, that they needed to "shut up and just play cards".
Now the worst part of all this is after my session was over I approached the room manager and voiced my concerns. He assured me that he would address these problems with his dealers. Well I returned three weeks later (plenty of time to address any problem and correct it) and I observed several of the dealers, there was no evidence that any steps had been taken to correct any of the problems I had spoke to the room manager about. Dealers were still capping the deck, rolling the deck, high shuffling, not calling action because they were to busy talking to someone else that worked there but was off work and playing and high pitching everywhere I looked.
I run into this at almost all of the casinos here in Vegas with the exception of a few like Binion's, and the Bellagio. It would seem to me that since Nevada is a right to work state, that any diligent poker room manager would start evaluating EVERY dealer on their staff and start firing those dealers who are incompetent. Unlike several years ago, when the poker rooms HAD to hire just about anybody that could hold a deck and pitch a card to have enough dealers to staff the room, today there are hundreds of highly trained, competent, diligent poker dealers in Las Vegas who would gladly work in any of these rooms. I would hope that every poker room manager would strive to have the best staff in the business but most are willing to sit back and conduct business as usual.
Well thanks for listening to my rant and if your a dealer who either can't find work or is not working as much as you would like feel free to add your comments and maybe things will turn around soon.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by AKA; Jimmy Jack on -
Hey Skye I will have to agree with you but one thing to remember about the party pits is that all that is really expected of the girls that deal is to look good, if they can actually deal that is just a bonus. Why else would anybody play Blackjack that only pays 6-5? Out of the shoe no less! It is for people who do not know any better or are willing to give the house an even bigger advantage so that they can ogle a good looking body. I purposely said body because a few of them you do not want to see the face at least not in good light.
As to the poker end of it I have been playing at one of the strip casinos that is holding their tournament and the dealers there are no better. Same crap of not following basic procedures from capping the deck to not knowing how to run a game and keep the action moving. I am not just talking about the special dealers they bring in for the tournament but also their regular dealers. I have to instruct each dealer that comes to the table that if I make a bet unless a player with action on them asks I DO NOT WANT THE AMOUNT OF THE BET ANNOUNCED. Also if I move all in and a player with action on them asks what the total is, they are to only answer what the total is, they are not to bring the amount of any bet I was facing in unless asked by the player and they are not to tell the player what the difference is UNLESS ASKED. If the player asks for a total that is all they are allowed to tell the player. In other words shut up and listen to what is going on because I will break their hand if they reach for my stack without cause.
Another pet peeve I am developing is that I do not care to hear about some half assed dealers bad beat that they took last night. After the dealer sits down at the table and greets the table, and maybe a quick quip to loosen everybody up, the only thing I want to hear out of the dealer is " bet, raise, reraise, action is on you sir or ma'am, antes please, and blinds please". If a player engages the dealer in a conversation, I want that dealer to keep it as short as possible and then shut up and deal. If the dealer wants to talk about a bad beat let them EO and sit down and play. That way I can take their money while I ask them if this is going to be one of those stories where somebody felts them because I really do love hearing about how bad they play so I can exploit their weaknesses.
I assist teaching poker at one of the better dealer schools here in Vegas and my main focus is on the proper conduct of the dealer. The reason I agreed to teach was that I was seeing so many student come out of the schools that yes they could pitch cards and read hands but they had not received any practical instruction on dealing. Also it seems a lot of dealers were never taught ethics so we cover that to. I was shocked the other day when a veteran dealer (has worked dealing poker in Vegas over 5 years) started telling me about how that while setting his decks and closing out where he had just finished dealing a final table, the spouse of one of the players came to the table and dropped $40.00 in his shirt pocket and all his justifications for not turning this toke into the tournament toke pool. Sorry but I could find no justification for cheating my fellow dealers out of their share of that toke, but I guess some people can sleep at night after doing that but I could not.
Well enough of my rant. By the way welcome to the Vegas dealers discussion group and yes all dealers of all games are encouraged to join and post.
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