Dealer Salary

[SpiderMnkE]

How much do poker dealers make. And is there a cardroom that is the place to be for a dealer.

I have a friend dealing at the shoe who is making $120 a day just in tips. I didn't know dealers made that much. Not that it is a ton or anything... but typically how much are you guys pulling in dealing cards?

[Inthacup]

I've heard $30-50/hr with tips.


Cup

[SpiderMnkE]

That is incredible... that is more that the avg college graduate!!

Go Poker!!

Also... that seems to be more than the avg "pro" makes. So why not deal half the time if you aren't makin the big bucks as a pro.

Also.. it seems easy to become a dealer... a friend of mine went to vegas for the summer and picked up a job as a dealer... with 0 experience.

[Homer]

[ QUOTE ]
I've heard $30-50/hr with tips.


Cup

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you kidding? I have never heard of it being so high. That is $60-100K/yr!

-- Homer

[Inthacup]

that seems to be more than the avg "pro" makes.

Maybe for live 'pros' playing 15-30 or lower. Most anyone who is of pro caliber can make $100+/hr fairly easily online.

[47outs]

Ya, $60,000 - $100,000 is ball park. $100,000 is a little extreme though.

I don't think internet dealers make quite that much.
(wrong forum - /images/graemlins/wink.gif )

[Thythe]

It sounds insanely high. What is the training process/how difficult is it to become a dealer? Why aren't a lot of Walmart/fast food workers etc becoming dealers instead if it's this high?

[Homer]

[ QUOTE ]
It sounds insanely high. What is the training process/how difficult is it to become a dealer? Why aren't a lot of Walmart/fast food workers etc becoming dealers instead if it's this high?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's what I was thinking.

Dealers probably get out about 60,000 hands/yr (2000 hr * 30 hands/hr), so to make $60K/yr they'd have to receive an average of a $1 tip/hand. I imagine most dealers don't receive this much. If I had to guess, I'd say $32-36K/yr is standard, not including base salary ($2/hr or something?). With that, it would be around $36-40K/yr.

Any former/current dealers here?

-- Homer

[sumdumguy]

I've both propped and managed a B&M cardroom (actually a very short stint). Does that count?

Quite a few years ago, I used to prop in this place where they'd split two tables between 3 dealers. It basically went 20mins at A, 20mins at B, then 20mins on break. Basically, each dealer dealt about 20 hands in the hour.

The average tip per hand was just under $2. So.. they were each being tipped $30 to $40 an hour on average with 20 minutes of break time in a working hour. That's between $60 and $80 K a year. Not all cardrooms are so lucrative.. this one was pretty exceptional.

We hear all the time, "we work on tips." from tons of people in the service industry. I do feel sympathy for some, but the flip side is that there are sectors of the industry where some of these poor workers really do make more than the typical college graduate.

[SpiderMnkE]

I don't doubt what you are saying about their salaries... my friend is dealing at a 1 2 NL game downtown and making 120 a day in tips... not including his MINIMUM WAGE!! base pay. This is better than the $2.13 or whatever waitresses get. So add another 40 bux to that and he's making $160 a day. He isn't dealing high limits or anything either. What about the dealers in the high limit section of the Bellagio.. what are they pulling in?

[Cubswin]

[ QUOTE ]
is better than the $2.13 or whatever waitresses get.

[/ QUOTE ]

id place a wager that waitresses in most casinos make more then the dealers.

cubs

[highlife]

[ QUOTE ]
id place a wager that waitresses in most casinos make more then the dealers.

cubs

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, i concur. the waitresses in the poker room in Borgata make 300-400 minimum a day.

[JustPlayingSmart]

I am the friend referred to in the post. I hear other dealers say that in California, dealers are making $400 a day. Yet the guy who is telling me this deals in Las Vegas, and deals in a room where $150 is a very good day. I don't many dealers make $100k in a year, and I think that even half of that is an overvaluation. It's definitely not rocket science, though it is probably going to be more enjoyable than my "real world" job that starts in October.

As to why more minimum wage type people don't try to deal poker...
1) They don't know that is a possibility
2) If you have never played poker, the learning curve is fairly steep -- a dealing school would almost be a necessity
3) Most places seem to require at least 6 months experience or you have to know someone

[SpiderMnkE]

I didn't mean waitresses in casinos. I meant waitresses at Chili's.

As to why Wal-Mart employees don't become dealers. Try and imagine the trailer trash that can barely get your change right trying to create a side pot. Or even understanding the game up to the basic level needed to deal with many situations that may come up.

Also... Simon... if our jobs suck as bad as they do now in a year... and poker is booming... lets just move to f-ing vegas or california and be dealers... haha.

Consultant... Accountant... shoot me in the head

[Mucking Idiot]

A good dealer, in vegas will get about 120-150 in 8 hours in vegas. It's usually the big tourneys that pay the outrageous "downs" that you hear about..someone who wins a million in 3-5 days can be generous.
/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /images/graemlins/smile.gif /images/graemlins/wink.gif /images/graemlins/grin.gif
It's not quite that easy though....

you constantly have 7-10 bosses over your shoulder..alot of times they are stuck and complete A-holes..U have to grin and bear it....this is not as easy as it sounds /images/graemlins/frown.gif

every time you make a mistake, 1/2/3/4 people are all over it, sometimes angry about it /images/graemlins/mad.gif

you are constantly(literally) moving, adding, multiplying, talking, reaching..so its more exhausting than it sounds

assume you reach for 1600 bets(to put in pot), or cards(to put in muck)....you are repeatedly twisting your back left and right...most dealers end up with back problems...carpel tunnel is also somewhat common..Later in my very shortlived career, i was usually in pain /images/graemlins/frown.gif

Alot of people just cant do the math...you have to rake exactly or you are breaking gaming regulations...alot of people simply cannot figure out 5% of 1 plus 2 plus 4/4/4/3..8/8/...not to mention side pots and large pl pots that need to be counted...some people can(and do) "wing it" rather successfully...but some people are not designed for it.

All in all..it is a good "unskilled" job that pays well. you meet alot of people and it can be fun
at times. With the poker explosion, it is very easy to find a job right now...and you can always chase big tourneys.

I quit my dealing job 3 months ago to play poker professionally(wish me luck)...I used to dread going to work.

[SpiderMnkE]

Good Luck ... wish I had the skillz to be in the position to consider making that decision!

[jasonHoldEm]

[ QUOTE ]
That is incredible... that is more that the avg college graduate!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe so, but the average college graduate doesn't have to put up with people hitting them, spiting on them, burning them with cigarettes, throwing cards at their face etc, etc.

It's not a very glamorous job from what I've heard.

J

[scotnt73]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
That is incredible... that is more that the avg college graduate!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe so, but the average college graduate doesn't have to put up with people hitting them, spiting on them, burning them with cigarettes, throwing cards at their face etc, etc.

It's not a very glamorous job from what I've heard.

J

[/ QUOTE ]

agreed. i was a waiter\bartender at the olive garden while going to school. from the crap i saw i cant imagine what bs you would have to take to be a dealer at a casino. i think a craps stickman might be fun but a poker dealer would suck.

[MicroBob]

it also VERY much depends on where you are dealing.

and when you are doing your hands/hr calculations you need to remember that if you deal in a room that is kind of dead part of the time you are getting in as many hands per day obviously.

i don't think it's quite so simple as calculating 30 hds/hr X 8 hours for most dealers.
you have time spent closing down tables or counting down the trays or whatever they need to do when they are NOT earning tips.


in tunica, i think a horseshoe poker-dealer can earn up to $200 on a good night.
but the beginning dealers at the hollywood (for example) will make much less. they'll be dealing the 3/6 game and often just getting a $0.50 piece for a tip for a hand.


i dealt BJ and other games at a smaller casino in tunica where we pooled our tips (as is primarily done for the non-poker dealers) and $10/hr for tips was a pretty good pay-check for us. $13/hr in tips was typical for other casinos where you needed more experience to get hired.
$22/hr in tips is what i heard the BJ and craps dealers frequently get at the horseshoe.


all of this stuff is 'through the grapevine' type of information so take it fwiw. but i believe most of it.



a friend from the break-in dealer joint i worked at took a poker-dealer's class that took 12 weeks to complete and is now deals that game and makes significantly more money.


amazingly, the job is NOT as easy as you would think. i would have a significant advantage for learning how to deal poker obviously because i have dealt BJ and 3-card poker AND i also already know how to play HE and omaha (and stud sort of) and even i acknowledge that i would need some training to deal this game competently. i know this just based on the mistakes i made on the floor after the BJ dealer-school training course.

and, as has already been mentioned, it's not exactly the most glamorous of jobs. if you like working EVERY friday, saturday and sunday night (including new year's eve and super-bowl sunday, etc etc) then maybe it's the job for you.
and you WILL be working the evenings....as the day-shifts usually go to the dealers with some experience.
and the gigs at the higher paying casinos and poker-rooms also go to the dealers with more experience.


if it's something that interests you be prepared to work for a bit less than what the dealers at the better casinos are making because there's a decent chance that you won't be able to get a gig there until you get the experience (although it IS possible).

[lefty rosen]

From what I know of dealing it can be drag after a while and many dealers quit out of frustration. In my city dealers make about 20 an hour including tips, but you also have to be able to deal BJ, and other games to get hired. So the testing is hard and many dealers fail it......

[Slacker13]

A friend of mine runs a poker room in Florida, I sent him a few people I know who needed jobs so he put them thru a 6 week training program. The deal was that htere were 45+ people in the dealers school and they were only looking for 10 dealers so only the cream of the crop makes it. I know the average down here for dealers is approx $120 for a 6 hour shift and I've heard of one room where it's around $190-220 per shift.
The problem is that good dealers who are making money don't leave so there are usually very few job openings available, that's what I have seen here in Florida anyway.

[siccjay]

A friend of mine used to deal at Caesers in Indiana and made about 25 an hour. I think it's gone up some now, this was about 2 or 3 years ago.

[ctv1116]

You'd think probably minimum wage all day, and then someone drops a grand on them at the end of the day.

[Baulucky]

How about a cheating dealer-player team can make?. What if such dealer is adept at dealing-seconds and other easy-to-perform-for-a-magician-sleight-of-hand-moves?.

[Mucking Idiot]

I make less money now, but i enjoy life more..and i dont gamble at casinos..I used to play poker after work(when im tired and pissed at some stiff or jerk)..or id put money in a machine..or eat out

I honestly started my whole pro poker career with $200 and rent due in 2 weeks. Now i have money on all sites and have paid my bills.

just taking baby steps online...i'll get there

[dogmeat]

Location, location, location. Reno, the BJ dealers at Peppermill and Atlantis - pit dealers/day $135 swing and grave $150-$200; poker room - 8 hour shift $125 to $200+ (yes it does matter how you treat the players). Washington State - BJ go for your own Silver Dollar clubs easy $200 day, good day $300+. Freddie's, split joints, w/min wage $38K year.

Arizona Gila River Poker and BJ running $150 tips/day average

Casino Arizona, poker room day/swing easy 50K
BJ easy 50K, many doing 80K

Dogmeat /images/graemlins/spade.gif

[umdpoker]

i talked with a guy on party one night who said he was a dealer. he said he made about $70k a year. he also said it is really tough to get a job. you have to go through training classes, which you pay for upfront, and have flawless credit, and no arrests, etc. the bottom line is that you don't have to be einstein, but it isn't a cakewalk either.

[Panace50]

just heard that Casino AZ has the dealers keep tips separate and pay taxes on all of them. Anyone know if this is true? The dealers supposedly got totally irate.

[Anastasia]

Post deleted by Mat Sklansky

[daryn]

c'mon cyndie.. no.... no.

your post is full of misinformation. this site isn't new, and it certainly is not amazing.

[MattHatter]

Buddy of mine works in niagara dealing full baccarat.

Says he makes $25~$30 canadian an hour when tips are added in.

The disadvantage is that it apparantly becomes extremely boring after a while... you've "seen it all".

Matt

[va_chier]

On the gulf coast 30,000 yr.
In new orleans 50,000 yr.
average work week was 35 hours.
dead end job.

[kdog]

Most of us here are quite familiar with pokerscene, Mary, her prop programs, and her promises. If you are going to post here do yourself a favor and dig into the archives before you begin to espouse her virtues to us. She has posted under the names pokerscene and cyndie. Happy hunting!

[cockandbull]

to give you guys something to go by, i used to work at the ritz casino in london. in the uk we have no tips for the dealers and the basic wage is somewhere between 17,500 and 27,500. a few of the staff where ex vegas employee's and from what i could gather you recieved the same basic wage as you do here and you "could" on a good week double your wage.

(all the figures are english pounds)

[Jim Kuhn]

Base wages for Las Vegas dealers is around $12,000 per year plus tips. This would equate to about 7,000 pounds per year? Tips would probably add an additional $20,000 - $50,000 to their income. Unless I misunderstood your statements the ex Vegas dealers were not honest with you.

Thank you,

Jim Kuhn
Catfish4U
/images/graemlins/spade.gif /images/graemlins/diamond.gif /images/graemlins/club.gif /images/graemlins/heart.gif

[soooted]

[ QUOTE ]
that seems to be more than the avg "pro" makes.

Maybe for live 'pros' playing 15-30 or lower. Most anyone who is of pro caliber can make $100+/hr fairly easily online.

[/ QUOTE ]

I assume you're referring to 15-30 live game "pros" and not "internet pros" ?

4-tabling 15/30 I'm making $120/hr (before rake rebate) after 80k hands.

Looking to go 6-tabling soon....

[soooted]

BTW, why not 3 or 4-table 15-30 and make $120-150/day in rake rebates?

You can work 7 days a week if you'd like. 16 hours days to double your income. No social life so hope you're already married. Steak & martini's every night served to you by scantily tad women and all the gadgets, stereo, tv's, computer, and pimped up car mods you can handle.

Sure beats a corporate job. I quit my $140k/day VP job and am loving it.

[Hiding]

[ QUOTE ]
I quit my $140k/day VP job and am loving it.

[/ QUOTE ]
140k a day? so 7.2-7.3 mil a year? VP of what?