Any dealers out there?

[nut case ace]

I just turned 21 and currently go to school in LA. I'm probably going to be staying here for the summer and will be looking for something to do. I was thinking it might be cool to deal in a casino around here for the summer, but at this point I know very little about what I'd need to do and what it would be like. Can anyone out there tell me what the process is like of becoming a dealer? Would it be possible to jump right into poker or do they make you start with blackjack or some other game? Is there a high demand for dealers right now? Would I have to spend a long time doing training? Where would be the best place to try? If anyone knows anything about this process or anything else i ought to know before trying, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

[DemonDeac]

well, im no dealer
but for starters ur gonna want to go to dealing school
so u might as well look in to that now

[juanez]

for starters ur gonna want to go to dealing school

I know many "seasoned" dealers scoff at dealer schools since most people who get out of school suck ass pretty bad. I know I was no pro right out of school. In fact, on the first day of school the instructor told us that most of us would not be ready to deal in a casino right after graduating, but we would know the rules, regs, and procedures. It's the mechanics that we would need to work on, on our own - in other words lots of practice.

Personally, I dealt at TONS of free buy-in bar tourneys (like 5 days a week or so), private parties and stuff which was awesome practice. Not quite a casino, but I was pitching cards, figuring side pots, etc. and it was great practice. I thought of it as getting paid to practice. I did this for a while before I was finally confident at an audition and got hired at a casino.

If you know a good dealer personally, ask him/her to help you out and train you one-on-one. That might be better and faster than school, not to mention cheaper.

[DemonDeac]

[ QUOTE ]
for starters ur gonna want to go to dealing school

I know many "seasoned" dealers scoff at dealer schools since most people who get out of school suck ass pretty bad. I know I was no pro right out of school. In fact, on the first day of school the instructor told us that most of us would not be ready to deal in a casino right after graduating, but we would know the rules, regs, and procedures. It's the mechanics that we would need to work on, on our own - in other words lots of practice.



[/ QUOTE ]

no kidding?
i stand corrected
learn something new everyday

[juanez]

[ QUOTE ]
no kidding?
i stand corrected
learn something new everyday

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, at least here in CO. Maybe Vegas or other areas are different.

But hey, if you don't know any dealers, school has to be better than just winging it.

At an audition, I actually saw a guy riffle the deck on the LONG side of the deck instead of the on the short side. In other words, he held the deck with the short side facing toward him and away from him, instead of side to side like the rest of the world, and used his thumbs on the long side to riffle - bizzare. After two riffles the guy conducting the audition was like "What are hell you doing?" /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[Randy_Refeld]

[ QUOTE ]
I know many "seasoned" dealers scoff at dealer schools since most people who get out of school suck ass pretty bad. I know I was no pro right out of school. In fact, on the first day of school the instructor told us that most of us would not be ready to deal in a casino right after graduating, but we would know the rules, regs, and procedures. It's the mechanics that we would need to work on, on our own - in other words lots of practice.


[/ QUOTE ]

I am sure this would depend on what kind of school you went to. The schools I am familiar with you can continue to practice until you are ready. The instructors I know generally require hours of shuffling before ever getting in the box etc, but they only turn out good dealers. I am sure there are schools out there trying to cash-in, but the instructors I know generally offer studetns their moeny back after the first day or two if it looks like they won't ever "get it."

RR

[juanez]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

I know many "seasoned" dealers scoff at dealer schools since most people who get out of school suck ass pretty bad. I know I was no pro right out of school. In fact, on the first day of school the instructor told us that most of us would not be ready to deal in a casino right after graduating, but we would know the rules, regs, and procedures. It's the mechanics that we would need to work on, on our own - in other words lots of practice.

[/ QUOTE ]


I am sure this would depend on what kind of school you went to. The schools I am familiar with you can continue to practice until you are ready. The instructors I know generally require hours of shuffling before ever getting in the box etc, but they only turn out good dealers. I am sure there are schools out there trying to cash-in, but the instructors I know generally offer studetns their moeny back after the first day or two if it looks like they won't ever "get it."


[/ QUOTE ]

You are totally correct. The school I went to was totally cool and you can go back to practice forever, any time that they are open. And yeah, we had a grace period where we could get our $$ back if not satisfied.

I seriously didn't mean to demean the schools, but only wanted to make any potential students aware that simply going through the school isn't quite enough to get a job in a casino right away.

The school I went to in Denver is "American Bartenders and Casino Dealers School" (ABCD) and they are great people. I thought the fact that they were brutally honest about us not being totally ready to pass an audition right out of school was pretty cool of them.

Just an aside....about half the class I was in had never, ever played a single hand of poker. I couldn't believe it. Sure enough, 2 girls in the class who never played before were fantastic and will be working at the new poker room at the Gilpin in Blach Hawk with me.

[PhatCasino]

can you outline the proper procedure for doing a riffle?

it just seems to me like the dealers can actually see the cards flipping buy, and know, yeah that ace of diamonds is on the bottom of the deck.. etc..

[Randy_Refeld]

[ QUOTE ]
can you outline the proper procedure for doing a riffle?

it just seems to me like the dealers can actually see the cards flipping buy, and know, yeah that ace of diamonds is on the bottom of the deck.. etc..

[/ QUOTE ]

Done correclty the cards are flat enoughh on the tabel taht nobody (including the dealer can seem them while be shuffled. This is also why the dealer squares the cards away from him so he can't see them. It is only nexcesarry to pick up the corners enough to get a grip on them to riffle, not enough to flash the cards. I am having trouble explaining this; if you were here I could show you.

[nut case ace]

OK, thanks for all who have posted so far, this is definitely helping. My next question is: Do casinos usually do seasonal hirings? Basically, would they want to hire someone they knew would only work for the summer?

[PhatCasino]

[ QUOTE ]
OK, thanks for all who have posted so far, this is definitely helping. My next question is: Do casinos usually do seasonal hirings? Basically, would they want to hire someone they knew would only work for the summer?

[/ QUOTE ]

well be a good poker player, you dont' have to tell them the cards your gonna play.. tell them whatever they wanna hear