what to do about dealers 2 bad habits

well, the first one is that this one dealer doesnt keep the deck level. its consistently canted about 66 degress and sometimes goes to 90.


what should i do about this?


secondly, some dealers never shut up. one female dealer last night told me that it didnt matter since it didnt slow her down any. she was actually arguing with me! i told her no tips then, but im really a nice guy who jokes around a lot (with the players) and so im not sure she knew i was serious.


i was thinking i should just announce at the beginning of the down (when theyre getting time) that if they engage in chit chat (unrealated to running the game) then i will not tip them and also urge other players not to tip them.


what do you think? how do i get (some of) these dealers to shut up?


by the way, im the kind of guy who could say a little 15 second speech every single time a dealer came into the box.


brad

about the tilted deck, I've made a remark about this to the floorman when it's a problem. surprisingly the problem got fixed. but this was only for one particular dealer.


the other option is to get an end seat on the dearler's left, wear a baseball cap and slouch down real low in your chair /images/smile.gif


The talking dealers don't really bother me as long as they don't screw up.

well im not talking about an occasional comment. im talking about a dealer having a lengthy conversation while they are dealing. i mean, you know that sooner or later theyre split focus is going to result in an error.


heck, the thing that got me going is this other guy starts talking about how a chatty dealer burned and turned a 2k pot.


you might not think its a big deal until it happends to you. but why wait?


brad

"well, the first one is that this one dealer doesnt keep the deck level. its consistently canted about 66 degress and sometimes goes to 90.

what should i do about this?"


Nothing.


"secondly, some dealers never shut up."


Some houses like their dealer's quiet, some like them to chit chat in the smaller games and zip up in the bigger games. Whatever the situation, or the problem, it's a house affair, and the worst place to bring it up is at the table, with the chatty dealer in the box. If you're out to prove something, by all means, make a fuss. But if you're only hope is to persuade others to change, then a gentler approach, with the right people at the right time, will improve your chances.


Tommy

yeah, i didnt say anything because i didnt know if it mattered about the deck being tilted. so it doesnt matter? (they do have the cut card on the bottom i guess).


about the talkers, then i guess im drawing dead, since the (old) guy who told the story knows everybody in the cardroom, answers the phone, etc.


but i just couldnt believe it. this guy is screaming at the dealer to shut up (by telling the table the story), she keeps up her conversation, im in seat #9, and kind of lean over and ask her quietly if she could just be quiet and deal, she says ok,


and then she just keeps it up, says shes not slowing the game down, and then proceeds to flip a card over and says that nobodys perfect.


so i lean over again and ask for my tip (that i had just given her) back, but she didnt give it back.


maybe you had to be there.


brad

You are outraged at the campaign finance reform act because it seems to censor free speech yet this is exactly what you want to do to the dealers!!


Having your cake and eating it too?


Jimbo

thats funny, thats what the dealer said. she goes, well, you guys talk and have a good time, why shouldnt i? (oops, i just flipped up the Ace of diamonds, you didnt want that, did you bob?).


now that i think of it , bob was really pissed because earlier a dealer flipped one of his cards up which would have won him a big pot.


but hey, come one, dealers should just do a good job and concentrate on running the game. i doubt anyone would say that that is wrong.


brad

on the other hand, perhaps im looking at this all wrong.


bob, the guy who started this, really doesnt like me and needles me in a very mean way.


maybe when hes in the game (hes very much a regular) i should start talking to the dealer nonstop.


i need to get over this concept of fairness, right, etc.


its just that i wasnt raised according to revenge-based ethics /images/smile.gif


brad

i agree. censorship and first amendment rights aren't the issue here. the dealer has every right to go outside and talk all she wants toa nybody who will listen. but while she is dealing, she is performing a service which (as evidenced by her mistakes while talking) requires silent concentration on her part. she has the choice to shut and and deal or talk all the way to the unemployment line.

Brad...you need to get a life.

I've been involved with dealer FU in a big pot. It was a no-limit game and I flopped the nuts. Player A goes all in for $1700 and I have the bet covered. The dealer just assumed everyone folded and was starting to shuffle the flop in with the muck and the stub.


The dealer never said a word the entire time he was in the box. So I guess my point is that I'm not sure chatty dealers make more mistakes than the silent ones.

ive seen people slip and fall on dry sidewalks so im not sure that icy winter conditions necessarily make such an accident more likely.


brad

That's a slippery slope from slippery tongues to slippery sidewalks. Yea,I guess all things being equal it's better if the dealers keep the chitchat to a minimum.


BTW - what the heck did you do to Tom Haley?

i didnt mean anything. see other topics latests posts.


brad

Tommy, brad and everyone else,


If you allow the dealer to hold the deck at all kind of angles, you are just asking for trouble. First of all it's very much against procedure and there are reasons for this. When the deck is held other than level, several very bad things can happen. One happens when pitching cards (obviously) and the others happen during the hand. What can happen? Well besides hole cards being flashed, when the deck is held at an angle you can be deliberately or inadvertently cheated. Inadvertently when the dealers grip loosens slightly and the top few cards get a little space between them and a player glimpses an index of a card when at just the right angle. Deliberately when a dealer flashes an index to a particular player this way, or to himself. You probably never have to worry about a dealer dealing seconds in a major casino but in private or club games be aware of this.


Now let's say you are playing NO-LIMIT. There are numerous subtle peeks that can be executed by the person holding the deck and they all involve tipping the deck somehow. All it takes is a sliver or a corner being flashed for an instant and it is only visible from a very restricted angle. How would you like to be playing NO-LIMIT against a player who knew what the Turn or River card would be? Well just let the dealer rake in the chips with the deck hand tipped instead of low and level, or let him turn his wrist to look at his watch, and you could be dead meat, whether by design or by accident.


Hey, just ask Ray Zee about it, I'm sure he can tell you how important it is for dealers in casinos to follow proper procedures. These procedures are there to protect you--don't let sloppy dealer practices jeopardize the integrity of the game, the smoothness of the game, or your bottom line. Call attention to dealers holding the deck in any other way than low and level at all times...nicely but firmly, of course. If they do not correct it, see the floor about it. This really is important. Besides bad habits perpetuate themselves--if they hold the deck at any old angle during the hand, chances are they will sometimes slip into an unsafe angle when pitching your hole cards too...and your cards will be flashed. Sooner or later it will happen in a key pot and you will wonder how the hell that guy could have called you or raised you.

The reason I say ask Ray Zee about it is because he has almost surely played more big-bet poker in his life than anyone on these forums--and he must know how to protect himself at least somewhat. So I'll bet Ray is pretty much a stickler for insisting that dealers follow proper procedure-- especially in big-bet poker--and for good reason.

yes dealers that i can tell are capable of doing bad things i watch very closely and make them keep within the boundaries. plus i tend to walk on their shifts. its a shame that the house lets dealers do some of these things. but alas it doesnt cost them any immediate money, so they dont care. its paramount that all dealers release the deck before they cut the cards, and hold the deck level and never turn it over during the hand, and all dealt cards must be dealt in such a way that all players can see for themselves where the card came from. this way only very good capable dealers can get you. also they should never touch the pot unless they have a reason to.