So What Do You Prefer in a Dealer?

[four eight suited]

The Professional Poker Dealers Handbook says that conversing with the players is a mistake and is unprofessional. I found this to be true in my B&M experiences in vegas. My favorite would be polite and responsive to any questions I had, but never distracting by commenting on the action, conversing with other players or asking any questions

[pokermama]

Thank you all for your replies.. I have played poker for years in the B&M's and started dealing to improve my game..

I know that I tried to model myself after the dealers I enjoyed the most..

1. Dealing as many hands an hour as I can (I am up to 20+)
2. Being accurate no misdeals..
3. Calling the bets out to the players.. letting them know when the action is to them.. how many players are in for the flop, turn and river..

Catch phrases.. I go with.. "He's firing out... bet is XXX"
I always announce raises.. "He's raising to XX, XX to call"


Then I always say "Players your final card is".... then turn it

The only banter I do is when I am shuffling the cards.. just small jib jabs... nothing major or offensive...

I remind the players of no string betting.. and of course with all the new players on the limit game how much the bet can be...

Finally, I always try to smile and be pleasant and silent during the play other than to announce who the action is on and what the call/check or bet is.

I have learned several regular player's names, so I try to call them by their name...

Of course in No-Limit's I mostly call the action and no banter unless a player starts it.. then I try to end it quickly before I deal the next hand.

Again, thanks.. and it looks like I am on the right track..

See you all at the tables..

Sarah

OH and I thank everyone very much for their tokes...

[Derek in NYC]

[ QUOTE ]
1. Dealing as many hands an hour as I can (I am up to 20+)

[/ QUOTE ]

Your dealing & shuffling is too slow, you are failing to keep the action moving, or you only deal low-limit retards who have never played B&M. 20+ hands/hour is not enough.

[Randy_Refeld]

[ QUOTE ]
Your dealing & shuffling is too slow, you are failing to keep the action moving, or you only deal low-limit retards who have never played B&M. 20+ hands/hour is not enough.


[/ QUOTE ]

There are some places that dont' know this isnt' enough because nobody working there has ever seen a real poker room. i once playin in a room in Indiana that has since closed and reopened that was got 14 hands out in the hour I counted. But yes 20 hands an hour is not good and would not be enough to get a job in a well run room. To the original poster keep dealing and the additional speed will come; you should not sacrifice accuracy to gain speed.

[Derek in NYC]

1. work on doing a faster wash, riffle, and box.

2. practice your pitches until you can land 100 cards perfectly in a row.

3. your verbals should be calling out the action as it happens. basically, you need to sound like the dealer on party poker

[Nomad84]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
1. Dealing as many hands an hour as I can (I am up to 20+)

[/ QUOTE ]

Your dealing & shuffling is too slow, you are failing to keep the action moving, or you only deal low-limit retards who have never played B&M. 20+ hands/hour is not enough.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's the latter, mostly. I believe you dealt to me on my first trip out there, Sarah. I assume there's only one Sarah out there... If so, you were definitely one of the better dealers out there. I liked when you (and a couple of other dealers) would help the new players with the bet sizes (Action's to you, sir. Check or bet 3.) to keep them from having to ask. There were definitely a lot of people out there who didn't appear to have ever played at a card room before and who were slowing the game down quite a bit. Also, even though Mason discourages talking, I enjoy it. I have found that the dealers at Thunderbird that talk and joke around while shuffling tend to keep the mood lighter at the table, which seems to lead to more loose calls. Besides that, it's just more fun, which is why most people play 3/6 anyway. I would probably feel differently if I was playing mid- to high-limit.

Also, calling out how many people are still in the pot is nice too, especially when I'm at the end of the table. "Five players to the flop," etc.

[toots]

I've said it before, but:

Maybe when people get to the mid and higher limits, they lose their sense of fun, but to me, playing at low limits tables with a chatty/joking dealer only adds to my enjoyment.

I mean, I am still there to have fun. People might knock the chatty dealer for lack of professionalism, but hey, I'm there to enjoy myself. It ain't supposed to be like a pelvic exam.

[pokermama]

Thanks Nomad for the nice compliment.. I love dealing but will be going to part time next week, I will be dealing Fri, Sat nights and Sunday days..

Got tired real fast of showing up with 24 other dealers to work on 6 tables....

Come on out and see me again...

Sarah

[pokermama]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
1. Dealing as many hands an hour as I can (I am up to 20+)

[/ QUOTE ]

Your dealing & shuffling is too slow, you are failing to keep the action moving, or you only deal low-limit retards who have never played B&M. 20+ hands/hour is not enough.

[/ QUOTE ]

When I first went to the class there they stated that they wanted us dealing 20 hands an hour.. I can tell you that when I am at some of the tables, 2/5 NLHE it is higher until you get to the guy who has to think and think and think about making that all in call..
On the lower limit games, we have a lot of new players, fresh from the internet and out of the casino... so it is a lot of walking them through the game.. betting limits, action etc...

I can tell you that for the place I am working, my speed is great.... Just pray you don't get on some tables where they are dealing maybe 10-15 hands an hour...

Thanks also for the advice on practicing... I do the pitching practice, and work on the wash, riffle, and cut daily... hope it pays off and am sure it will

Thanks,

Sarah

[GoblinMason (Craig)]

[ QUOTE ]

OH and I thank everyone very much for their tokes...

[/ QUOTE ]

Awesome!

I can't stand when dealers don't do this. If you don't appreciate it why should I give it to you?

-Craig