Best dealer school?

[MrGrob]

I am looking for a school to help me refine my poker dealing skills and to "certify" me as a dealer. I have been all over the net, and looked on old posts here, but I can't really find info about individual schools and thier reputations in the industry etc. I am hoping that someone here can point me to a great school. So far, I am looking at:

http://www.casinodealercollege.com/

and

http://www.casinoswild.com/

Thanks for any help! May the poker gods bless you for it!

EDIT: I was also thinking of pulling a Black Jack Cert, but I am not sure if that is anything I would use if I got a job as a dealer...thoughts?

[Terry]

Best way is to simply play at the place where you would like to work and ask there about how to get a job as a dealer. In general, there is no “certification” necessary, although there may be some requirement in some states (I am not aware of any, but I don’t know it all) that a person graduate from a dealing school. Many small rooms and even some big ones will train you on the job if they know you and like you.

In Las Vegas, I can tell you for a certainty that the best school is the cheapest one. Just get a few days in at the school and start looking for a job. Don’t lie about experience – you will have to audition and the boss will know instantly that you are not experienced. Just tell them that you are going to dealer school; no need to elaborate.

If you are going to be asking the dealers or floorpeople about job possibilities in a general chit-chatty way in a room you are playing in, do be sure to be dressed cleanly and neatly, shave and a haircut, etc., since there is a very real possibility in a small room that they may just sit you down and try you out on the spot.

As to learning BJ, if the school starts pressuring you to sign up to learn all the games -- “You might be eligible for student loans, tuition assistance, grants, etc.” – run. Pit game dealers and poker dealers basically don’t even speak to each other, not even in the break room. They never deal the other games.

Most dealers don’t stick with it for very long – it takes a certain type of mind set – so try to leave yourself some outs.

[PokerFink]

I've considered dealing too, and from what I've read on this forum, dealing school is a waste of time if you spend a lot of time in card rooms already. Just watch the dealers, learn how to do their shuffle, and the rest is just a matter of practice to get fast.

The other stuff (like knowing the rules) you should know anyway if you play a lot.

Another tip I read is to know how to deal Omaha and Stud, since an audition may include these games. And know how to quickly chop up a split pot.

[youtalkfunny]

I thought dealer school was worth the money, just from a confidence perspective. I *HATE* it when I'm at any job, and look like I don't know what the hell I'm doing. For that alone, school was worth the money.

All I got from school was how to shuffle, how to pitch, and how to count the pot to take the rake--and all the PRACTICE that I wanted. You and the other students take turns dealing to each other, and since most of them are lazy, or embarrassed at their pre-entry-level skills, they let you deal all you want.

Hell, I brought ten rolls of quarters to the school one day, and sat at an empty table just to practice breaking them open with one hand. I hated the idea of looking foolish on the job, spraying quarters all over the room.

Also, buy the 2+2 "Poker Dealer's Handbook". It taught me more about the job than the school ever could.

[ILL34GL3]

[ QUOTE ]
Most dealers don’t stick with it for very long – it takes a certain type of mind set – so try to leave yourself some outs.

[/ QUOTE ]
What sort of mindset does a good dealer have?

[toots]

The mindset that comes with having an incredibly thick skin?

As close as I can tell, most dealers have to spend their days being abuse receptacles.

[Randy_Refeld]

As another poster mentioned the most importatn thing you get out of a dealing school is a table to practice on and people to deal to. If you want something to practice shuffling, an ironing board works is about the same consistancy as a poker table. Some dealing school will tell you if you learn to deal BK you can deal anything, this isn't true. Poker and BJ are in no way related.

Randy Refeld

[Terry]

[ QUOTE ]
The mindset that comes with having an incredibly thick skin

[/ QUOTE ]

That is a very large part of it. Most of the people you deal to are losing their money – some of them will blame you personally. Be that right, wrong, or ridiculous, it is the way it is. And as a dealer, you are trapped ... you can’t walk away ... it can be a very intensely uncomfortable feeling.

Then there are the working hours ... Dealing is not a 9 to 5 Mon-Fri job. You will work weekends and holidays, most likely you will work nights. That puts a huge strain on a relationship with someone outside the casino life.

There is a lot of temptation in the casino atmosphere. A lot of people fall into drinking far too much and/or gambling away their tokes far too often ... some manage to get it under control, some of them pretty quickly self-destruct, some give it up and go back where they came from.

You might meet two people who have been working at the same job earning the same income for 15 years – one of them is married with children, a nice house, a couple of expensive cars, and a bank account and an investment portfolio – the other lives alone in a shabby studio apartment close enough to the casino to walk to work or to the bus line, owns pretty much nothing but his clothes, and has $0 in his pocket each day until he pushes his first pot and gets that toke.

There are a few of the first type working in most casinos – there are a lot of the second type. Most fall somewhere in-between, but the lifestyle is ... well ... it’s just different.

Why would anybody do this? I can’t speak for others, but me, I like working nights. I like getting cash every day. I like that nearly all decisions are made on the spot and don’t go home with you, keeping you awake at night. I like flaky untraditional people. I like cards and dice. I like getting lots of breaks. I like getting free meals at work and not having to cook and wash dishes at home. I like showgirls and singers and dancers and the other assorted women with frizzed out hair and way too much eye makeup who wander the back hallways of casinos.

The saying in Vegas is that to become a dealer you must, during your first two years in the business, become an alcoholic, get broke nearly every day, and get divorced at least once. That requires a certain mind set.

[PhatCasino]

how the hell do you do that dealer shuffle? Looks so easy, but I cant get it down.. when i shuffle for home games, I lift the cards up to shuffle...

also what are those dealer terms, like Pitch, strip, riffle... if you can point me to any site, it would be appreciated [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

[Randy_Refeld]

[ QUOTE ]
how the hell do you do that dealer shuffle? Looks so easy, but I cant get it down.. when i shuffle for home games, I lift the cards up to shuffle...

also what are those dealer terms, like Pitch, strip, riffle... if you can point me to any site, it would be appreciated [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Buy The Professional Poker Dealer's Handbook from this website. The first author listed taught me to deal and the book is wonderful.

RR