So I got into poker dealer school...

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FoBreeze

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So I made it into the poker dealer school, which is a dream of mine. Are there any dealers out there that can offer any advise to prepare?

I've played a lot of hold'em but bot so much Omaha and it seems hard to memorize those pot limits. Is there a good way to practice that at home?

What about practicing dealing out the cards? Dealers all seem coordinated and fast...

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!
 
Flayst

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No advice here, I've also day-dreamed about being a dealer. I'm sure once you start your classes you will think of ways to practice at home. Congratulations on following your dream!
 
enolan

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Congrats! I'd love to do a stint as a dealer. It's not as easy as some people may think.
I only ever deal at home games with friends, and they make me deal 90
% of the games since they are not really players (at the start someone will always ask "What's the best then, a straight or a flush" ... and they are not joking). The first hand I deal is ok, and then it down hill with each beer I drink. In the end I'm dealing like a 5 year old and asking players "how many cards have you got"
SO obvious tip ... stay sober.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
 
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FoBreeze

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Hahahaha! Yea it was not easy to get into the school either. I got lucky. The casino here only offers the class for 10 people and they offer a lot of interviews to people who already work there...

But even at that after 5 weeks of training for 5 hours a day they still only start you off at 2-3 days a week and that's only if you pass the audition. So you still have to do good and I want to get as much practice as I can :)
 
TakinOver

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Lucky!!! I would like to do that also. Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes.
 
Poker Orifice

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I worked part-time as a dealer starting right at age 15 til' 19 (part-time).
Then got at it Full-time for ~10yrs.

The most difficult part was the hours & looking over my shoulder.
 
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what kind of pay does a dealer make. i know they get tips but what is a general idea of annual income including tips for low limit cash games?
 
AugustWest

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I think the abuse from the players would put me off from wanting to be a dealer....
 
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ThatOneGuy

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Over compliment=great tips. Great Job, nice bet, awesome call, all that stuff. People like to hear it. That said, don't be annoying about it. Do it for big pots=more tip money. Also, make people feel comfortable, always use there name when they win a pot, "Great job John," etc.
 
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Awesome, I almost signed up for dealer school here but it was like every day for 6 weeks and not paid I believe. Would be an awesome awesome job though, hope you make it!!!
 
LeeCallaghan

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LOL that is cool but I need my hands back! Damn it i have only one hand works! :-/
 
crispchris

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With springfield massachsetts 5 mins away from me i have had this same thought. As i write this they are building a new casino in the field and i wouldnt mind working there i am going to have to look into this myself . im sure with foxwoods and mohegan sun close by there maybe something for me around this area .
 
wanderingthehall

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I think some of it would be hard to practice, like how to deal with specific situations. The easiest things to practice at home will be how to hold and flick the cards. Instead of getting ahead of yourself, just wait until you start class, but make sure you go home and practice and study every night. The difference will show.
 
OzExorcist

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As far as technique goes, there are videos on YouTube that you can look up to practice from but some are good and some are bad, and it depends too on exactly what techniques the school / casino wants you to use. I know a lot of American casinos don't seem to be too keen on pitching, for example (which makes me sad).

Generally speaking most places will use the riffle-riffle-strip-riffle-cut method for shuffling, so practice that. You'll want to be practicing with 100% plastic cards (Copags, KEMS or similar) because paper cards will fray at the edges very quickly and make it a nightmare.

Aside from that, one thing you can definitely practice at home is working out side pots. Deal seven hands, put a random pile of chips in front of each one, assume everybody is all in, and then work out all the side pots. Chances are you'll never have to deal with a situation that complex in real life, but if you're prepared for that then you should be able to easily handle the 2-3 pot situations that do come up on a regular basis.

Over compliment=great tips. Great Job, nice bet, awesome call, all that stuff. People like to hear it. That said, don't be annoying about it. Do it for big pots=more tip money. Also, make people feel comfortable, always use there name when they win a pot, "Great job John," etc.

I don't live in a country where dealers are allowed to take tips, but regardless - I'm pretty sure a dealer should never, ever be making any kind of comment on the outcome of a hand or the way someone is playing, whether it's positive or negative.

If you want to make good tips just be good at your job. Don't screw up, deal quickly and efficiently, keep the game moving along so everybody maximises their hands per hour (thereby maximising the number of hands you can receive tips on) and you'll be fine.
 
Jillychemung

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As a frequent live player, here are some things I appreciate from dealers.

1) When a dealer welcomes me to the table
2) When a dealer announces the amount of a bet
3) A dealer that makes a consistent effort to point out the action especially if I'm in seat 1
4) Dealers that dont excessively chat with the regs. Saying hello, acknowledging that yes they took a brutal beat last night is OK but discussing the local sports teams and your sports bets just slows things down (even if you don't think it does)
 
enolan

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What are the rules on dealers playing poker, i guess they are not allowed to play in casinos they deal at (unless it's a dealers only game)? Are you still allowed to play in other casinos and online?

Scotlands very own Ludovic Geilich (name doesn't sound Scottish but when he opens his gob he's definately Scottish) is an x-dealer. I do believe that his very distinctive and successful style (maniac-genius?) comes from his time as a dealer. Do you plan to keep developing your poker game or are you going to focus on being the best dealer in the state (or both)?
 
cantavir

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good luck, I hope you will succeed. I often play online when I want to break because the dealer's hand is always bad cards at thee I hope this does not happen :D:D:D
 
OzExorcist

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What are the rules on dealers playing poker, i guess they are not allowed to play in casinos they deal at (unless it's a dealers only game)? Are you still allowed to play in other casinos and online?

Scotlands very own Ludovic Geilich (name doesn't sound Scottish but when he opens his gob he's definately Scottish) is an x-dealer. I do believe that his very distinctive and successful style (maniac-genius?) comes from his time as a dealer. Do you plan to keep developing your poker game or are you going to focus on being the best dealer in the state (or both)?

Generally speaking you can't play in the casino that you work at. Depends on company policy after that - if you work for a company that owns multiple properties, they may not want you playing at any of their casinos. But there should be nothing stopping you from playing online.

And I think I've discussed this before in previous threads, but being a dealer doesn't really do much in terms of making you a better poker player. Spending time playing the game and studying makes you a better poker player. Spending time dealing makes you a better dealer.
 
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Thanks for all the input everyone! I totally agree with everything that has been suggested so far! Thanks for all the encouragement!

It doesn't' start for a few weeks. I'll keep you posted how things go! Thanks!
 
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FoBreeze

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UPDATE- So I've completed 2 weeks of the school. Everyone in the class seems to be doing pretty well because everyone has experience playing poker, which really seems to help. They had the class before with 10 people and only 4 of the people made it through. The other 6 had no poker experience.

It seems like it's going to be a great job. The mistakes I need to work on is basically reading the hands quickly at the end. It seems like when your thinking about 20 other things and at the end you haven't really studied the board it makes it harder at the end to read the hands. We are doing PLO in a week and that seems like that'll be even harder. Anyone have any pointers for that?

Hopefully that will get better with practice before I actually start dealing.. The job itself sounds great. How else are you going to make that much money working stort hours when you consider everything. Also, I like how your busy the entire time, which makes time go faster…

I can shuffle, shuffle, box shuffle and cut the deck in about 20 seconds right now. Anyone else know what their time is for that or what the average time is?

Thanks for everyones input! I really appreciate it.

Oh yea, I also made a post about a little criminal blemish I have that I'm uneasy about. Here is the link: https://www.cardschat.com/forum/general-poker-13/working-casino-criminal-record-263184/

If anyone knows anything about that it's also greatly appreciated too!

Thanks again!
 
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Robadob925

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That's awesome bud congrats to you! Good luck I'm sure you will do well!
 
OzExorcist

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I can shuffle, shuffle, box shuffle and cut the deck in about 20 seconds right now. Anyone else know what their time is for that or what the average time is?

I haven't done it against a stopwatch in forever but I'm pretty confident I'm under 10 seconds. Speed is something that comes with practice though, just focus on technique and you'll get faster :)
 
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mor3gan

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Congrats on getting into school! Only advice I would think would be practice cutting your chips and handling your cards. I'm a dealer at a casino resort. I had to start out with blackjack so you are lucky!:p
 
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