With this series of Blogs I hope to share information about how to become and operate as a professional poker dealer. Whilst sharing the details of how you might become a poker dealer we will also share stories from professional poker dealers regarding current opportunities in poker, the current climate in terms of the games currently being played on the circuit and details regarding the rules and procedures for those games.
With the World Series of Poker recently concluding in Las Vegas in August 2017, I would like to begin with this first Blog about the atmosphere that currently exists among players at the WSOP and its effect on poker dealers. Not wishing to deter anyone from becoming a poker dealer I think it important to share the details of the challenges one might find in the most heated of arenas in poker.
The WSOP main event, which takes place in Las Vegas every summer, is almost 8 weeks long and now boasts over 70 bracelet events, daily deep stack tournaments and cash games with an array of satellite events. Attracting thousands of players, from 50 plus countries all over the world, it requires a very large number of dealers and staff to function. Well over 1000 dealers and floor staff & supervisors flock to this event from all corners of the US and the global poker community.
Professional poker dealers will tell you that dealing poker is not as easy as those who have mastered it make it look. And they are right! However it is not “rocket science” either, so it can be learned and understood by the majority, although it does require a great deal of understanding and dedication to do it well.
I will talk more of the details of dealing the poker games in later blogs but for this entry I would just like to focus on the additional challenges that a poker dealer will face and particularly at events such as the WSOP.
Any time there are people involved with anything one can expect challenges in handling personalities, after all players & dealers are just people. But add the large amounts of money involved in poker along with the emotions that come from “losing your hat” and those emotions can run very high indeed. Having a ‘thick skin’, therefore, is crucial if you would like to apply the trade of poker dealing to the best effect. A player may love you one minute, for pushing a huge pot his way, and hate you the next when you were the one deemed to have lost her that “hat”! This is true in any card room but add the label of WSOP to the fray and all of a sudden it seems that reasonable players just become possessed by the WSOP, “I am entitled” demon?
I guess, for many players, the WSOP can be a once in a lifetime event? Those who travel from thousands of miles away and spend a fortune on “buy-ins”, hotel bills, travel and subsistence have a level of expectation. Although one’s expectations and desire should not change who we are, I think it does lead to encouraging the devil in us to rear its ugly head once in a while? That said, as a poker dealer, you can expect to be treated with a little more contempt at the WSOP than you might at your local poker room. It’s not right, it is definitely unfair, but it is what it is!
So for many poker dealers the WSOP might be their first experience as a poker dealer. The event requires so many dealers that every year it must hire a large number of inexperienced dealers just to make the numbers up. Sure, some of those dealers may not be quite ready for what they are about to face and many players may choose to berate those dealers at any opportunity, but it is definitely a great environment to navigate and learn your “chops”. If you can handle this, you can handle anything. Maybe?
However, having said this, it is very unfortunate that some players choose to be so rude toward these novice dealers. After all, they are thrown in to an event that they are possibly not quite ready for, simply so those players can have an event in the first place. Remember players, this event would not exist if it wasn’t for those dealers!!
If you are looking to become a professional poker dealer it really is worth your investment to find a suitable training school to learn the myriad of details for your new career. It’s all too easy to listen to your poker dealer friend who might say, “I’ll teach you for free at the weekends…”. A fully licensed school can provide you with an approved graduation certificate that is valuable to you. A Graduation Certificate will “buy” you a waiver for the experience that you do not currently possess. Most poker rooms expect either 1 year of poker dealing experience or training from an approved training school.
To become licensed as a poker dealer school in the State of Nevada, the school curriculum must be approved by the Commission on Post-Secondary Education and verified by an authorized body such as the World Series of Poker. West Coast Dealing School has both such approvals. Of course to be best prepared with your training you must be well practiced. Good training schools will provide all the necessary equipment at casino quality. Fully equipped tables, so you can become familiar with processes such as taking a rake and actually dropping cheques into a ‘drop box’ via the ‘Gator’; become familiar with the differences between a cash table and a tournament table; handle casino quality chips and learn the correct color values; learn the use of the various lammers that may be used on a cash table and learn casino standard procedures when handling cash at a table… the list goes on. Just like any activity, we need repetition to build muscle memory which will ultimately lead to the smooth and fluid development of a new poker dealer.
To conclude this blog, as you seek your opportunity as a professional poker dealer, my advice as you move forward would be “don’t cheat yourself”. You are only going to learn to deal poker for the first time, one time. Wherever you decide to learn how to deal, be sure to choose your training facility wisely. Spend a little time shopping around and do be ready to pay a little more for the right training. As is the case in life, you do usually get what you pay for.
Good Luck!