The Breakroom: low-content gaming employee chatter thread

[that_pope]

I really dislike it when dealers are obvious about stacking or keeping bets separated in hold'em when the action suggests a chop might be possible. I know they are trying to save time, but if one person doesn't have the nuts, then this might trigger them to rethink about their hand.

[NYCNative]

Re: Stacking Chips in H/L Games

We were trained to always do this even if there was no low. It's a player's job to read the board and not my job to help him or her until showdown.

I made a big mistake one of the first times I was dealing O8. Someone tables his hand and I audibly said "Okay, does anyone have a low," and he went ballistic on me - and rightly so. Nobody had a low but I could have cost him half the pot. Learned my lesson big time and never will make that mistake again.

I was told that in Stud H/L that in a head's up pot that it's common for dealers to leave the bets in front of the players. Is this true/allowed? Never dealt the game thus far. Played it a few times as part of a HORSE rotation but don't only recall the dealers being raw on every non-HE game (it was a relatively new room at the time with new dealers).

[that_pope]

In higher limit, that is common regardless of game type to just keep the bets in front of each player when heads up.

[psandman]

Originally Posted by NYCNative

I was told that in Stud H/L that in a head's up pot that it's common for dealers to leave the bets in front of the players. Is this true/allowed?

This is common in all split pot games.

I once dealt a O8 tournament where we were told that we could not leave the bets in front of the players and the players went ballistic .... the procedure was changed by the next time we ran the tournament.

[PAhoser]

Originally Posted by NYCNative

Re: Stacking Chips in H/L Games

We were trained to always do this even if there was no low. It's a player's job to read the board and not my job to help him or her until showdown.

I made a big mistake one of the first times I was dealing O8. Someone tables his hand and I audibly said "Okay, does anyone have a low," and he went ballistic on me - and rightly so. Nobody had a low but I could have cost him half the pot. Learned my lesson big time and never will make that mistake again.

I was told that in Stud H/L that in a head's up pot that it's common for dealers to leave the bets in front of the players. Is this true/allowed? Never dealt the game thus far. Played it a few times as part of a HORSE rotation but don't only recall the dealers being raw on every non-HE game (it was a relatively new room at the time with new dealers).

leave in front heads-up is pretty standard in any split pot game. And obv that means when there is no low (not reading board)

[youtalkfunny]

Originally Posted by Peter

Sounds to me that you did cost somebody half the pot. From the description here it sounds like the SB was about to table his complete hand but stopped because of the WHOA by the BB. That WHOA would not have happened if you hadn't started chopping, right?

Well by that logic, I could have avoided the entire incident all together if I had just dealt really slow, got out half as many hands as I actually did. Then I would have been pushed out of that game before this hand ever happened.

Or better yet, I could've tried harder in school, then went to college, then maybe law school, then I wouldn't even BE a dealer!

[Peter]

Originally Posted by youtalkfunny

Well by that logic, I could have avoided the entire incident all together if I had just dealt really slow, got out half as many hands as I actually did. Then I would have been pushed out of that game before this hand ever happened.

Or better yet, I could've tried harder in school, then went to college, then maybe law school, then I wouldn't even BE a dealer!

I think you are being childish defending yourself like that. Let me first say I'm not a dealer so I don't know much about dealing procedures. My thoughts are thus entirely based on the information in your post.
The fact that you stopped chopping the pot after the WHOA tells me that chopping the pot shouldn't have happened in the first place. So isn't it a mistake that you did start to chop? As a player that makes me feel that you did in fact cost somebody half the pot because if you had followed procedure the other player would have tabled his other two cards and won half the pot.
So being proud of not costing somebody half the pot seems to me to be a little out of place.

[bolt2112]

Originally Posted by Peter

I think you are being childish defending yourself like that. Let me first say I'm not a dealer so I don't know much about dealing procedures. My thoughts are thus entirely based on the information in your post.
The fact that you stopped chopping the pot after the WHOA tells me that chopping the pot shouldn't have happened in the first place. So isn't it a mistake that you did start to chop? As a player that makes me feel that you did in fact cost somebody half the pot because if you had followed procedure the other player would have tabled his other two cards and won half the pot.
So being proud of not costing somebody half the pot seems to me to be a little out of place.

I think you're missing the point. The title of the thread says it all. This is a low content thread and it's for dealers to talk candidly and casually about their side of the table, much as if it were an actual breakroom.

Now we (dealers) all know that the forum is open to anyone and that non-dealers are going to read the posts, so that's going to temper some of what we say, but for the most part I think this is a pretty fantastic thread and it gives a pretty good glimpse into the mind of a dealer. YTF wasn't bragging about the hand, he was just telling a story, and then he made light of it.

Along those lines, this happened to me last week. I was dealing a 1-2 NLHE game and all of the players were headphone/sunglass types. No social interaction, no preflop raising, no big pots. Just about the last type of table that any dealer ever wants to be a part of. This one guy moves from seat 5 to seat 6, which just became open when a player left the table. And as it happened, seat 6 was due to be a dead button. I deal the cards, and without really thinking about it, I deal around seat 6. There are a couple of folds and calls from other players when seat 6 takes off his headphones, gives me a dirty look, and says, "Hey! Why didn't you deal me in?!?!?!"

I reply that it's a dead button and he can't be dealt into the hand. "But I was in seat 5 and would have been dealt in there and last to act anyhow? What's the difference?"

At this point I realize that I've made a mistake, shrug, and say, "I'm sorry, my bad." He's not having it at all and demands that I call the floor. I do so, and then explain to the floor, "He should have been dealt in, and now we have 3 calls and 2 folds and the action is on this guy."

"Sorry," says the floor, "we have substantial action," and he walks away.

Seat 6 is still fuming as the hand goes on, so I offer an apology. He won't take it and can't believe I made such an egregious mistake. He also accuses me of dealing him out on purpose.

Normally I won't have any discussion at all in these instances, after the floor has already been called, but I take the bait. "Sir, I don't know you. I've never seen you before. I don't know anything about you. Why would I possibly have anything against you?"

"I don't know. Why didn't you deal me in???"

"Sir, I've apologized already. Now I'm apologizing again. I made a mistake. I'll deal you in next hand."

"Well that was a pretty big mistake!"

I didn't ask him what his idea of a little mistake might be for a dealer to make...

[Peter]

Originally Posted by bolt2112

I think you're missing the point. The title of the thread says it all. This is a low content thread and it's for dealers to talk candidly and casually about their side of the table, much as if it were an actual breakroom.

I understand that and that's why I usually refrain from posting in this thread. But that doesn't mean you should immediately dismiss any comment a player makes in this thread.

Originally Posted by bolt2112

...I think this is a pretty fantastic thread and it gives a pretty good glimpse into the mind of a dealer.

I agree with this. I am very interested in your line of work and have been following this thread from the beginning.

Originally Posted by bolt2112

YTF wasn't bragging about the hand, he was just telling a story, ...

That's ok, and I was just telling how his story came across to me. His reply to that suggested he hadn't even seriously considered what I was trying to say. But shouldn't you as a dealer at least care if a player suggest you may have made a mistake while you thought you handled it great?

In your story you cared enough to apologise and I like that. I was trying to make YTF realise while he saved one player half the pot by shutting up in time he actually lost the other player half the pot because that player was in the action of tabling his complete hand and stopped doing so because of a WHOA that happened because of YTF earlier (small) mistake.

PS: having said all that, the player should of course have tabled his hand properly and we wouldn't have had this discussion.

[psandman]

Originally Posted by youtalkfunny

Or better yet, I could've tried harder in school, then went to college, then maybe law school, then I wouldn't even BE a dealer!

Hey wait a second .....

[RR]

Originally Posted by Peter

I understand that and that's why I usually refrain from posting in this thread. But that doesn't mean you should immediately dismiss any comment a player makes in this thread.


I agree with this. I am very interested in your line of work and have been following this thread from the beginning.


That's ok, and I was just telling how his story came across to me. His reply to that suggested he hadn't even seriously considered what I was trying to say. But shouldn't you as a dealer at least care if a player suggest you may have made a mistake while you thought you handled it great?

In your story you cared enough to apologise and I like that. I was trying to make YTF realise while he saved one player half the pot by shutting up in time he actually lost the other player half the pot because that player was in the action of tabling his complete hand and stopped doing so because of a WHOA that happened because of YTF earlier (small) mistake.

PS: having said all that, the player should of course have tabled his hand properly and we wouldn't have had this discussion.

I don't think ytf cares about your opinion. Dealers listen to players all day long, I imagine the last thing they want to do is listen to them when they are away from work.

[Albino Lord]

Originally Posted by bolt2112

I think you're missing the point. The title of the thread says it all. This is a low content thread and it's for dealers to talk candidly and casually about their side of the table, much as if it were an actual breakroom.

Now we (dealers) all know that the forum is open to anyone and that non-dealers are going to read the posts, so that's going to temper some of what we say, but for the most part I think this is a pretty fantastic thread and it gives a pretty good glimpse into the mind of a dealer.

Not to get into the debate sparking this comment, but as player/thread-lurker I truly appreciate seeing the other side of the felt.

[Peter]

Originally Posted by RR

I don't think ytf cares about your opinion. Dealers listen to players all day long, I imagine the last thing they want to do is listen to them when they are away from work.

I can understand that if I was being a complete jerk about the issue. I have tried however to formulate my opinion in a very decent manner but apparently I failed to do so and in the process stepped on some toes. I am sorry about that and I would be more than happy to accept it if I was wrong about the issue if someone would take the time to explain to me why the way the situation was handled was indeed a 'nice save' as someone said it. Because I still see the part before that 'nice save' as a small mistake that resulted in someone costing half the pot.

One of the reasons I like this thread is because I learn a lot about procedures and see how much effort sometimes needs to be taken to award the pot correctly. It's just that in this instance I don't understand why it seems that people think this was handled well.

[bolt2112]

The nice save was when YTF refrained from saying "so does he [have the nuts]" and preserving OPTAH.

The "Whoa-Oh" mutterance was made by another player at the table, and not be YTF.

[coffee_monster]

Originally Posted by bolt2112

The nice save was when YTF refrained from saying "so does he [have the nuts]" and preserving OPTAH.

The "Whoa-Oh" mutterance was made by another player at the table, and not be YTF.

But it was sort of set up by ytf.

I sort of agree with Peter here, but to answer his question, it seems like two different situations.

The first one is as bolt says: if ytf doesn't make a save there, he is the sole reason someone loses half a pot. That would totally be on him.

In the second situation (that happened first, sorry about the reverse numbering) in that story, there are a lot of factors that enter into the situation and while ytf (and the player saying 'woah') may have played a part, the player who was 'cost' the pot had plenty of opportunities to not lose the pot. Read the hand correctly, just table the hand instead of half, etc... The player 'wronged' in that situation has (mostly) himself to blame. He could have fixed the situation, where a violation of OPTAH leaves the 'wronged' player no recourse and isn't the fault of the 'wronged' player in the slightest.