I currently work at Winstar World Casino as a drop team member and have been playing poker for roughly 6-7 years. I decided to get a job at the casino to get my foot in the door for an open poker dealing position. I would really like to deal poker yet it's a little tough to find a position open here. I was just wondering what kinds of things I really need to focus on improving and learning to help me really push through dealer school when a spot does open up.

-I have dealt home games a bit but it definitely isn't a professional setting.
-I know how to calculate the rake on the fly
-I can calculate pots sizes (for PLO)
-I can cut chips fairly well since I am always fiddling with chips when playing.
-I understand the game and all of its variants. Have no problem reading boards
-I don't really understand how to balance a box. (have never really paid attention to what they are doing with the box) Are they just starting with a set amount and making change for chips through the box?
-I probably need work or at least an explanation on how I do/should pitch the cards and what to focus on as a beginning dealer.... speed or accuracy?

The box contains whatever chips the dealer needs to put in the rake and sometimes some extra black chips for people buying back in. It has a set amount of money for each room. For example, there will be 500 dollars in chips in the box. So when the dealer takes out 5 blues, he'll take a red chip from the box or player when making change. Or if the pot is all reds and the rake is 4, he'll break a red chip and place 5 blue ($1) chips in the pot then put 4 of them in the rake. Thus the amount of 1s will constantly go down for the most part. That's why a dealer asks for a fill, to refill on rake chips by trading in reds or cash, typically.

Dealers fiddle with it because they're checking it's accurate. If it's short, they'll owe the difference unless they inform the floor/previous dealer that the box is short. This is usually very common at the WSOP when there like 100 newbie dealers. Each dealer likes their box a certain way, usually.

Watch other professional dealers, and not while playing. Focus on procedures - where the pot goes, where the cards are placed, everything needs to be in a particular place.

Try to get a copy of the rules and procedures and study the crap out of them.

They will (should) drill into your head that accuracy is way more important than speed. The speed will come in time. Trying to go faster when you are not ready leads to mistakes, that in turn will cost more time than dealing slower. It may take you a good 6 months to a year before you are fast enough to even begin to compete with the more experienced dealers, and this if you deal regularly.

Practice practice practice, with friends at home utilizing what you have learned. Especially practice multiple all in situations with various different side pots (and where to put them) - this is big because this can take a long time and it behooves you to be able to do it swiftly and correctly.

good tip thanks! Didn't think about the sidepots.

browse this. I wouldn't focus too much on the bank stuff. I'm sure every room has their way they want you to do things. Focus on the mechanics of actually dealing. The shuffle and pitch. This guy goes over a few of the basic things and mostly explains why things are the way they are.

https://www.youtube.com/user/truepokerdealer/videos


There's not much you can do without getting experience actually dealing to people in a live setting.

All of the individual actions are relatively simple. The tricky part is watching every movement on the table, listening to everything said on the table because once in a while it's relevant, and instantly reacting to everything that happens. That takes lots and lots of practice.

Take it slow at first, make sure everything is right. With your pitch concentrate on using the correct movement like the guy in those videos above teaches. Many dealers start out doing it inefficiently to get through the day and those habits become ingrained. The extra arm and wrist movement wears the joints faster and costs them a hand or two per hour which adds up over the long run.

Normally when a job opens up they need someone who is ready to go immediately so you might need to go to dealing school on your own then wait. Make sure the poker room manager knows you want to deal and ask them how you can make it happen.

Worst case you can do what many of us do to get started - work at the WSOP. For all its problems it's a great crash course in dealing every type of poker and you'll make decent money. Unfortunately it's 9 months away and you might not want to wait that long.

Poker Manager who was a dealer/supervisor in Oklahoma for over 5 years here, would be glad to address your questions and topics above plus offer additional advice. I renumbered your bullet points above so you can see the corresponding feedback.

1. Do not mention this at any point during interview. In the state of OK it is a felony to host a homegame and a misdemeanor to participate in one regardless if a rake is taken or not. Many people do participate in homegames and the law is very rarely enforced, but gaming employees still have an obligation to hold this against you.

2. Different establishments calculate their rake and jackpot drop differently. Try to get ahold of this casino's policy; you will likely have to ask a current dealer or supervisor. Winstar drops the jackpot $1 pre-flop right from the small blind, for instance.

3. This is a good skill to have as long as you are using the correct formula. Some poker players think they understand pot size betting but are often wrong. I'm not saying you are doing it right or wrong, just double check what you think to be correct with a current dealer.

4. Casinos require cheques (chips of cash value)/chips(chips of non-value like tournament or roulette chips) to be cut and restacked a certain way to "prove" the chips for surveillance. If you cut with your thumb and not your forefinger, it is possible that the person doing your audition will grade that against you.

5. Also a requirement of a dealer; hard for me to say whether you do or don't but you'll need to understand the game fully to pass the audition.

6. The term box refers to the dealer's area he is sitting in "in the box." The dealer's tray (or rack) contains a fixed amount and this amount should balance at the end of each "down" (the 30 min period you are in the box). If you take out 5x $1 cheques you need to put back 1x $5 cheque back in the tray. Cheques should be kept "lammered" (a clear disc) off in stacks of 20 cheques each to make counting the tray a quick process. Often less than 20 are not sectioned off, but some places use a lammer every 5 cheques when the stack is under 20 cheques.

You may have also heard the term "float" used to describe the tray but that doesn't refer to a poker dealer tray as poker dealers used a fixed amount; instead a "float" specifically refers to the tray of a blackjack/table games dealer as the amount "floats" throughout the day as players win or lose.

7a. This is the part that is most important to practice accurately. If you can't get cards to people without flashing them then you can't get hired. It's gaming protection 101. Watch some clips on youtube or practice with a current dealer to get this right. It can take weeks to get your pitch passable and much longer than that to be "good."
7b. Accuracy is more important by a mile.

Lastly, the job of a poker dealer, when done correctly, looks effortless. It takes lots or practice, study, and dedication to do this job in a way that makes it look like it's easy. Many poker students of mine have come into class thinking they knew everything but quickly realized how much more there is to it. If Winstar doesn't offer a dealer school, then you need to find an instructor on your own before you hope to get hired as a dealer. Some dealers and supervisors will volunteer their time on occasion, but more than likely it will cost money to hire someone. Don't make the mistake of thinking you'll be able to emulate what you've seen from the other side of the table without proper training.

Good luck!

Also, I find it highly unlikely that you know "all the variants" because many games hardly come up. I felt the same before I took a class and found out how wrong I was. In 3 years I've dealt 4 variants of draw, pot limit crazy pineapple 8 or better, at least 6 stud variants including super razzdugi, limit games with kills that have different triggers and different action order, rocks, etc. There are still at least a dozen games I've never encountered because I haven't dealt the big mix games some casinos have.

Dealer school helps break the games down so you can jump into anything at any time with just a few bits of information. When managers are hiring they want someone who can do anything even if 99% of the games they run are holdem or omaha.

Having started dealing in 1984, I've seen a few dealers in my lifetime.

I've NEVER seen a dealer out of school I would hire. EVER.

The best "tip" I can give? Forget you ever thought about dealing poker.

In today's poker world, the money is not very good.

Most poker rooms are in real casino's thus run by corporate casino companies like MGM, Caesars, Stations, Boyd, etc. As such, one can expect 5+ yrs of part time no benefits status. Do you really want to do that to yourself?

More and more, poker rooms are NOT run by old school poker people. Few PRM's have a clue what's "good for the room& and "good for the players", that keeps good business.
As a result, you get some really bad rules-rulings, often based on total misunderstandings of how a rule ever came to be.

If the casino business is something you really want to pursue, deal in the pit. The money is far better. You'll get FT status years sooner. The rules are much simpler and thus you can rarely be screwed by a suit. One could say you're far more likely to move up from the pit as well if being a suit is in your future desires. Suits in the pit make a lot more than suits in the poker room. And have better shot at moving higher in management.

I am not saying these things to burst your bubble. Just trying to be sincere if you're looking at this as a career.

viks, I need to grunch one point in your post. There are casinos that use floats for their poker tables. Well at least one. We don't drop rake, it goes straight in to the float. We also have a "lucky lucky" side bet that would throw off the balance anyway (any other rooms with this?).

YES YES YES - however they will want you to have proper training from a school or recognized instructor. I went out to WSOP after school and dealing part time for about 6 months (though I had previous experience but not in a standard poker room). I came back a much much better dealer. Went again in 2015 which lead to this:

I actually got a real cool comment from one of the charity people the other day where they said I made it look effortless and it was really cool watching me deal Which seems cheesy but it was nice.



1- agree - no gaming control board wants to ever hear about this let alone a casino

3- yes, and know that a lot of times cash games and tournaments do these differently, in how the consider the small blind




I do not think this is true by any means as long as you are not locked down in your current location. Good poker dealers can make a good living these days, ESPECIALLY if you live in a poker rich state or like to travel. You may want to consider moving if you think the situation will be as described above where you live. There are plenty of states that have just poker rooms where you can thrive: Michigan, Florida, California just for starters.

In Michigan a good poker dealer will make $50k a year, with a good chunk of it probably not taxed, and this at the charity rooms. No benefits though but at that price you can get cheap insurance yourself.

In Florida I know a husband and wife team of dealers - he makes average $50-60k a year and she makes $60k+ and is at Tampa Downs so she gets benefits (now truth be told she is really attractive so that helps (and of course a GREAT dealer)). She told me she had a $91k year at 35 hours a week, again with benefits. It only took them several years to get to this point.

People who travel the circuits (WSOP, WPT, HPT, etc...) can make great money as well. I have heard if you do enough gigs you can make over $70k a year. Lots of travel though, if you like that then great. This is a job you can do after your first WSOP in Vegas, as long as you shine and work the system a little to get noticed, may take two trips.

You can also work other gigs in Vegas during WSOP - lots of other casinos hire temp dealers. I know a few guys that work at PH and WSOP during that time, lots of hours, lots of money.

Yes, dealing poker well is tough work, it takes time but it seems like you want to take that time to get good. Its a career choice so there will be growing pains. Casino poker dealing jobs are hard to get in non-poker rich states, but if you are willing to move around then its gets much much easier. I know a few who did WSOP twice and then never left Vegas. All are now working in casinos 30-40 hours a week with benefits, one is even a floor at Harrahs.

You should go to school, hopefully there is one close by, or get an instructor that works in the biz - maybe move for this too

You wont get rich dealing poker, unless you somehow get lucky enough that enough people die and you can score a gig at Aria's, and others, high stakes games and what not in 10 years. But $50k - $70k a year for (what will become) a very easy job for you to do, well into your later years, that is a ton of fun - is well worth it!....but you have to be willing to work hard and perhaps move or travel.

WWC may also allow you to go to WSOP and return to your current job, ask them and if they say yes start training now and go in 2017, you will return to them a much much better dealer.

I stand corrected and I shouldn't have used the term "never" as I too have seen this in AC now that you mention it. Thank you.

Would like to add my two cents to this: If you want to break into the poker industry as a career, you honestly need to be willing to relocate to do it. You need to find a casino that is opening up and get in the ground floor through their dealer training if you hope to get to FT status. Many existing rooms will only hire on PT dealers and promotions are few and far between and often go to those with seniority. The quickest route to FT status at existing rooms is often to become a Dual Rate (PT dealer / PT Supervisor). You are also more likely to move up through the ranks faster in the TG Pits than you would in Poker; it's a bigger department and there's more room to grow.

All that said I disagree with two points:
1. A FT Poker Dealer can still make very good money, but this could vary regionally. Here in the mid-west/mid-south many dealers are in the $70k+ still. I've worked on the East coast though and tips seemed to be more stingy.
2. I've had a few students come out of class and blow me away by how quickly they grasped the necessary skills and attitude of a poker dealer and fit in quite well. I've also had some break-ins that were more a work in progress and took time getting up to speed, and some that never got there and it wasn't for them. Everyone has to start somewhere and I'm not above training and giving someone a chance.

While I can appreciate where the two posters rebutting my comment about income are coming from, allow me to clarify a bit.

1. yes there are a FEW locales where the income to cost of living isn't so bad. But getting those particular gigs ain't easy. It's been my experience toke rates always go down long term. Pay never goes up. It's always bottom rung. In some states, it's as low as $3 hr and allowed by state law as a tipped employee. So just pretend it is basically zero.

2. In an industry that is changing, and changing for the worse, what sort of long term future does poker dealing have? Corporate owned casino's today are scratching for every single penny in savings under the guise of "penny saved = penny earned". NOT TRUE IN THE GAMING BUSINESS! But you have so few true gaming people left in the business. It's all accountants. If they see somewhere to save 2c they will implement it. Even to the point of not clocking in until 2 mins before shift. Now think about that...You're in the back of the house, along with 5-35 others, have 2 mins to clock in, get table assignment, and conduct any sort of "pre-shift" business (new rule etc), and get to your table to start dealing! There is no "good" that comes out of this for the room. But by no clocking in say 6 mins before shift (4 mins earlier), the company saves 6c per man per day. REGARDLESS of the benefits to the room of staff updates, etc.

It's a mentality. A mentality that has NOTHING to do with customer service in an industry that thrives on customer service. A non gaming person will NEVER see this.

They will see a drop in costs and proclaim how much money they saved the company. And blame the drop in rake on the weatherman.

IMHO, $50k is not any sort of income to be proud of. It's 2016 folks, and $50k per year aint going to give you anything towards retirement. $50k in 1995 was a decent income, yet nothing extraordinary. Now our couple in Fla. making $130k as a couple have something to look forward to in retirement (if wise). But those jobs in cost of living areas aren't open daily. And that couple will likely see their income actually go down over the next 10 years. But hey, they've got a decent start. As a SINGLE worker, location dependent, $70k is nice. But try buying a house in the SF Bay Area for example on that. Ain't gonna happen.

My point, after this long wall of text, is to really truly think it over. Poker dealing does not have a great future. It's a "get by" job. Even for the best. If you want to get into gaming, get into the pit. Dealers there make $75k+ per year, and moving up is far more lucrative than moving up in poker. The days of $200-$300 per day after tipping out floor people and chip runners 1/3rd of your tips, and $200-$400 per month rent are over. And believe me, you want benefits. Young or old, you NEED benefits.

I agree you can make more money in the pits, but if I had to deal BJ regularly I would shoot myself in the head, Ill take a minor pay cut to avoid murdering myself.

in Michigan good dealers are still needed everywhere, and $50k-$60k a year in the Detroit area you live like a king. Not sure you can even buy a nice house in SF area at $150k a year.

yea casinos are in trouble, but Stand Alone Poker Rooms are where it is at...again Michigan, Florida, Cali, )heck even New Hampshire you can make out ok-ish at a SAPR). And a lot of other states have at least a few SAPRs scattered about.

Yea you wont get rich, but not everyone needs to be. I own 3 bdr house in nice D suburb, 2 cars, 2 cats, a sick wife who cant work, and Im doing fine flooring and occasionally dealing at charity rooms. Tips in Michigan are SOLID still.

I do think the casino poker rooms are thinning out fast, they make no money, in retrospect, and the average rec player IMO will not gamble in the pits before or after poker anymore so its not really worth it for the casinos to keep them - or keep them running good, which is why the SAPRs are the better choice for a career...or again working the circuits

Re-read what bigfishead posted. Then read it again, and really think about it and let it sink in. There is no future in poker dealing.
OK, if you still want to deal. Learn the correct way to pitch cards. Use your middle finger and never move your wrist. That, and what everyone else has said. But especially what bigfishead has said.

Dont listen to those that have been crushed by the system that they have been subjected to and refused to, or perhaps could not, change their situation for the better.

This post may be better off in the employee break room where you can hear from people who are dealers and have a great life doing it.

+1

Where I work we have employees from the pit desperately trying to get into poker. It's not as bleak a picture as some here have painted.

Learn how to pitch the cards very good. If you don't learn this in the begginning of your dealer career you will never learn.

Ditto.

In my neck of the woods it is the same. Poker dealers are the best paid employees on the gaming floor. Does that mean they are making 70k+? No, it just means that the pit dealers are not making **** compared to poker. But they pool their tips here so... The problem is that finding a full time poker gig is like finding a unicorn. Good tips here otherwise. GL

Hi, I'm a fairly new dealer and I have a question about sidepots. So lets say on the flop three players go all in and player A has $250, player B has $100 and player C has $40.

Players B and C end up having the same best hand so the main pot is chopped between them. Player A has to pay the shortstack amount which is chopped between B and C. And then you ask player A to pay $100 dollars to player B who keeps that for himself? tks.

Start with the smallest stack, in this case $40 and take that from each player for the main pot of $120. Then take the next smallest stack which is now Player B who has $60 remaining and take that from each A and B for a side pot of $120 between them.

Showdown between A and B for the side pot happens first, in your example ship that side pot to player B then showdown between B and C for main pot, in your example they have the same hand so they split the main pot.

None of the above includes any rake or jackpot drop.

Stop! You do not consider the main pot first.

C: $40
B: $100
A: $250


Take $40 from each player and add to the pre-flop pot
Take $60 from both B and A and that makes a $120 side pot.

Now, give the $120 side pot to B
Then, chop the main pot between B and C.

I would prefer that inexperienced dealers verbalize what they are doing so that the players can follow along.

This is all room/casino dependent. Our room does not have specific amounts in each tray. We predominantly have white and red, along with some green and black. Black is really just there to color up at the end of the night. Greens are usually in there because players brought greens to the table and had to change them into reds. Our players do their first buy-ins at the cage, and then subsequent ones can be done at their table. So routinely the floors will have to do fills of red or white if it is a big or crazy game. We count the chips at the table opening and closing. That difference, combined with the cash drop box is how the day's take is calculated. One thing we have to teach our new dealers over and over again is rack maintenance. Make it neat, work from outside-in, keep your big chips in the middle for game protection, and as much as possible, keep your stacks lammered properly. A neat tray of chips makes it easier for the floor to do a proper fill when needed.