A few days ago I was having a little bit of a bad day, not terrible, but not good either. It seemed like every game was playing slow and there were lots of floor calls (due to player actions). Even the game action was kind of boring. Nothing too bad, but just one of those days that cannot end soon enough.

Anyway, I tap into a $1/$3 game, there are probably 6 regulars that I know fairly well and 3 others who I have seen before. It looks like it is going to be another blah down.

One of the regs at the table is a very nice lady. Probably mid-50s, very quiet (very much an introvert), always respectful to everyone though. She is also one of the best players in the room at that level. She always crushes. She could easily play much higher and still be a winning player. She is good.

I have a very odd relationship with her. I will occasionally go weeks seeing her at a table every day yet I will not say a word to her. On rare occasions she will talk my ear off. Every now and then she will discuss strategy (mostly reads) with me at the table. It is rare, but it happens. At first I thought she was testing me, but I have come to realize she respects my opinion. I think she is just extremely introverted so she doesn't feel the need to talk often, and when she does want to talk, she appreciates the conversation without me overwhelming her. She always tips me fairly well. Ideal customer.

Anyway, I tap into the table and acknowledge everyone (they are all regs). The game proceeds normally without any real interesting action. Kind of boring.

About 1/2 way through the down, she (in seat 4) gets involved in a hand with seat 1. There is a raise and a call preflop, a bet and a call on the flop (773), turn is a jack. She bets and seat 1 calls. River is a duece and she bets out $50 into a ~$100 pot. Seat 1 tanks for a bit, he is clearly uncomfortable. He goes back and forth thinking. He finally shows me his hand (pocket 6s) and openly asks what he can do with a hand like that. He then immediately tosses them forward and says he folds.

I push them into the muck and clear the board so I can push her the pot. He then asks me what I would do? Would I call? A quick bit of background on seat one, he is a bit of a woah-is-me, down on his luck player. He is a terrible player. He always loses. Nice guy (and very wealthy, he is definitely successful in life), just a bad poker player. So as I am pushing the pot, he asks what I would do. I look at the lady in seat 4 and smile and say to the guy that I would probably call because I know seat 4 and I know she would bluff an orphan out of his last penny. She starts laughing. As I release the pot in front of her she asks me if I would really call? I look at her oddly and say yes.

She then says ok, you win the pot and turns up 2 5 offsuit and pushes the pot towards me. I look at her and start to laugh. Of course seat one is groaning that he folded and cursing himself.

I collect the cards and start to square them and she doesn't touch the pot. I push it a bit towards her. She then clarifies that the pot is mine and pushes all of it to me I look at her questioningly and she repeats that it is mine.

I start to stack it and color up all of the white chips in the pot. It totals $98. She then pulls the pot towards herself and tosses me a black chip.

I obviously profusely thank her while stashing it.

I finish my down and finish my string. When I am on break I come back to the table and thank her and we talk a bit. She says that she had been meaning to get me a decent tip over the holidays, but it just never worked out. She then mentioned a conversation we had had months ago (ironically at the same table we were at). I barely remember the conversation, but I was on a dead spread and she was on the list waiting to be seated. She came over to talk to me about some hand she had. Basically a bad player checked/called her flop and turn bets and then donk led out into her on the river. I guess I had said something like bad players rarely bluff the river and when they donk bet it that they have a hand.

I guess that was some sort of revelation to her. She said she had been paying attention to situations like that since and I was right. She said she has since made some big folds in those situations and has been correct 100% of the time. I thanked her again and went on break.

It was amazing. My day went from being a negative day to be a really good day. It wasn't just the money (though a $100 tip is never bad), it was interacting with a player who I greatly respect and finding out I influenced them.

Poker can be such a lonely, miserable game sometimes so it is nice to have positive interactions.

That lady sounds awesome, wish I had more customers like that.

P.S. I love opening this thread and seeing new posts from JimL, they are always highly entertaining. Thanks buddy.

Made the biggest little mistake of my 20-month dealing career last night. 1/3 game, all regulars having a good time. Small pot, under $100 on the turn. Player A is a nice guy, obviously stuck because he has under $200 and usually doesn't short-stack. It's heads up and I think it goes check-check and I put the river out. Player B immediately insists he didn't check the turn. I admit I saw him peripherally and thought he tapped, but wasn't 100%. Several other players then speak up that they also saw him check. Player A is mildly protesting, but I can tell from his vibe that he is VERRRY unhappy that this river might come back.

I give the situation about 10-15 seconds, with me and the players concurring that we saw a check, and I'm watching the interaction between A and B, PRAYING that B will concede and let it stand, or that A will say something to him that resolves it (like "You want to just check it down from here?"). But nothing changes and B is adamant, so I call the floor. I tell him the situation, and 4 other players agree that he checked. But the floor says since there is some room for doubt, he lets B take his turn action. He makes a whopping $30 bet and is called.

I'm sure you know where this is going. We find out that A already had the nut flush on the turn. Then the original river gave him a royal flush ($600 high hand bonus). But B decided to be the one guy in a 1/3 game who would bet his two pair on a scary board (betting 30 bucks, into the stone nuts). And the new river pairs the board, so A goes from a royal and the high hand to getting stacked by a 4-outer. Why the hell not.

To make it worse, my manager looked at the tape afterwards and told me the guy moved his hand in a reach for chips, but he didn't check. So I went from thinking it may have been my fault, to KNOWING it was my fault. It was all I thought about all night, and I still feel like crap this morning. I know we all make mistakes and we're human and blah blah blah. But that poor guy should have had his crappy night turned around on that hand, but instead I screwed up and made it 10x worse. Anyway, thanks for reading; this was at least a little bit therapeutic.

It does surprise me that within a group of Regs there wouldn't have been some sort of 'signals' or even blatant table talk surrounding the current Board. Even the simplest PHell impression of "I'll take this one, you take the next one .. and I'll buy you a drink" (wink, wink). Even a "I'll give you your chips back in a minute."

However even among Regs, and even maybe more among Regs in some rooms, I can see a Player taking advantage of a situation when the door opens. In this case it appears that the Player wasn't pulling an angle via the tape, but it still could of gone a different route.

Do you think that the other Players who pushed for the check had a feeling that a 'made hand' bonus was possible/likely .. or perhaps they don't really like this Player B Reg .. or perhaps didn't have a clue and were just going off instinct from what they saw?

Hopefully some others chime in here, but I really don't think you want to address this with the Player 'soon' unless they open the subject or you are forced to via table talk. Depending on your personality at the table and any other conversations with the Player will determine a possible best approach. GL

Yes and yes. Looking back, I'm still surprised that Player A-- especially once the floor was called-- didn't just flat out tell the guy please check back, I've got a damn royal here. That's what I would have done in that spot. But again, it doesn't change the fact that I'm the one who screwed it up. I do plan to apologize to him; I'm not just going to pretend this never happened. I'm sure he'll literally never forget it, I know I wouldn't. And I bring my credit card to work every day so if he's got a tab for food/drinks the next time I see him there, I'm going to pay it.

It happens. It is a byproduct of trying to run a clean game versus trying to run a quick game. Two conflicting goals.

One question, how long/forcefully did you pat the table before putting out the river?

Not a criticism, because every dealer has quick patted the table while dealing at some point. However if you did give a long, forceful tap, tap, tap, tap I would have mentioned that to the floor when describing the action to him. Sort of let him know you gave the player plenty of time to protect his action. Obviously doesn't apply if you quick patted.

As a side note, I have learned that whenever there is even the slightest bit of doubt in my mind if someone checked (i.e. I am not 100.00% sure), I will tap the table a little bit longer and look at the player I am unsure of to see if he is aware of me tapping. If only takes a fraction of a second longer so it doesn't slow down the game.

I honestly don't remember. I'm sure everything was pretty standard because in the moment there wasn't any question in my mind. Naturally this happened around 12:30 am on a shift that started at 12:45 pm (I volunteered to work longer, though I was hoping for a little less than a half-day), but again, no excuse.

Realize this is the break room but let me interject a pure player opinions

1. Don’t beat yourself up, no one is perfect. Errors occur. Take it as opportunity to learn and improve.

2. I like your idea to apologize privately. I don’t like your idea to pay his tab. Consider what it might look like if someone totally unaware of the events were to see this. Also to protect yourself. If others find out, they might consider you a soft mark and try to take advantage of your generosity in the future. Were you to try and pay my tab, I would thank you but decline your offer. I would appreciate it but not accept it.

3. On your ‘just check back after floor was called’. Sorry, too late. Once the objection that he did not check is raised, the players are out of the decision process. Either it is decided he checked or not and this is not a player decision. Not really even a dealer decision if player insists in the slightest. But if decision is he checked (by floor), card stays. If decision is he did not check, it is premature and card will be shuffled back in per procedure of the room. Point is that once the objection is raised, let the process play out. Player should not be allowed to say , never mind I will check.

I'm often accused of being a dealer who doesn't make mistakes, but I've screwed up pots bigger than that. Call the floor, move on, make an adjustment to your routine to make it less likely to happen next time. Don't pay his tab. It won't make up for anything, and will just remind him of the event.

The other night we had a loud mouth with the biggest sense of entitlement I've ever seen.

First thing, he tried buying in for over the max. He bitched about how none of the other dealers ever said anything about it, but complied. Then he tried adding on too much after losing hands a couple of times, again he whined but pulled the chips back off. I mentioned it to the floor when I got off the table.

Later I'm back on the table and he's yelling at the other tables. He's calling everyone by their nationality except for one confused black guy he kept calling "Sweden" and generally being annoying. I put out the turn and he slaps the table twice, palm down while yelling across the room. The other two players check. I put out the river. He bets $150. while P2 is tanking, he looks at the board and starts yelling at me. "Where the F did that queen come from? I bet the turn, why did you put the river out?" "No, you checked the turn and bet the river." He continues yelling about how I put it out after he bet and I was unable to talk him down. I call the floor and they go to the cameras. The floor comes back and confirms what I said.

"This is BS! You guys are all working together to screw me over! I've been playing for 20 years I know what I'm doing! Get the F out of here, I don't want to talk to you!" and after she leaves he starts yelling some racist crap. I eventually get tapped out and as I'm heading to break I hear the head of security talking on the phone to someone saying what he did and "we gotta get this guy out of here"

I come back from break and he's moved up to the 2/5 table where Sweden is sitting. wtf? Who over-ruled the poker room supervisor and head of security for the casino?

While I was gone he went on another racist tirade over a string bet dispute and was given a 24 hour ban, but he refused to leave. It was upped to a week, then a month, then a year. He told them they would have to call the cops on him which they did. The whole time he's bragging how he was an ex cop (for 4.5 years he said, so likely he was forced out) his cousin was the sergeant, his uncle is a judge, they aren't going to do S to him. He's on the phone trying to get ahold of the cousin or someone but it's 3am.

Cop #1 shows up and DB looks over and says "Yeah I know you" "I've never seen you before" "Yeah right, I know you" and starts name dropping. Cops 2 and 3, all young looking, come in and he says "They sent 3 rookies to take me out? It won't be enough. Hold on I'm in a hand." He finishes his hand, continues talking S and eventually racks up. The cops just stand back and let him take his time racking up and cashing out. Apparently they just followed him out and didn't even ID him. Sweden pointed out that if he'd acted the same way he'd be on the floor with a knee on his neck within seconds.

I guess he really is entitled. But he's officially trespassed so hopefully he won't be back.

Why were they still dealing him in while waiting for the police to eject him?

Not sure if it's actual policy but as long as they're coherent enough to play we'll keep dealing until someone is escorted out. I actually kind of like it this way because trying to deal them out puts the crosshairs on us and winds up disrupting the game even more. They'll start arguing and grabbing cards pitched to the player on their right.

Huh. I have been dealt out when the floor just came to speak to me about something.

I was curious as to the inebriation level of Mr Entitled.

I've seen a floor tell the annoying player that if he makes them go to the cameras and he was wrong, he would be done for the night. I really liked that approach.

Out of curiosity, would any of you guys rooms handle it in such a manner?

I guess the cops didn't hear him say that? Otherwise he might have been on the floor with a knee on his neck within seconds.

Whose in favor of making Floors work harder for the benefit of the room .. possibly?

I played in a larger room over the weekend and they don't allow table changes for PLO. They usually have at least 3 (or 6) of the 1/3 PLO games going and they use a 'string of must-moves' to keep the previous games full. So while the Floor is constantly updating 'the sheet' the Players are also 'constantly' moving their way to the one and only main game.

What's interesting is that they do allow table changes for NL, just not PLO due to the issues they had with head hunters and list jumpers.

While it's not fun to table change once a down when it gets late, at least you know up front which Player you are chasing from table to table as long as you keep playing and you'll eventually get the main game (and it's big stacks). Yes, you can seat change at your existing table.

My impression is that by not having to deal with the impending arguments that certainly come along from the Players trying to run the room or go around the system that it's worth the effort being put in by the Floor with the clip board. GL

Why does the floor constantly have to update a sheet? That sounds highly inefficient to me if there's a set process. Once the floor played "host" to people everything else shouldn't have to take any human interaction other than notifying players about them moving to another table.

In theory you wouldn't even need floor interaction for those two steps but that's a customer service thing players expect.

Two days in a row I was forced out. Which is fine, that happens, especially in a smaller room that I deal in.

But both times I was told to leave after I sat down to deal.

The first one was only one hand so I wasn't too upset but the second night I dealt close to ten minutes.

I never worked anywhere that had forced out dealers be told to leave in the middle of a down.
Sometimes if someone is on the EO they'll ask a dealer if they want to go right then, but even that's a choice.

After the second time I complained to the ASM. I told her flat out that I realize that I am on call and full-timers get priority so they get their hours. But those hours are not guaranteed to be in the box and sometimes a table breaks and you have to wait for the next down to deal again. And none of our full-timers are gonna go broke because they didn't get those 20 minutes at a $1/3 game.

Am I right to bitch or do people commonly get forced out mid-down?

In my (smaller) room, if it's less than halfway through their down, we take them out. More than halfway, they finish the down.

I've been told to push in towards the end of a down for someone who is in OT or on the EO list. Some rooms are paranoid about keeping PT dealers low in hours so I can see them doing what you're talking about. They want to have the option to schedule you extra days when it's busy without hitting the dreaded 30 hour average. This means keeping you closer to 20 the rest of the time.

If I'm the one pushing I will sometimes get lost on the way to the table rather than tapping with 6 minutes left.

I was thinking the same thing .. Every time a Player leaves a table they need to be taken off the list/rotation and it creates a cascade effect of Players being moved 'up'. For the most part Regs like the system since Players were always getting into it with Floors about table changes and list jumping. If a Floor goes on break/lunch then all they need to do is hand off the list, not try to remember and pass on all the requests.

From a poker perspective it kind of stinks too since you could be chasing (or leaving) a Fish and you just get whatever seat came open .. not one you picked or prefer to sit in via a seat change. You also have the issue of running into larger stacks each time you get moved.

IMO it ran well with less hassle over the more traditional method. The Players actually policed it pretty well also .. as there were a couple Players who tried to sit down in open seats rather than work their way up the ranks of tables. GL

My question was rather why there's no technical solution for that.

There is I think, but it's not as convenient as a paper list. Bravo will be able to tell you how long each player/seat has been clocked in for, so they can back into the order that way. But when you walk over to the table to move the next person, sometimes they just left, or they moved already and forgot to swipe in at the new table, or whatever. Since bravo doesn't come with you, but a pad of paper does, it's just easier to have the list written down.

Or so I've witnessed anyway. I've never had to do it myself.

If you required each player to use a player's card and the dealers actually kept their bravo up to date you could do it that way. But some players don't want to use their card and some dealers are lazy about updating things. So we go back to the paper.

If you have a regular floor who can stay close to the table and has gotten to know the players it works pretty well. If it's a random dual rate who is getting pulled all over then it can get messy fast. I've started a floor shift and had to completely reconstruct a list.

I'm not a fan of the concept but enough regular players want it, so we do it.

Regarding must move tables... they're a logistical nightmare and maintaining the tables is akin to herding cats. 2 tables is fairly straightforward and 3 is usually doable. More than that is a nightmare.

Assuming that the player lists are all accurate and up to date (a big if) and a player from the main game gets up... The next to move player on table 2 is finishing a hand from the big blind and wants to play his button before moving to the main game. 7 minutes later he moves on and it's off to table 3 to move another player to table 2.

The player next to move starts arguing that the player sitting next to him was definitely there first and it's not his turn to move. You don't relent so he decides to just rack up and switch to a different game.

You're getting ready to move the next player but first you have a floor call because the players are arguing about where the button is supposed to be. When you get back to table 3, sure enough, the player to move is finishing his big blind. Meanwhile 2 more players have racked up from the main game.

Over 10 minutes have passed and 4 seats are open on 2 tables but you can't call any names from the list because the first must move table is still full at the moment.