The question about how to deal to the button got me thinking about the thing about the player setting the button on its edge, and the dealer trying to pitch under it without knocking it over.

My question is, does anyone know how that originated? Though it seems that players are doing it a lot less than a few years ago (thank god), There are still some who do it, and all the dealers seem to know what's expected and usually try to do it. Did this start as some sort of practice drill, or bored dealers thinking up something to do? Or did players start it out as some sort of challenge?

Just curious how this became such a well known tradition.

Without knocking it over? really. I thought the idea was to knock it over ..... In fact my goal .... not yet realized is to knock it off the table and between the eyes of the player. I always assumed if I accomplished that they would give me a bonus for my skill.

Nice post, Tristan! Very interesting stuff. Dealing to Guy's private game and on the PCA FT must be worlds apart as an experience but very, very high pressure. And to think I've watched that FT where Galen Hall shipped it and you were the one in the box.

I've not heard of this. It must be a US thing. Do you mean the card goes under the button to the player or stops trapped under the button? Our buttons are huge and have rubber rims in my work, going right under and through would be impossible...

Button stood up on its edge and get both cards to stop underneath it. Almost impossible cuz the button wants to roll off the cards. I agree that you just don't see it that much anymore.

We used to have plastic tourney chips with rounded edges and you could pitch the cards into a stack and they'd stick between the chips. That was bad for me cuz I'd try to stick every card into the players' stacks. Looked pretty cool tho with 2 cards sticking out of the stack like Ferguson sticking them in a banana.

Lol nice, I always kinda tried to do that.

One time I stuck one in a single stack and then when I pitched the other card to them it hit the same spot and went right through to land on the other side without knocking over their stack. I basically stopped stunned and went "Whoa!" All the players just looked at me like "what the hell is this guy's problem?"

I have gotten both cards to stop under a button on it's side exactly once.

It's nearly impossible.

Mr. Miyagi say dealer who get both cards under edged button... accomplish anything!

Fire the second card over the first and under the button, it will shoot right through.

I discovered this by accident 10+ years ago, and have been trying in vain since to do it again.

I can get both cards to stop under the button with decent regularity, like no bs. I once knocked the button over from the top without exposing a card. I'm obviously a super bad ass.

Also pitching to the 1 and 2 seats is betty important in an audition. When I learned to audition dealers, I learned what a great indicator the ability to transition from the 10 seat to the 1 seat is.

If the 1 seat insists on putting his chips out in a line and then leaning over the table some more with his hand in the air... then I pitch to the table and slide the card to the 2 seat.

Regarding the button slide thing... nobody told me to do it, I just figure players who want to get cute with things appreciate having their cuteness recognized. I wish they wouldn't play with it, but whatever, I'm customer service, and it gives me something to do for a few seconds.

Sometimes you get that player who insists on being as difficult as possible, in all the tiniest of ways. Death by a thousand paper cuts.

* I push in, dealer points to a missed blind button, informs me that this player hasn't yet played a hand. So already I don't like him. If you're not ready to play, why sit down?

* Player shows up and hides the missed blind button, sits there expectantly. I ask him if he wants to post. He sighs, "okay," and tosses out three chips and the button. Nice try, buddy.

* He asks if I just transferred from table games, since he hasn't seen me before. (I was working a morning shift, covering for someone. Usually I'm evenings.) Nice way to try to establish dominance. "Nope!" I respond with a smile. (The rest of the morning when someone I hadn't seen before said something, it was to ask where I had dealt before, since they could tell I wasn't new to the game.)

* He moves the button every orbit. At least he says "button moved". Most of the time.

* Hides his cards.

* Talks about a hand in progress. Preflop: "I folded AT there." Flop comes A-high. He mutters a few more comments. I say, "And this is why we shouldn't talk about a hand in progress." He gives a sheepish grin.

* Helicopter folds.

* Folds out of turn, almost every time. Usually just one or two players ahead, but sometimes as soon as he looks at them, even if he's in the blinds. Because he's the star of his own movie, of course. One time my smart ass gets the better of me, and after he limps I mutter, "well, we knew you weren't folding," hoping he'd get the hint that he's telegraphing information. But he clearly sees himself as superior to these knuckle-draggers, so he probably figures it doesn't matter.

* The last time he folds out of turn while I'm at the table, we're post-flop and with many players calling a bet. Player before him is considering action. Douchenozzle folds. I ask, "Please don't act out of turn, sir." He's getting up to leave with a buddy, and he starts arguing, "The guy has the chips in his hand, he's calling the bet." I respond, "You're clearly an experienced player, so I'm sure you know the problems that can come from folding out of turn." His buddy says, "Well, he's got ya there." That shuts him up. I get pushed out shortly thereafter.

* Later, I return to the table, and he's eating dinner at the table with a missed blind button in front of him. When it gets time to add another button, he racks up and leaves. Seriously, dude. We have a list. You're not even talking to anybody at the table. Sit at an empty one and chow down.

There were a few more things, but I can't remember. Nothing really major, and he didn't get to me, just amused at how some people seem unable not to be That Guy.

Different table, this time a 2/5...

If you're going to insist on specifying "reds" when buying in for $1000, then don't also complain that I'm not keeping the bets stacked when we're multi-way and there are more streets to come. It's not my job to count the pot for you. One player to a hand. No, threatening not to tip me won't get me to change my mind on this.

This should be a green-chip game. You're the one making it difficult. I'm doing my job.

Of course, every other dealer in the house keeps bets stacked, but oh well.

+1 at wtf with all the reds. The casino I mainly play at spreads some 2/5-100 and 30/60 LHE...

Nothing. But. Red.

I've even seen some players with 1k+ in greens chips but they refuse to use them. "What's the bet? 100? Here, let me slowly count out 20 reds, because throwing in four green is just too easy"

Red chips on 2-5 really don't rate on my list of things I'd like to change. One thing I love about the red chips is they make the pots look a lot bigger, which often makes my toke bigger too. I love pushing a mound of chips to the winner in 3 or 4 motions, because I can't get them all the way there in one handful. "Here's some of your winnings. And some more. And some more. And the rest."

On the other hand, the 2-4 limit players absolutely love red chips, which just tilts me to no end. New players will come to the table with $50, all in red. Players who have just won a half decent pot will give me 20 whites and ask for 4 reds. It's not uncommon to see a player with $125 at the table (3 greens, 8 reds, 10 whites). And to make it just a little more perfect, there's always that one guy in seat 3 who absolutely HATES reds, and insists on changing them for whites whenever he takes down a pot. Of course all of these players are playing for the high hand jackpot and nothing else. And then they can't understand why I can't deal faster. "Because I'm busy changing out your crappy reds for white chips! It's a white chip game, you #$!@$#!!!!!"

What happened to Dealer Guy ?

A question about tipping, if you don't mind me asking....


Only joking, spent the last few days reading this thread from the start, awesome thread

We have discussed this before I continue to believe $2-$5 should be primarily a red chip game.

$30-$60 limit is a different creature. I contend limit games should be played with a single denomination. I think Ideally $30-$60 should be played with $10 chips. If you don;t have those well 6 chips 12 chips isn't terrible.

Our room used to run 4/8 or 6/12 O8 and every ****ing new player would sit down with reds. It was so annoying. I spent most of my breaks just standing by the podium and whenever somebody came to buy chips for Omaha I'd ask the brush to give him white. Of course, we had people who insisted on reds, then would bitch about how the hands take forever.

I don't think 2/5 should be primarily played one way or another. IMO, it's just absurd to see people with 2k-3k+ stacks all in red. Some people act like they are allergic to green. Any time then win a pot with green then quickly look to sell them.

I agree with you on limit, $10 chips would make it easier, it again just gets annoying. The 30/60 is played with a HK to 50/100. Watching a 50/100 game with all reds in annoying. The players don't help. You'd think that most of the LHE regs would be decent at quickly cutting out 6 or 12 chips (or 10 or 20), but nope, some regs still take ~10 seconds to make a bet/raise.

When you guys refer to certain colour chips are they the same value all over the country?

Here we have

Green Chips - £0-50
Orange Chips - £1
Red Chips - £5
Black Chips - £25
Green + Yellow Chips - £100

and not sure about the rest as i'm not baller enough to of had anything higher i'm a LS grinder when i play.

No not everything is uniform. But red is very commonly $5. And $1 chips are commonly blue or white. Green is commonly $25. Black is commonly $100. But in some places in California $100 is white

If the players want all reds, then whatever. Just don't complain that I'm pushing a pile of chips instead of keeping them stacked in the middle. Since we pool tokes, I don't care about getting reds, tho I do understand that point. It's just inefficient to have more than a couple stacks of red. Aren't we playing poker? Didn't we get enough of playing with building blocks in preschool?

And the new place has the same tiny tables as the old place, with the added bonus of reallllly worn-down felt. Like, cards land and stick. Chips do not slide. The drop slot extends in front of the rack, which itself takes up half the width of the table. At least the felt is being replaced soon.

Wow, 30/60? That's the casino's fault. Holy crap.

Hah!

Standard Vegas colors:

$1: Blue/White
$5: Red
$25: Green
$100: Black
$500: Purple
$1000: Yellow

I used to play in a room that didn't even allow red birds in the 4-8 O8 game. They also had a rule that the players would place their bets out in front of them clearly stacked. This was the fastest low limit O8 game I've ever seen and it was insane action as well. Dealers could easily bring chips in at stacks of 20 and splitting pots 2-3-4-ways was nearly instant. But to this day, in LV, every single poker room manager will scoff at this idea. Yet none of them have tried it! Interestingly, when a new player was told they would be stacking their bets or not play, they obliged and soon became proficient and happy to play the game because it was fast.

When we as dealers say it's bothersome to have so many red in the game it's further proof of our own ignorance. We're being selfish from a HPH point of view. But for some players, they want the visual edge of more chips. Which we should respect.

Now that's just ******ed management. And being as most 30-60 games are time games it's also a ripoff to the players. I've never seen a 30-60 or 40-80 game that wasnt $10 chips. Players should be smarter than that too and just demand $10 chips.