A friend once commented that he was surprised the fat dealers could afford to stay so fat, considering how slow they are.

I'm really turned off by the player in seat 9 who stinks of cigarette smoke or the woman with the cheap perfume cloud in seat 1.

Players with bad breath, puleaseee lets get rid of them.

How about players working on 36 hours and need a break to shower and change clothes?

I think about these things all the time but it's just thoughts I keep to myself. But surely you notice these same people. If they sit near the dealer, they must be sitting next to you at sometime.

You are aware that for some people, weight is not a thing they can do much about? There are medical conditions that cause obesity that cannot be treated with a diet.

There are also conditions that cause people to sweat profusely even if it's not particularly hot. I know at least one dealer who has this problem. should we fire him to appease you?

Age slows down the metabolism so experienced dealers may gain weight as they gain experience. Guess maybe we need to put an age limit on dealers, no card slinging after age 35?

How about unattractive people, can they deal or would that be a bad thing?

I have yet to find a cure for shortness, do you know of one? Is there an infomercial out there I've missed?

I agree, a slim, healthy dealer is much preferable to a fat, unhealthy dealer.

Just as a fat, loud, opinionated player who leaves grease on the cards and chips is undesirable.

Kirk, draw whatever conclusions you wish about my height, weight or anything else. However, since you seem to choose to judge people about things they may have no control over, whatever the truth may be probably would not interest you.

I'm a fat dealer. The only time I have trouble reaching someone's bets is when they put their bets about 2" in front of their stack. "Hey, meet me half way, will ya, pal?"

That unleashes the jokes about "short arms" and "get him a rake like those French roulette dealers," but I diffuse them by saying, "No, we won't need any of that, if you'll just meet me half way."

If they still won't cooperate, I put it on them again. "That's right, whatever you do, don't push those chips in ONE INCH further than you need to!"

My favorite trick, if working on a table with no betting line, is to pick up the dealer button, and use the edge of it to scratch a make-shift line on the table (it doesn't damage the felt, the line made is only temporary). It takes about ten seconds, as I drag the button back and forth, trying to make a small arc-shape line visible. The line I draw is well within the player's reach. During that time, all the players notice the game has stopped, and they're wondering, "What's he doing?" Then, I point out the newly-drawn line to the offending player and tell him, "This is as far as I can reach."

Everyone laughs, and after that, when the short-armed player drops in a bet I can't reach, the all the other players revel in the fact that they now get to give orders to the offending player. Problem solved.

crazy that you say that bc two of the fastest and most efficientdealers I have ever seen are pretty fat.

I like dealers, like the tiny asian chicks who need to strain to reach position one and ten.

I am also a fat dealer, but i have a good wingspan. If I can't reach a bet then not many dealers could reach it regardless of waist size. And there are still a few people who seem to want to try to put things out of my reach.

I have seen dealers pull that stunt with making a line, but it is almost always a dealer with a ridiculously short reach. This tends to irritate me, but this is because I see it from dealers who make no effort.

And I have more problems with the players who always seem to want to help. They push in other players bets, ofetn mixing the bets of multiple players .... making it imposssible for me to know who if anyone shorted a pot. Plus I don't like to have players putting there hands in other players chips. I know they are trying to be helpful ..... and that makes it hard to correct them .... because they inevitably feel wronged.

A few years back I was playing at Excalibur (I didn't know any better, I was barely 21) and a shorter older poker dealer had a back scratcher that she would use to pull in the chips.

I thought it was funny at the time but would be repulsed at her laziness now.

My all time favorite dealer was a huge dude at Borgata. Kept the game running smooth and had the perfect level of conversation with the table. I was annoyed I hadn't won a pot on his down but still tipped him.

Well, it was referencing a specific dealer, who was very slow.

Her back pulled a FYP.

This caught my attention because I sometimes try to "help out" the dealer. The only reason I ever do this is to keep the game going so I have a few questions for all dealers...

1) Do all dealers dislike it when players push others' bets towards the middle?

2) Is moving the button for the dealer annoying or helpful? Is it ok in seats 3,4,7,8 and not in others?

3) What other things do players do that they think are helpful but they should actually stop doing?

I feel like I have some apologizing to do to some dealers

Even though it's meant as a kindness, touching another player's chips is offensive to some players and most dealers just because of the one time in a hundred it blows up and brings the game to a screeching halt.

Moving the button on the other hand is okay, IMO anyway, as long as you make sure the dealer knows you moved it for him EVERYTIME you do it. This can cause a misdeal if he then moves it again.

I always thank a player who moves the button for me as long as they say "button moved" when they do so.

Players who play table captain, telling a player not to act out of turn, correcting their bets etc can cause a problem because the dealer now is repeating something the player just heard. If the dealer does not warn the player, he might not take it seriously and the floor might not take action if the dealer cannot tell him that he, the dealer, gave the player a warning about whatever it is he is doing wrong.

In other words, tell the dealer if you see a player doing something wrong, let the dealer correct the player. If you don't want to say anything at the table, go tell the floor away from the table.

Was it laziness or due to a back problem you were not aware of? It had to be done with management 's approval, they would notice it.

It probably also sped up the game.

So many physical challenges are invisible. Heart conditions are good reasons for people to have handicap tags but they look perfectly able to walk when they get out of their cars.

I don't mind if you move the button on the following conditions.

1) You wait until the hand is over. I hate when players move the button during the hand.
2) You tell me that you have done this.
3) You move it to the right place

Playing with the button drives me nuts. When I'm pitching I will keep pitching until I get to the button. When you have it in your hands and I don't see it......we have to play pineapple.

Also you want to sell chips to another player .... thats fine.....its even helpful ...... if done in between hands. If you must do it during a hand, please don't be pushing chips/money through the betting area especially when the action is on you or the other player.

one other. If make a bet and push out your chips and break them down, please do not stack them back up again ..... because if you do I'm going to break them down to count them before they get moved into the pot ...... (Why? because when you break it down and restack it I may not see it well enough to rely on it and because I have dealt to people who would palm chips when stacking them back up)

Please don't move the button when I'm dealing!

I understand half the dealers I work with are constantly forgetting to move the button (I can't even begin to understand this), and you feel that dealers need help with this. But >half of you do it without telling me (leading me to stop the game to figure out where the button should be, or even worse, dealing with the button in the wrong spot).

And most important: 99% of the time when the player moves the button, he puts it in a spot I can't easily reach, a further (inadvertent) busting of my balls.

I understand the point of touching another's chips could be offensive and lead to problems with stealing chips, etc...however, if I see my neighbor is a novice player and is constantly placing his/her chips too far for the dealer to reach and the betting round has been completed, I will bring in the chips and maybe even explain to the player at the end to throw it in a bit more to help the dealer. I would never randomly touch anyone else's chips of course.

Agree with all of your points.

If I saw a dealer consistently forgetting to move the button, I'd immediately ask for a table change every time I saw that dealer coming in or I'd go on a food break...if they can not remember to move the button, how do I know if my opponent called my bet correctly???

Thank you to all three for responding. I am not intimidating in any way and do not try to play table captain. I actually like to kill em with kindness at the tables, haha. However, I do like to try to keep the game moving. I will move the button for the dealer if they are completing a fill or I am in the far seats or they are pushing a large pot. If I am in seat 2 and the player in seat 3 keeps his bets far away from the dealer i will sometimes help by pushing in the bet. However, I make sure that the dealer and player are both watching when I do so. Perhaps I should stop this but I haven't been asked to stop by a player or dealer yet and usually the other player gets the hint after one or two times.

Also, just wanted to recognize all the dealers in this thread and everywhere who do a good job in the box. I pitched cards for two years (underground) while finishing undergrad and it was quite the experience. People who treat dealers with little to no respect are given that same treatment by me at the tables. It probably doesn't mean much and the players usually are too dumb to understand when they are being insulted, but it makes me feel good to slowroll a guy who complains about dealers.

One time in an AC poker room I slowrolled with the nuts against a guy because he kept complaining that the dealer was too slow and talked too much and blah blah blah...After he busts and walks away pissed off I flipped the dealer a red-bird and he thanked me for making his night with the slowroll

If you feel compelled to move the button as a player, say "button moved" or whatever EVERY TIME. If you do this it helps. If you don't, it slows down the game.

well basically everything psandman said.

Understand that I appreciate that players are trying to help. I'd rather that than the guy who is trying to make things harder.

I heard a great story from a friend of mine.

He was dealing a crazy 1-3NL game and one guy loses a massive pot on the river. He then syas to the dealer, "F**k you, you always beat me on the river you f***ing c***sucker!"

Next hand, the dealer pitches out the cards and skips this guy completely. He gets furious and screams at the dealer at the top of his lungs. Floor hears and comes over to see what is going on. The dealer calmly tells him, "he either called me a f***ing c***sucker, or told me to deal him out a hand or two, I can't remember."

Floor looks at the guy, "So which was it?"

"Uh... I said deal me out...."


Priceles...

fwiw, this is very close what we're instructed to say by our manager, "This guy either called me 'x' or he said he's done for the night, I'm not sure."
It's code for "this guy needs to be kicked out now."

Works first time everytime. Not surprised to see a variation of it in effect elsewhere, as it is extremely effective.

Wonder if we could adapt this for pit use

OK Gaming Employees...I have an issue I'd love to hear your input on.

I'm a regular at my local casino. I'm friendly with every dealer and they all know me, most by name. One particular dealer is known for his sarcastic "cutting" humor. He only does it with other regulars who know him and can take it (and give it back). I really like this dealer. there's only one thing I don't particularily like...

When a player at the table doesn't tip he starts dropping hints to me that either I should suggest "thanking the dealer" or openly perturbed whenever he pushes a pot to the non-tipper. There were times where he treats his whole down as an inside joke and tries to force me into the middle of his behavior.

I'm a friendly, laid back guy. I understand the value of keeping everyone at the table friendly and having a good time (especially the bad players). I don't want to blurt out to the dealer to cool it, and I certainly don't want to appear in "kahoots" with him during his behavior.

My question is, what should I do? If you were that dealer, would you prefer me to address you directly, or should I go to the floor (or room manager) privately and explain my situation? I am not trying to get him fired or get him pissed at me, but it really does make me uncomfortable sometimes when he does this.

If you really like the guy and he has no other bad habits, I'd suggest giving him one more chance. Appraoch him privately and explain how bad he is making himself look and how uncomfortable you are with his pestering.

If he reacts badly, tell him you want to help but if he continues to do the same thing, you will have to speak to a floor.

If he reacts well, problem solved.

Now, if you really aren't that big a fan of the guy, go to the floor, the rest of the players in the room will appreciate it.

I don't see why not. Depends on if your supervisors back you up. In some places they do not.

I'd go to the floor and explain it just like you did to us. If he's doing it with you, he's probably doing it with other people as well.