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Originally Posted by Fore
Most who do it think they can do both and both well. Very few can and I REALLY disagree that most longtimers can. Also disagree with it at higher stakes. Honestly the higher the stakes the less the dealer should be saying.
When I've dealt games at the nosebleed stakes, the players generally already know each other and have played together a lot. They're generally engaged in a lively conversation and the last thing they need is a dealer to entertain them.
On the other hand, a 1-2 NL table can have a couple of outgoing players who are there solely to have fun and be social or it can be completely void of conversation. If I sit down at the latter, I'm going to try to initiate some kind of discussion to get people engaged with each other and to have more fun. This is better for my bottom line as a dealer, but it's also better for the game. Instead of quietly disengaging and nitting it up they're more likely to get involved in hands and to be a part of the game rather than staring at their phones and waiting to look down at pocket pairs or AK.
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How often can you recall a dealer having a conversation with a player on any High Stakes poker episode? Poker After Dark? WSOP featured table?
If I'm dealing a streaming or televised game, I'm aware of it and I'm going to treat it as if I was auditioning for a job. I'm doing everything by the book, and I'm not taking any of the shortcuts I might typically do (putting out the turn before I bring in all of the bets) and I'm probably not saying a word other than to answer a question a player asks me about the action or to say "thank you" when I receive a tip.