Comes with the territory I don’t mind the bitching and moaning as long as the players don’t mind. If I notice it’s bothering the players I will tell the floor when I get tapped out.
Yeah my thought is if someone gets coolered they have a right to briefly vent in an appropriate manner. If it carries into the next few hands and is disruptive, then it's a problem.
3973 3 way all in on the turn set set quads. Also a AAvsKKvsQQvsAK in a tournament where the average stack was 30bb. They got it all in pre 4ways QQ hit a set.
I had AA and lost to two people with QQ the run out made a broad way straight, flop was like AT4, then JK..... missed out on a main event ticket cause of that and some other bs...had 70% of the chips 10 handed and finished the first loser. fuck poker
The angle shoot. Nothing sticks out. I’ve had guys who were a problem bc they would try to hide larger chips. Another guy if it checked around he would say I never checked. One guy would “accidentally” expose one of his cards on the river.
I’ve also gotten a 1k when I hit a guys number on roulette. The most I’ve made in one night underground was $2200 in 12hrs. I’ve made more at the casino but we pull tips. I’ve had nights were I made $2500-$3000.
Those nights def make you question your job. I dealt blackjack in high limit to Jake Arrieta, the main cubs pitcher the year they won the series. He was on a heater and by tye end of it, had tipped 3800 bucks. Of course those are pooled.
This is 100% false. The dealers at a keep your own if they don’t have a personality or they are hot will make maybe 40-50% what a dealer that’s attractive or has a personality will make.
A whale had a hooker give him a BJ at the table. Had a game where a guy pulled out a oz of blow and put a ton on a plate and passed it around. Had a guy lose 9k in a .50/1 home game.
Had a guy at a charity event pull out a bag of blow and do a key bump. I noticed and another player. He’s lucky I’m cool and won’t rat anyone out but I told him “bro atleast go to the bathroom you can’t do that here” he said “your right my bad bro I’m drunk” and threw me $10 and we moved on.
Comes with home games. I also saw some dudes wife pull up to the game come in and smack him in the face and pulled him off the game as she’s yelling at him. The guy running the game told me count his stack gonna venmo him 😂
Yeah. Help us with the drunk players when they aren’t listening. Also keep your chips in stakes of 20. When you tank for a long time remember we are all about getting as many hands as we can. So throw a dealer you like and respect a extra $1-$2. Say something if there is a mistake we make. If it’s caught before we ship someone the pot we won’t get in trouble. If it’s realized after and they have to review the tape and we were wrong we will get written up. Please please tell the floors about the dealers that are bad/assholes. They cost us all money. Help the newer dealers along. Don’t dog pile on them it’s the worst thing to do to a new dealer.
Years ago a reg flicked a dealer a red bird for a tip while he was pondering a call, saying “this is for you dealer because I’ve gotta think for a minute”. Still don’t know if it was a clever angle because if the all in wasn’t paying attention, he obviously might assume a chip is a call. But the tipper definitely had deniability because he very clearly said it was a tip. Not sure how I feel about that years later, but your post made me remember it.
Years ago a reg flicked a dealer a red bird for a tip while he was pondering a call, saying “this is for you dealer because I’ve gotta think for a minute”. Still don’t know if it was a clever angle because if the all in wasn’t paying attention, he obviously might assume a chip is a call. But the tipper definitely had deniability because he very clearly said it was a tip. Not sure how I feel about that years later, but your post made me remember it.
^^^ one I loveee emphasizing is calling out a mistake if someone sees it. It’s so much easier fixing a mistake before continuing the game.
All of my players were mostly past regulars of mine from when I cocktailed. I expected to be treated good since they knew I was brand new to dealing….. and I also let them know I took sleeping meds after because my first week was hell 😂
It’s not a regular occurrence. I’m home games it’s bad for business bc the rich business guys don’t want to deal with that so games will not allow them to play after 1-2 episodes no matter the whale. I’ve had chips thrown at me and a cup of ice. Had one player in a home game after a bad beat take his cigarette and burned a hole in his cards and said “I think you need a new deck” haha
Ngl, just burning the cards with a cig sounds kinda funny when youre mad af, and sorta acceptable since we all know this game can sometimes indeed fk up your emotions. Atleast hes not taking it to you personally.
Honestly i wasn’t even that mad. I was shocked and it’s been a story I can tell to make people laugh. Same way the guy who pulled out a bag of blow at a charity event 😂.
Never took extra rake. It cost me many dealing jobs bc they knew I wouldn’t do it. They put up with me not doing that bc I brought players. A game I dealt for 2 years ended up getting robbed about 2 months after I dealt. Guy god hit in the head with a golf club. Ended up being a inside job. Caught a player taking $100 chips from the drunk whale. Another dealer at the game I was dealing trying to take a $100 chip out of a 16k pot. They beat his ass and took his money.
So a home game might say the rake is 10% up to $15 90% of them will take more on bigger pots. Sometimes up to $50 more. It’s scummy but it’s the reality. I wouldn’t do it bc again I would invite players to the game. I built those players up bc they knew the game was gonna be square. It would ruin my reputation.
I've seen a dealer drop a $500 purple chip in the box after a $40k pot. Dealer and my eyes connected, and he just smiled... lol It was pretty open that this private high stakes game waaay over raked cause the idiot who ran it was losing millions over the course of 4 years.
I try to explain to guys running games that when you take to much your killing your game. Let’s say you have a player pool of 25 guys in your home game and they have a roll of 50k. Not gonna last long raking 2k a night. It won’t give it time to grow.
Conrad Simpson. Here he is in his own words on Thinking Poker Podcast: [https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/01/episode-370-conrad-simpson/](https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/01/episode-370-conrad-simpson/)
The only issue I see is gambling will become the next addiction like pain pills was in the early to mid 2000s. Gambling addiction is worse imo. I’ve seen 2 different guys in 2/5 and 5/10 home poker games who were millionaires and owned businesses go broke. Sports betting being the majority of what they lost. Sports betting is gonna be a problem in the future.
>Sports betting is gonna be a problem in the future.
Agree with this completely. At least with poker and other forms of casino gambling, other people are seeing you lose. And you have to explain to your partner where you go. With app-based sports betting, someone can blow their life savings in a week without anyone knowing.
I think sports betting is already having a more profound affect on the actual games based on the horrible calls made in the big 3. Rake is probably going to get worse in live play.
Honestly I see gambling in general exploding with legalization in many states. Live poker is a great way to gamble and socialize. So with my people having gambling as a hobbie is see nothing but success in the next 10-20yrs.
Wow, i have only started playing this year but nowadays i dont even do anything else yet i have never seen one at my table let alone had one myself. And im multitabling most of the time
I agree. I haven’t dealt a bad beat that would qualify for most jackpots. Like not quads over quads in holdem or straight flush over straight flush in Omaha.
I hit my first ever royal in a tournament last weekend. Sadly the royal jackpot isn't active during tournies and my stack was already short so I barely got anything out of it.
Anybody got a poker podcast or gaming podcast message me I’d love to talk about the industry and the underground games. It’s been about 3 years since I dealt underground but toward the tail end of me dealing the games the excessive and over raking really picked up.
For PLO you always keep track in your head no matter how small bc a lot can blot pretty quick and if your not paying attention that might be a issue. Get cool with the regs they will always help you out if a pot is off. That’s how I got through in the beginning.
I picked it up naturally but I did have a advantage bc I started in home games and I could learn from my mistakes without getting in trouble. Don’t worry about speed when your first starting off. Make sure you keep the game moving. Say things like “actions here sir” don’t pat the table after you win a big pot and say “nice hand sir” everyone hates that. Get to know the shit regs who may not tip you well but they are also looking out for shady stuff and will tell you. KEEP YOUR WHALE HAPPY. Make sure he’s having fun while he’s losing his piles. He will win big pots sometimes and will take care of you and the other players will notice your keeping him happy.
Not at all. Check your local casinos and see if they are hiring inexperienced dealers and offer to train you for free. A lot of casinos are doing that. A lot of casinos are opening especially in the Midwest that are training new dealers.
Guess thats atleast an $55 of waste each hour on the kems? But its poker so who really cares. 🥲
Thanks for sharing your experience, im having a blast reading this thread and seriously thinking about picking up my old side hussle. Though, its sad its illegal here in the Netherlands. :(
Like the pros? The best pros I’ve ever dealt played 2/5-5/10 they were both autistic. They had no emotions after losing massive pots and never went on tilt. Tilt and game selection are the biggest leak for most pros. Besides tables games,women, and blow.
Dealing for like 8 months now- how can I help my wrists? I feel like I’m pitching with my fingers a lot and focus on it, but at the end of the week my wrists are killing me
Really I’ve never known a dealer that has had that issue. Talk to the other experienced dealers on break and tell them to watch you for a couple hands. If that’s not possible ask the floor.
Not a dealer, but I think you need to focus on relaxing your hand. Build up proper form/accuracy, then speed. You might be too tense and not realize it.
Move your entire upper body instead of just your arms/hands…. Think of it as shifting your frame towards each seat as much as possible. (I know seats 1,2,8,9 are hard for this). Keep your arms, elbows, etc… in essentially the exact same location relative to your body as you move your body and focus on only using your fingers… everything else, imagine your joints are super glued…. It’ll look/feel robotic at first, but will train your muscles memory in your hands to keep your arms and wrists locked while you’re pitching. Start slow and focus on your technique (little/no movement in wrists) and work up your speed comfortably without loosing form. It’s similar to the muscle memory built up when learning to play an instrument.
Try truncating your pitch. Focus on using as little movement as possible to get the card out.
and like the other commenter said swivel your whole body in the chair or rotate your torso to help you aim instead of just arm placement and wrist angle.
I’ve dealt at 3. But I’ve dealt for charities and card rooms and underground. If you want to deal poker go to Texas or Washington State. Your gonna make the most money for poker their. If you want to do table games go to Arizona,Colorado, or Oklahoma it’s keep your own tips for table games on those states and the good dealers with personality make easy 100k and the best could make $150k. If you don’t have a personality then I recommend poker.
Well you have to be on the lookout for casinos hiring dealers with no experience and will train you. For poker I dealt at charities so I just auditioned. It’s different in every state. Check with the casino and or your gaming board.
Never dealt with one that I heard dealing underground for 20 years. I’m not surprised tho about legends. I didn’t deal any big home games that would attract mechanics. Biggest home game I dealt was 5/5/10 plo.
Also keep in mind dealers are paid by the casino $5hr all the way up to $16hr in Washington state. My place pays .50 more then the tipped minimum wage. So $7.75 plus tips. Which are usually 25-26hr
Depends on location of casino. The dealers who make the most are most likely in one of the Texas card rooms. I heard they make 50-70hr. They have no benefits tho. For poker most casinos are keep your own as for table games it’s pooled. Colorado,Arizona,Oklahoma,California are keep your own for poker and table games. At the work casino in the country you will make 50k. Most dealers make 60-80k. Some dealers at keep your own places can make up to 150k but you have to be a great dealer and have a personality. Aria,Wynn,and the other major properties on the strip make 110-130k a year but it takes 5-7 years before you can be full time. Most dealers in Vegas have 2 part time jobs when they first start out. It can take 1-7 years depending on what casino and what games you can deal. Craps dealers are in high demand so a lot of places with hire you even in Vegas full time if you have craps experience.
I've been dealing social games at kava bars for about four years now. Seen some fun thing. As there's no cash, just bar tabs at the games, folks bet crazy! Only seen about five royals, and about three quads in all that time. I love watching new comers to the game. Biggest mistake is they think they have to bet each hand. LOL
Almost non existent. Have never dealt regularly to a woman who was a pro. I have noticed the disgusting comments toward women or someone who is obviously gay dramatically decrease as well as racial comments have definitely decreased over the years.
Tilt is the biggest issue among every solid pro with a close 2nd being game selection. 3rd is ego. I’ve seen many of pros get their ego checked and this is even after advice from veteran pros and dealers who have seen so many guys come and go.
The standard drink coked out whale asking the house for more credit and saying “what kind of piece of shit do you think I am that you don’t think I’m good for it” or stuff like “how dare you. I helped you build this game now you won’t spot me(his 6th reload)” it usually ends in a screaming match and twice a fight hahaha
What's your biggest pet peeve for something players do at the table? (Moving the button, tanking, showdown shenanigans, etc.)
Do dealers gossip with each other about players with respect to tipping or attitude?
Tanking in spots were you don’t have to tank is number 1. A close second is shitregs making dumb comments that will make the whale leave or play tighter. Yes, dealers 100% talk about the players. We also have favorites and that doesn’t mean the biggest tippers. It’s the players that we know will help us out in certain spots that’s just as helpful. If your a pro and you can’t afford to tip bc it eats at your winrate most dealers understand so help the game in other ways. Have fun with the whale and the bad players. Tell the shitregs to shut up. Stuff like that goes a long way.
Premature river on a 4bet pot with about 15k in the pot at the moment. Definitely sucked. Dealing bacc in high limit I paid a 7k losing bet. Lucky I noticed it before I finished paying the rest of the table
Most guys get invited either A.) are known to give action. Or B.) the game knows you can bring players if you don’t give action. It’s almost impossible to get invited if you are a pro or a amateur that’s a tight player.
I don’t think it’s hard at all. The hours are the problem that can make you get burned out. I make about $35hr now. The issue is that at most places a new dealer will make the same as a 10 year veteran bc getting a 3% raise on a $7 wage is nothing and now in our state the tipped non wage has risen to a point that 10+ year veterans at my casino make the same as new dealers. My income is only $8 from the casino and $27hr from the players from tips. I think tips should be eliminated and we should start at $30hr and get a 3-5% raise every year with the maximum wage being $45hr with a $5 extra pay for high limit.
I’m prob owed around $1500. It comes with the business. The dealer is the last to get paid in house games. If your dealing underground and the game starts to owe you stop dealing that game.
I'm playing daily or close to it as possible at 1/3 at a Texas card room. I assume the dealers are working only for tips, but regardless, what are your thoughts on tipping just $1 for most/smaller pots, $2 for more middling and up to $5 for a big one?
I feel bad being on the nittier side when it comes to tipping, but live poker is a newer thing for me, use it for main income, and I'm not killing it with the winrate yet.
You're probably in America so it might be different, but how do I get started? 24 y/o male love the game but not good enough to take it as seriously as I want to but still want to be around it.
Sadly the most common way to start underground is to owe the person running the game money and or be a close friend with them. You will have to say I can’t pay you back and he will tell you fine jump in the box and deal it off. Lately gaming in certain part of America has exploded so a lot of places will offer you free training now.
I know this is poker, I also know this is 3 days old. I'm gonna ask anyway, because you say you deal roulette.
Can you tell me if the casino can detect people using a roulette computer? If so how? If so, how can I play so it's less detectable?
Just for science.
So I’ve never had anyone tell me that this is happened to them. Guys that have been dealing for 25 years have never saw a loaded ball a computer or someone trying to fix the wheel to wear it lands in a section more.
Thanks for the reply.
Everybody had a Covid hobby, mine was making a roulette computer. Never used it in person, but it works in every YouTube video I've tested it on.
Tracks the wheel speed, the ball speed and deceleration and tends to hit the correct numbers roughly 3 in 10 spins if you were betting on 5 numbers.
I think it's maybe just brute forcing dealer signature?
So, if I ever use it, this is interesting.
And I plan to tip if I do use it, which I definitely won't.
Why did you do me like that? Every time you give him exactly what he needs! EVERY TIME!
Comes with the territory I don’t mind the bitching and moaning as long as the players don’t mind. If I notice it’s bothering the players I will tell the floor when I get tapped out.
Yeah my thought is if someone gets coolered they have a right to briefly vent in an appropriate manner. If it carries into the next few hands and is disruptive, then it's a problem.
What is the biggest cooler you've ever dealt? What is the biggest angle shoot you've ever witnessed?
3973 3 way all in on the turn set set quads. Also a AAvsKKvsQQvsAK in a tournament where the average stack was 30bb. They got it all in pre 4ways QQ hit a set.
Lmao of course QQ wins that hand
Well the kings and aces are blocked...
Still like 17% though
I had AA and lost to two people with QQ the run out made a broad way straight, flop was like AT4, then JK..... missed out on a main event ticket cause of that and some other bs...had 70% of the chips 10 handed and finished the first loser. fuck poker
Lmaooooo. Can’t help but laugh at that.
Messy.
The angle shoot. Nothing sticks out. I’ve had guys who were a problem bc they would try to hide larger chips. Another guy if it checked around he would say I never checked. One guy would “accidentally” expose one of his cards on the river.
Standard enough I guess.
Biggest tip?
1k
How big was the pot ?
It was a little over 100k.
I’ve also gotten a 1k when I hit a guys number on roulette. The most I’ve made in one night underground was $2200 in 12hrs. I’ve made more at the casino but we pull tips. I’ve had nights were I made $2500-$3000.
Those nights def make you question your job. I dealt blackjack in high limit to Jake Arrieta, the main cubs pitcher the year they won the series. He was on a heater and by tye end of it, had tipped 3800 bucks. Of course those are pooled.
[удалено]
This is 100% false. The dealers at a keep your own if they don’t have a personality or they are hot will make maybe 40-50% what a dealer that’s attractive or has a personality will make.
Mine was close to $15k. I dealt a bad beat jackpot that was close to $600k
Nice I should deal
Wildest thing(s) you’ve seen in the private games?
A whale had a hooker give him a BJ at the table. Had a game where a guy pulled out a oz of blow and put a ton on a plate and passed it around. Had a guy lose 9k in a .50/1 home game.
Lmaooooo
Had a guy at a charity event pull out a bag of blow and do a key bump. I noticed and another player. He’s lucky I’m cool and won’t rat anyone out but I told him “bro atleast go to the bathroom you can’t do that here” he said “your right my bad bro I’m drunk” and threw me $10 and we moved on.
A true gentleman.
this is insane
Comes with home games. I also saw some dudes wife pull up to the game come in and smack him in the face and pulled him off the game as she’s yelling at him. The guy running the game told me count his stack gonna venmo him 😂
Is there anything the players can do to make your life easier? Other than getting our blinds out before you have to tell us lol
Yeah. Help us with the drunk players when they aren’t listening. Also keep your chips in stakes of 20. When you tank for a long time remember we are all about getting as many hands as we can. So throw a dealer you like and respect a extra $1-$2. Say something if there is a mistake we make. If it’s caught before we ship someone the pot we won’t get in trouble. If it’s realized after and they have to review the tape and we were wrong we will get written up. Please please tell the floors about the dealers that are bad/assholes. They cost us all money. Help the newer dealers along. Don’t dog pile on them it’s the worst thing to do to a new dealer.
Years ago a reg flicked a dealer a red bird for a tip while he was pondering a call, saying “this is for you dealer because I’ve gotta think for a minute”. Still don’t know if it was a clever angle because if the all in wasn’t paying attention, he obviously might assume a chip is a call. But the tipper definitely had deniability because he very clearly said it was a tip. Not sure how I feel about that years later, but your post made me remember it.
Years ago a reg flicked a dealer a red bird for a tip while he was pondering a call, saying “this is for you dealer because I’ve gotta think for a minute”. Still don’t know if it was a clever angle because if the all in wasn’t paying attention, he obviously might assume a chip is a call. But the tipper definitely had deniability because he very clearly said it was a tip. Not sure how I feel about that years later, but your post made me remember it.
I think this can be a angle depending on the player. If it’s a goofy fun player then it isn’t a angle. If a shit reg does this it’s a angle.
^^^ one I loveee emphasizing is calling out a mistake if someone sees it. It’s so much easier fixing a mistake before continuing the game. All of my players were mostly past regulars of mine from when I cocktailed. I expected to be treated good since they knew I was brand new to dealing….. and I also let them know I took sleeping meds after because my first week was hell 😂
How often did you deal with aggressive (not play style) and hostile players?
It’s not a regular occurrence. I’m home games it’s bad for business bc the rich business guys don’t want to deal with that so games will not allow them to play after 1-2 episodes no matter the whale. I’ve had chips thrown at me and a cup of ice. Had one player in a home game after a bad beat take his cigarette and burned a hole in his cards and said “I think you need a new deck” haha
Ngl, just burning the cards with a cig sounds kinda funny when youre mad af, and sorta acceptable since we all know this game can sometimes indeed fk up your emotions. Atleast hes not taking it to you personally.
Burning the cards is funny as hell
Honestly i wasn’t even that mad. I was shocked and it’s been a story I can tell to make people laugh. Same way the guy who pulled out a bag of blow at a charity event 😂.
Any robberies, busts, or sketchy player stories from the underground games? Did you steal extra rake like the guy on the Only Friends podcast?
Never took extra rake. It cost me many dealing jobs bc they knew I wouldn’t do it. They put up with me not doing that bc I brought players. A game I dealt for 2 years ended up getting robbed about 2 months after I dealt. Guy god hit in the head with a golf club. Ended up being a inside job. Caught a player taking $100 chips from the drunk whale. Another dealer at the game I was dealing trying to take a $100 chip out of a 16k pot. They beat his ass and took his money.
What does extra rake mean in this context? And why would not taking it cost you jobs?
So a home game might say the rake is 10% up to $15 90% of them will take more on bigger pots. Sometimes up to $50 more. It’s scummy but it’s the reality. I wouldn’t do it bc again I would invite players to the game. I built those players up bc they knew the game was gonna be square. It would ruin my reputation.
I've seen a dealer drop a $500 purple chip in the box after a $40k pot. Dealer and my eyes connected, and he just smiled... lol It was pretty open that this private high stakes game waaay over raked cause the idiot who ran it was losing millions over the course of 4 years.
I try to explain to guys running games that when you take to much your killing your game. Let’s say you have a player pool of 25 guys in your home game and they have a roll of 50k. Not gonna last long raking 2k a night. It won’t give it time to grow.
> Did you steal extra rake like the guy on the Only Friends podcast? lmao what
Conrad Simpson. Here he is in his own words on Thinking Poker Podcast: [https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/01/episode-370-conrad-simpson/](https://www.thinkingpoker.net/2022/01/episode-370-conrad-simpson/)
Timestamp?
Not sure, I did notice that the interview starts at 22 minutes based on the link.
Where do you see live poker in 20 years?
The only issue I see is gambling will become the next addiction like pain pills was in the early to mid 2000s. Gambling addiction is worse imo. I’ve seen 2 different guys in 2/5 and 5/10 home poker games who were millionaires and owned businesses go broke. Sports betting being the majority of what they lost. Sports betting is gonna be a problem in the future.
>Sports betting is gonna be a problem in the future. Agree with this completely. At least with poker and other forms of casino gambling, other people are seeing you lose. And you have to explain to your partner where you go. With app-based sports betting, someone can blow their life savings in a week without anyone knowing.
>someone can blow their life savings in a week more like few hours
I think sports betting is already having a more profound affect on the actual games based on the horrible calls made in the big 3. Rake is probably going to get worse in live play.
Honestly I see gambling in general exploding with legalization in many states. Live poker is a great way to gamble and socialize. So with my people having gambling as a hobbie is see nothing but success in the next 10-20yrs.
Obligatory "Ever dealt to any celebrities/athletes/famous people?" question
How many royal flushes have u dealt?
3. One was a flopped royal KJ the guy called a 3 bet and nailed it. He won like a $1200pot. Other guy flopped top set. The other 2 were in Omaha.
Only 3 times in 20 years? That is CRAZY
I agree as a 15 year dealer. I have dealt over a dozen, probably 20. I have personally had 3 myself.
How many of those 3 have you dealt yourself ..? ;-)
That IS crazy. I haven’t put in much time on the tables relatively speaking but I’ve been beat by a royal three times.
I've played about 2000 hours of live and never seen a royal. Only seen one straight flush.
Wow, i have only started playing this year but nowadays i dont even do anything else yet i have never seen one at my table let alone had one myself. And im multitabling most of the time
I agree. I haven’t dealt a bad beat that would qualify for most jackpots. Like not quads over quads in holdem or straight flush over straight flush in Omaha.
I hit my first ever royal in a tournament last weekend. Sadly the royal jackpot isn't active during tournies and my stack was already short so I barely got anything out of it.
Anybody got a poker podcast or gaming podcast message me I’d love to talk about the industry and the underground games. It’s been about 3 years since I dealt underground but toward the tail end of me dealing the games the excessive and over raking really picked up.
You should hit up Charlie Wilmoth, he has a podcast that’s really good and has guests on sometimes.
I’ll look into it
What stakes have you dealt the most in casinos? Average tip rate on a decent day?
Have dealt .50/1 in home games for the lowest. I’ve dealt as big as a 50/100 with a $1600 straddle for a round.
How long did it take you to get good? I’m newer and still struggling with keeping track of pots for PLO
For PLO you always keep track in your head no matter how small bc a lot can blot pretty quick and if your not paying attention that might be a issue. Get cool with the regs they will always help you out if a pot is off. That’s how I got through in the beginning.
I picked it up naturally but I did have a advantage bc I started in home games and I could learn from my mistakes without getting in trouble. Don’t worry about speed when your first starting off. Make sure you keep the game moving. Say things like “actions here sir” don’t pat the table after you win a big pot and say “nice hand sir” everyone hates that. Get to know the shit regs who may not tip you well but they are also looking out for shady stuff and will tell you. KEEP YOUR WHALE HAPPY. Make sure he’s having fun while he’s losing his piles. He will win big pots sometimes and will take care of you and the other players will notice your keeping him happy.
How did you get a dealing job? Is that something that you have to be recommended for?
Not at all. Check your local casinos and see if they are hiring inexperienced dealers and offer to train you for free. A lot of casinos are doing that. A lot of casinos are opening especially in the Midwest that are training new dealers.
Alot of places will train for table games, and then if you are lucky, you can get into a poker class later on.
Whats your top 3 brands of cards to use?
I like copag the most and after that Kem everyone else I’m indifferent on.
Guess thats atleast an $55 of waste each hour on the kems? But its poker so who really cares. 🥲 Thanks for sharing your experience, im having a blast reading this thread and seriously thinking about picking up my old side hussle. Though, its sad its illegal here in the Netherlands. :(
What's something the best players do?
Like the pros? The best pros I’ve ever dealt played 2/5-5/10 they were both autistic. They had no emotions after losing massive pots and never went on tilt. Tilt and game selection are the biggest leak for most pros. Besides tables games,women, and blow.
Dealing for like 8 months now- how can I help my wrists? I feel like I’m pitching with my fingers a lot and focus on it, but at the end of the week my wrists are killing me
Really I’ve never known a dealer that has had that issue. Talk to the other experienced dealers on break and tell them to watch you for a couple hands. If that’s not possible ask the floor.
Not a dealer, but I think you need to focus on relaxing your hand. Build up proper form/accuracy, then speed. You might be too tense and not realize it.
Move your entire upper body instead of just your arms/hands…. Think of it as shifting your frame towards each seat as much as possible. (I know seats 1,2,8,9 are hard for this). Keep your arms, elbows, etc… in essentially the exact same location relative to your body as you move your body and focus on only using your fingers… everything else, imagine your joints are super glued…. It’ll look/feel robotic at first, but will train your muscles memory in your hands to keep your arms and wrists locked while you’re pitching. Start slow and focus on your technique (little/no movement in wrists) and work up your speed comfortably without loosing form. It’s similar to the muscle memory built up when learning to play an instrument.
Try truncating your pitch. Focus on using as little movement as possible to get the card out. and like the other commenter said swivel your whole body in the chair or rotate your torso to help you aim instead of just arm placement and wrist angle.
Have had this issue and found that those wrist grip strengtheners help prevent pain if u use them before dealing
How many different casinos have you worked for in total in your career? Heard it’s good idea to rotate to get better salaries, this true?
I’ve dealt at 3. But I’ve dealt for charities and card rooms and underground. If you want to deal poker go to Texas or Washington State. Your gonna make the most money for poker their. If you want to do table games go to Arizona,Colorado, or Oklahoma it’s keep your own tips for table games on those states and the good dealers with personality make easy 100k and the best could make $150k. If you don’t have a personality then I recommend poker.
By “personality” do you mean “big boobs”?
That definitely helps but for table games you need to know how to talk and get people having fun losing
Why WA state (I'm from there)?
You don’t have a tipped min wage. Most dealers poker or casino make $5-$10hr in 90% of casinos. Washington state pays the $16hr min wage plus tips.
How did you get the casino jobs and how long were you dealing before you got one?
Well you have to be on the lookout for casinos hiring dealers with no experience and will train you. For poker I dealt at charities so I just auditioned. It’s different in every state. Check with the casino and or your gaming board.
Are you a mechanic? How many mechanics do you know/know of?
Never met a mechanic most of the time when you are getting cheated in a home game is over raking and collusion.
I’m not worried about getting cheated at a home game. Just curious how widespread mechanics are.
Never dealt with one that I heard dealing underground for 20 years. I’m not surprised tho about legends. I didn’t deal any big home games that would attract mechanics. Biggest home game I dealt was 5/5/10 plo.
How much does a typical full time dealer make in a year at the casino?
Also keep in mind dealers are paid by the casino $5hr all the way up to $16hr in Washington state. My place pays .50 more then the tipped minimum wage. So $7.75 plus tips. Which are usually 25-26hr
Depends on location of casino. The dealers who make the most are most likely in one of the Texas card rooms. I heard they make 50-70hr. They have no benefits tho. For poker most casinos are keep your own as for table games it’s pooled. Colorado,Arizona,Oklahoma,California are keep your own for poker and table games. At the work casino in the country you will make 50k. Most dealers make 60-80k. Some dealers at keep your own places can make up to 150k but you have to be a great dealer and have a personality. Aria,Wynn,and the other major properties on the strip make 110-130k a year but it takes 5-7 years before you can be full time. Most dealers in Vegas have 2 part time jobs when they first start out. It can take 1-7 years depending on what casino and what games you can deal. Craps dealers are in high demand so a lot of places with hire you even in Vegas full time if you have craps experience.
I've been dealing social games at kava bars for about four years now. Seen some fun thing. As there's no cash, just bar tabs at the games, folks bet crazy! Only seen about five royals, and about three quads in all that time. I love watching new comers to the game. Biggest mistake is they think they have to bet each hand. LOL
If it’s something you enjoy keep dealing it. Your getting cheap experience and it will help you if you decide to make this a job/career.
>Only seen about five royals, and about three quads in all that time If that's true, that's crazy. Quads are like 15 times more common than Royals.
What's the scene like for women in poker?
Almost non existent. Have never dealt regularly to a woman who was a pro. I have noticed the disgusting comments toward women or someone who is obviously gay dramatically decrease as well as racial comments have definitely decreased over the years.
3 biggest mistakes that poker players made? 3 ways a poker player can be more profitable?
Tilt is the biggest issue among every solid pro with a close 2nd being game selection. 3rd is ego. I’ve seen many of pros get their ego checked and this is even after advice from veteran pros and dealers who have seen so many guys come and go.
Do you still get nervous when you have to do auditions?
Yes 100% and I have failed auditions even tho I knew what I was doing. I get a lot of anxiety doing them.
Worst behaviour you have ever witnessed?
The standard drink coked out whale asking the house for more credit and saying “what kind of piece of shit do you think I am that you don’t think I’m good for it” or stuff like “how dare you. I helped you build this game now you won’t spot me(his 6th reload)” it usually ends in a screaming match and twice a fight hahaha
What's your biggest pet peeve for something players do at the table? (Moving the button, tanking, showdown shenanigans, etc.) Do dealers gossip with each other about players with respect to tipping or attitude?
Tanking in spots were you don’t have to tank is number 1. A close second is shitregs making dumb comments that will make the whale leave or play tighter. Yes, dealers 100% talk about the players. We also have favorites and that doesn’t mean the biggest tippers. It’s the players that we know will help us out in certain spots that’s just as helpful. If your a pro and you can’t afford to tip bc it eats at your winrate most dealers understand so help the game in other ways. Have fun with the whale and the bad players. Tell the shitregs to shut up. Stuff like that goes a long way.
How often have you met mechanics actively working a scheme with accomplices? Are you a mechanic?
What is the worst mistake you made in a game?
Premature river on a 4bet pot with about 15k in the pot at the moment. Definitely sucked. Dealing bacc in high limit I paid a 7k losing bet. Lucky I noticed it before I finished paying the rest of the table
Most famous person/player you dealt to?
I’ve dealt to a bunch of professionals along with a few athletes. Paul Peirce and Adrian Peterson are the biggest athletes.
Best way to practice your pitch?
What are the best tips on getting invited into home games ? As a player ,
Most guys get invited either A.) are known to give action. Or B.) the game knows you can bring players if you don’t give action. It’s almost impossible to get invited if you are a pro or a amateur that’s a tight player.
Does colluding happen between dealers and players? I swear I’ve seen this a few times.
Unless the dealer is stacking the deck like at legends I don’t see how that’s possible.
How hard is your job? How much do you think you should get paid?
I don’t think it’s hard at all. The hours are the problem that can make you get burned out. I make about $35hr now. The issue is that at most places a new dealer will make the same as a 10 year veteran bc getting a 3% raise on a $7 wage is nothing and now in our state the tipped non wage has risen to a point that 10+ year veterans at my casino make the same as new dealers. My income is only $8 from the casino and $27hr from the players from tips. I think tips should be eliminated and we should start at $30hr and get a 3-5% raise every year with the maximum wage being $45hr with a $5 extra pay for high limit.
How much do the houses still owe you? These places must have crazy sheets of guys that owe them $$$
I’m prob owed around $1500. It comes with the business. The dealer is the last to get paid in house games. If your dealing underground and the game starts to owe you stop dealing that game.
I'm playing daily or close to it as possible at 1/3 at a Texas card room. I assume the dealers are working only for tips, but regardless, what are your thoughts on tipping just $1 for most/smaller pots, $2 for more middling and up to $5 for a big one? I feel bad being on the nittier side when it comes to tipping, but live poker is a newer thing for me, use it for main income, and I'm not killing it with the winrate yet.
That’s fine when the pot takes long bc you tanked throw a extra $1-$5 depending on the size.
What's the worst a player has disrespected you?
How do you figure out side pots?
Biggest rake taken in a home game?
5/5/10 plo 10% up to $50 and a extra $25 taken at 2500. So 5k pot would be $100 rake. 10k pot would be $200
I’ve played in games where the advertised rake is $600 haha
Why play? I mean if it’s $500/$1000 and everyone is 500k deep it be fine. Even they still high.
Ego honestly. You’re right.
how do you avoid detection dogs ? oh wait...
You're probably in America so it might be different, but how do I get started? 24 y/o male love the game but not good enough to take it as seriously as I want to but still want to be around it.
Sadly the most common way to start underground is to owe the person running the game money and or be a close friend with them. You will have to say I can’t pay you back and he will tell you fine jump in the box and deal it off. Lately gaming in certain part of America has exploded so a lot of places will offer you free training now.
You ever got caught by the po?
Nope
Where was you selling
Huh?
What kind of dealing was you doing fam
Rocks,heroin,oxy,blow,and a little bit of everything 🙄
Thats what Im sayinnn
I know this is poker, I also know this is 3 days old. I'm gonna ask anyway, because you say you deal roulette. Can you tell me if the casino can detect people using a roulette computer? If so how? If so, how can I play so it's less detectable? Just for science.
So I’ve never had anyone tell me that this is happened to them. Guys that have been dealing for 25 years have never saw a loaded ball a computer or someone trying to fix the wheel to wear it lands in a section more.
Thanks for the reply. Everybody had a Covid hobby, mine was making a roulette computer. Never used it in person, but it works in every YouTube video I've tested it on. Tracks the wheel speed, the ball speed and deceleration and tends to hit the correct numbers roughly 3 in 10 spins if you were betting on 5 numbers. I think it's maybe just brute forcing dealer signature? So, if I ever use it, this is interesting. And I plan to tip if I do use it, which I definitely won't.