Monte Carlo Dealer training -- need feedback
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September 30th, 2013 at 12:34:56 PM
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Next week I will be helping train some dealers on new games on the "monte carlo night" level. I have a pretty good idea of what I will cover and how I will handle things on my end, but some feedback and discussion can't hurt. My guess is training will be on Blackjack, Poker, and Let-It-Die, in that order.
Unless I get direct orders the way I cover it is this: (all games)
Blackjack:
I plan to stress how important hand motion is in the deal, smooth motion from the shoe to the table. Deal left to right, collect and pay right to left, handle players one by one, splits/DD/BJ, etc. Additionally, I plan to show the right way to handle chips and that dealers size-in wins and never "count" the payout (we pay 2:1 BJ so easy to size.)
As to player relations I always stress "control your table" and while people have fun that if you let the bets get out of hand you will get run over. I usually give commonsense advice about this, explaining to err cautiously at first and eventually they will get the feel of when they can do certain things. (Remember, this is for fun and *NOT* a real casino with real money.) I have good examples of how to act, and making it fun but nor anarchy is an art.
I may suggest learning the game at hit-or-stand and getting a strategy card from WOO.
Poker:
99% of what we deal is Hold'em so my plan is to explain the game and how dealing poker differs from table games. An issue we get is some players have no clue and some are serious so a dealer cannot help newbies as much. Side pots are the hardest thing here but I can explain it. As to learning rank of hands I will explain it and tell them to make up a study card and memorize.
Let-It-Die:
I will just hope a piano falls on me walking in from my car.
Craps/Roulette:
Doubt it will be an issue as there are enough regulars and "can do's" for roulette and all of our craps dealers have casino-grade training.
So, any feedback or struggles you remember when learning things?
Unless I get direct orders the way I cover it is this: (all games)
Blackjack:
I plan to stress how important hand motion is in the deal, smooth motion from the shoe to the table. Deal left to right, collect and pay right to left, handle players one by one, splits/DD/BJ, etc. Additionally, I plan to show the right way to handle chips and that dealers size-in wins and never "count" the payout (we pay 2:1 BJ so easy to size.)
As to player relations I always stress "control your table" and while people have fun that if you let the bets get out of hand you will get run over. I usually give commonsense advice about this, explaining to err cautiously at first and eventually they will get the feel of when they can do certain things. (Remember, this is for fun and *NOT* a real casino with real money.) I have good examples of how to act, and making it fun but nor anarchy is an art.
I may suggest learning the game at hit-or-stand and getting a strategy card from WOO.
Poker:
99% of what we deal is Hold'em so my plan is to explain the game and how dealing poker differs from table games. An issue we get is some players have no clue and some are serious so a dealer cannot help newbies as much. Side pots are the hardest thing here but I can explain it. As to learning rank of hands I will explain it and tell them to make up a study card and memorize.
Let-It-Die:
I will just hope a piano falls on me walking in from my car.
Craps/Roulette:
Doubt it will be an issue as there are enough regulars and "can do's" for roulette and all of our craps dealers have casino-grade training.
So, any feedback or struggles you remember when learning things?
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
September 30th, 2013 at 12:46:17 PM
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Start with the basics, just in case.
Casino attire.
Arriving for shift and rotation.
Approaching the table and its prior dealer to tap-in. Which side to approach from, etc.
I'd place some degree of stress on the Keep It Official attitude. Yeah, its play money for a charity, but it all goes on the layout, nothing is passed by hand. Of course there are NO cameras, but the dealers act as if there were, giving a professional aura of a real casino in Vegas which the players generally seem to enjoy.
Size in and Drop Count can be covered as needed.
Your love of Let It Ride is part of the official Vegas routine!
Casino attire.
Arriving for shift and rotation.
Approaching the table and its prior dealer to tap-in. Which side to approach from, etc.
I'd place some degree of stress on the Keep It Official attitude. Yeah, its play money for a charity, but it all goes on the layout, nothing is passed by hand. Of course there are NO cameras, but the dealers act as if there were, giving a professional aura of a real casino in Vegas which the players generally seem to enjoy.
Size in and Drop Count can be covered as needed.
Your love of Let It Ride is part of the official Vegas routine!
September 30th, 2013 at 1:18:38 PM
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Quote: FleaStiffStart with the basics, just in case.
Casino attire.
Arriving for shift and rotation.
Approaching the table and its prior dealer to tap-in. Which side to approach from, etc.
All good except the tap-in, which we do not do as we sit one table the entire 2-3 hour shift. Which, BTW, after you do you realize why dealers are rotated so much!
Quote:I'd place some degree of stress on the Keep It Official attitude. Yeah, its play money for a charity, but it all goes on the layout, nothing is passed by hand. Of course there are NO cameras, but the dealers act as if there were, giving a professional aura of a real casino in Vegas which the players generally seem to enjoy.
Most players do, though I've had a few get slightly confuses. But I am the kind who really can put on an act if I put my mind to it.
Quote:Your love of Let It Ride is part of the official Vegas routine!
You may enjoy this story then! I was on BJ and was chatting with another dealer when our pit boss walks up and is going over games. To set the stage, the dealer I was talking to was a pit boss on Freemont back in the day. A real "street smart" guy with loads of stories. So he and I are talking said pit boss after he walks up either asks or "remembers" I know Let-It-Die. When I confirm he puts me on it and walks away.
I say to the other guy, "What did I do wrong?" The other guy laughed like crazy as he knows it is a dealer penalty box of sorts.
Is it my imagination or does LIR make time crawl?
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
September 30th, 2013 at 6:35:47 PM
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I view the poker training as the most troublesome. In the other games, a dealer screw-up can be fixed by giving a player some money out of the rack, if appropriate.
With poker, a dealer mistake invariably helps one player while hurting another, with no simple fix other than to follow some established rules.
If time permits, have your poker dealers read the relevant sections of Robert's Rules of Poker. There's also a Robert's Rules App for that.
I deal tournament style No Limit Hold-Em for a pub league. Long before I took the job, I became proficient in playing. Not necessarily a winning player, but one who knew the rules and procedures.
It amazes me to see all the players that don't know simple rules or procedures. Like who is supposed to be big and small blind or when there is no small blind. And to not act out of turn.
But I'll pass along the dealer advice the person training me gave me: Know where the button and blinds are supposed to be. Surprisingly, this really is key to becoming a great dealer.
Knowing that a flush beats a straight seems important, but it's really not. Should there need to be a decision about it, the players will know, and if not, the dealer can call you over.
Similarly, knowing how to split pots is not that important. The dealer can ask for help.
Other things a dealer needs to know are how to recognize a raise, how to recognize a string bet, and how the One Chip rule applies in various situations.
Does a minimum raise mean the raiser has to double the prior bet, or just the prior raise? I.E. If the blinds are $1/$2 and there's a raise to $6, is the next raise a minimum bet of $10 or $12? If the next raise is $10 and a player puts in 2 $5 chips, is that a call of the $6 bet or an implied raise? If the prior bet is $15 and a player puts out five $5 chips, is that an implied raise to $30 or reduced to a $15 call? These are the types of questions I tend to ask whenever I go to a poker room I haven't been to recently. Amazingly, I don't always get consistent answers from the staff members.
Lastly, don't allow players to make change out of the pot, or out of another player's bet. I've seen more pots get screwed up by incorrect change.
I could go on, but I hope you get the idea...
With poker, a dealer mistake invariably helps one player while hurting another, with no simple fix other than to follow some established rules.
If time permits, have your poker dealers read the relevant sections of Robert's Rules of Poker. There's also a Robert's Rules App for that.
I deal tournament style No Limit Hold-Em for a pub league. Long before I took the job, I became proficient in playing. Not necessarily a winning player, but one who knew the rules and procedures.
It amazes me to see all the players that don't know simple rules or procedures. Like who is supposed to be big and small blind or when there is no small blind. And to not act out of turn.
But I'll pass along the dealer advice the person training me gave me: Know where the button and blinds are supposed to be. Surprisingly, this really is key to becoming a great dealer.
Knowing that a flush beats a straight seems important, but it's really not. Should there need to be a decision about it, the players will know, and if not, the dealer can call you over.
Similarly, knowing how to split pots is not that important. The dealer can ask for help.
Other things a dealer needs to know are how to recognize a raise, how to recognize a string bet, and how the One Chip rule applies in various situations.
Does a minimum raise mean the raiser has to double the prior bet, or just the prior raise? I.E. If the blinds are $1/$2 and there's a raise to $6, is the next raise a minimum bet of $10 or $12? If the next raise is $10 and a player puts in 2 $5 chips, is that a call of the $6 bet or an implied raise? If the prior bet is $15 and a player puts out five $5 chips, is that an implied raise to $30 or reduced to a $15 call? These are the types of questions I tend to ask whenever I go to a poker room I haven't been to recently. Amazingly, I don't always get consistent answers from the staff members.
Lastly, don't allow players to make change out of the pot, or out of another player's bet. I've seen more pots get screwed up by incorrect change.
I could go on, but I hope you get the idea...
I invented a few casino games. Info:
http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ —————————————————————————————————————
Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
September 30th, 2013 at 6:51:41 PM
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Sadly, you biggest challenge will be finding dealers that will not steal from you.
Good luck- you're gonna need it.
Good luck- you're gonna need it.
Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see.
September 30th, 2013 at 7:38:24 PM
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Remind the dealers to pay tall stacked wagers in higher value chips. I also hope you don't get a dealer who wants to flip cards backwards.
For LIR, get the dealers to encourage the players to leave their cards on the table between the player tucking the cards and the dealer revealing for resolution. The players think it speeds the game along, when in fact it slows things down.
Good luck with training!
'Brian
For LIR, get the dealers to encourage the players to leave their cards on the table between the player tucking the cards and the dealer revealing for resolution. The players think it speeds the game along, when in fact it slows things down.
Good luck with training!
'Brian
