What do you do when the dealer makes a mistake?

If a dealer makes a mistake on my hand like paying a push I will point it out as subtly as possible if I catch it right away. If the dealer has already moved on and collected cards I'll leave the mistake out on the table giving the dealer his best chance to see his mistake and correct it. If correction of the mistake would require the pitboss to be called I will take the mistake and keep it. It's not really that I want to keep it, I just don't want the dealer to get into any kind of trouble. If it's a mistake on someone else's hand I say nothing.

I play stupid and keep it.

Yeah, mistakes happen. And if the mistake was in the casino's favor and I didn't catch it? What happens then? So if it's in my favor and THEY don't catch it? Ka-CHING! Bonus for me.

Note that this applies to other areas of life too.

If, for example, a grocery store cashier rings something up wrong, in my favor, bonus for me.


ON THE OTHER HAND, if she give me the wrong change, even if it's in my favor, I'll point it out.

Why? Because there is far more scrutiny and accountability at the end of the shift when they count the drawer and compare it to the total that is supposed to be there.

So, if that's how I handle cash mistakes at a casher, why are chip mistakes at a table different? Because there is no 'register tape' that has an exact accounting of what's supposed to be in the rack.



However, and this was the case in one of the Wiz's older "Ask the Wiz" columns: If security comes around and tells me there was an error and I owe $x, I'd pay, and not hold a grudge. Of course, I'd probably ask to see the video first....

Depends. Seems to me that the crews don't particularly like it when you point out mistakes that favor the player. It makes them look bad and of course they don't care, not really. But an error involving a lot of money, yeah, personally I feel I would point it out.

It would probably take me two days to notice a mistake having been made and even then I would not be certain of it. I (number seven) once droped 4 greens down to the dealer and asked for a stack of reds. He obtained a stack of reds and gave it to player number three, who promptly took up that stack and the other chips that had been pushed over to him and left the table somewhat hurriedly.

I wasn't sure that was my stack and hesitated to speak up but soon asked the dealer and it seems that is what happened. I don't know if the dealer lost his job for something like that or not. I hope not.

I figure security is the casino's job. I would have spoken up if I had been more certain but it I was in doubt and it was all over before I really woke up to what was going on.

I got my money so I don't really care too much.

If I notice an error that affects me I usually speak up but am usually wrong.

Normally the Venetian doesn't make an error but once the dealer did fail to notice my Don'tPass bet which should have travelled to the SIX and then been paid. I spoke up, he announced to his Boxman "this is for the previous roll" and paid it for the camera's benefit and gave me the money he owed me. No problems when you speak up.

Once I thought the BJ dealer had made a mistake and so did the player at the other end of the table. He spoke up and I seconded it as the floor stepped over. Floor reached into the discards and backtracked. No dealer error at all despite player at first base and at third base each claiming the same miscounthad been made. I tipped the dealer immediately while the floor was still there to see it.

Mistakes happen on all games. I've heard but don't know for sure that a surveillance guy once phoned the pit and asked why a dealer with 21 had paid everyone at the table and the pit replied "because he is at a three card poker table".

IF they make a mistake and it benefits me I'm just going to keep my mouth shut and be happy. Why would you point out a dealer mistake in your favor?

Quote: JimMorrison

IF they make a mistake and it benefits me I'm just going to keep my mouth shut and be happy. Why would you point out a dealer mistake in your favor?

To be honest, that's why. Yep it is the best policy. I'm not "holier than thou" I do the same thing, with a certain feeling it evens out ... I explain above. But if it is an amount that really matters I don't cheat *anybody* ever.

First, I will point out any mistake made on paying my bets, whether in my favor or not. It's just the right thing to do, period.

One time, a mistake was made on my buy-in. As $200 in red chips were coming my way, I asked for a stack of white. I made a pass line bet and started arranging the chips on the rails. I made a come bet. Then I noticed something didn't look right. Accounting for bets made, I was $20 short. I double-checked my math, and I was certain I was right. I pointed out the mistake to the dealer, but I had muddied the issue by making bets, and, by this time winning on a come bet. I held up the game (apologies to fellow shooters) and finally they offered to review the tape. I continued to play, certain that the review of the tape would result in the $20 being pushed my way. It didn't. To this day, I am convinced I was right.

Lessons learned - they may be obvious to some, but I paid $20 for them.

1. Always check your buy-in before you start betting.
2. If you buy in with a bet, e.g. 5 on the line, 27 across, check your change quickly.
3. If you think there was a mistake, stop betting immediately. If you win, leave it on the table against the wall. (Or some other non-betting area, segregated from your other chips for other games.)
4. Notify the dealer as soon as you think a mistake was made. Their response will be the same no matter how long you took to convince yourself, and the longer you wait, the more mixed up things will get.
5. If you turn out to be wrong, apologize. This might be a good time to hand in a tip.
6. Corollary: When I color in, I almost always know exactly how much I should be getting.

In the UK if a dealer makes a mistake in favour of the player (depending on the amount) the pit boss or inspector (someone who watches the dealers and reports to the put boss) may choose to ignore it.

If a mistake is made in favour of the house it is always refunded after a review of the tape with an apology.

When a dealer makes a mistake here, the dealer isnt villified, or at risk of losing their job unless the mistakes are consistent.

Quote: seattledice

Always check your buy-in before you start betting.
When I color in, I almost always know exactly how much I should be getting.

Definitely. Once a stick said 'short stack' indicating he thought the dealer was underpaying me on my buy-in, but the dealer said "its 80" indicating I had bought in for 80 dollars not 100. Atleast someone was watching and spoke up even though there had been no error.

As for knowing exactly what you are due and watching them like a hawk at coloring up, I don't know if its necessary in Vegas but on these Day Cruise Gambling Boats it surely is. I think I got "taxed" during Coloring Up once in Biloxi too. By all means do your own counting first and be absolutely certain.

Quote: FleaStiff

By all means do your own counting first and be absolutely certain.

Sounds so simple but great advice. You won't realize how great until it happens to you and you wish you'd payed closer attention.

And I would add that you should do the same thing before handing your chips over at the cage, and also after getting your cash at the cage. Once I was in a hurry, knew how much I had in chips but was talking to my friends nearby (who were waiting on me) and I just grabbed my cash and left. Only after getting out of the cab to pay at the next casino did I realize I'd been shorted.

On additional reason I would keep my mouth shut: Because I don't want the dealer to get in trouble.


On that note, I once told a dealer about a BIG mistake he was making.

I was playing BJ, doing well, and betting $1 on many hands.

I ht a BJ. Other dealers would swap the $1 toke chip for a $2.50 chip, and drop that into the toke box. This particular dealer ADDED $2.50 to the $1, dropping $3.50!

I didn't say anything, becuase I assumed it was a one-time thing.

A few minutes later the same thing happened, but I still wasn't sure.

The third time it happened. I stopped the game to tell him what he did wrong. It took him a moment for it to sink in that he made a mistake -repeatedly. And he thanked me for pointing it out.

I then asked if he keeps the tips or if they are pooled. He laughed. Yeah, they are pooled. So his mistake probably netted him an extra two cents that week. Woo hoo! Certainly not something he wanted to continue doing and risk his job!

The same casino jilted me a couple of times in a row and ruled against me in both cases. I no longer go to that casino. I apologize in advance as I was playing let it ride and four card poker.

In the case of let it ride, the dealer reversed the order that the cards were played, and therefore, I wasn't able to "let ride" a hand that I should have had he played the cards right. The pit's response was that the manual said that playing the hand out of order was legal and that the payouts were appropriate.

In the case of four card, the dealer skipped a hand and ended up giving a four of a kind (worth $790) to the hand that I would have received. Before anyone looked at the hands and even before the dealer received their cards, I noticed the mistake and rather than moving the cards to the correct players, the pit ruled to play the hand "as is".

I realize that the casino has a right to be correct in its assessment and very well could be. But it left me with quite a bit of bitterness. Now I choose to go to a casino that treats me well and handles error in a better way.

I notice that with craps tables, especially if you are a regular, errors that you point out are usually corrected without question. If errors do come out in my favour (one common one is that the hardways stay up after a soft number was thrown -- I do not correct these errors because everyone else loses as well), I usually toss the error as a tip.

DJ Teddy and I are on the same page...

If the casino makes an error in the player's favor, I keep quiet. If the kid at the fast food place makes a mistake, I'll give it back. Perhaps not a perfect system, but I sleep just fine at night.

Also, I recently played at the only 3:2 BJ table the Imperial Palace had running. On several instances, the dealers paid naturals at 6:5. I imagine they were accustomed to the other table rules and simply forgot...as soon as I mentioned something, the issue was resolved quickly and without fuss.

Errors are usually small and inconsequential. I know that there are people who try and exploit dealer weaknesses, and some claim that they have "tells". The "tells" must be subtle because they have no emotional attachment to the outcome. Sometimes the novice players show their down card with a clumsy deal. I expect that there will come a day when the pays will all be electronic.