Old Time Pitbossing or "the magical shuffle and dealer".

I thought I'd share a page of this old pitboss handbook I found. This actually teaches the magic voodoo of how casinos win at table games. There are still so many "professionals" out there that still feel this way it's amazing.



Mark

Sounds like this was written by someone who knows that the house does not have any house edge at all while the dealer is shuffling.

That is crazy. Shows how many morons work in Casinos. Do you know what year the handbook is from? If it's from any time in the last 20 years some Casino needed a new Table Games Manager.

Actually, that document shows pretty decent - in fact, very decent - common sense advice:
1. Don't sweat the money. The house always makes its money past its temporary and normal ups-and-downs. Players sometimes win, and this is normal.
2. Don't blame an innocent dealer for these normal table game ups-and-downs.

I've been a dealer for years, and this advice is spot-on.

I love stuff like this. Is it actually a book, or just a few pages? When was it written, can you post more of it? "The house shuffle was designed to run in waves...' The 'house shuffle', what the heck is that. They have a special way to make the cards run in waves? What bunk..

House shuffles are the ways and methods of shuffling a deck: split, riffle, box, how many of each per shuffle, and in what order.
Shuffling a deck randomizes the cards - along with playing outs the cards, too.
A truly randomized deck by any method would produce sessions of both wins and losses. The writer was describing variance. A truly stacked deck wouldn't have "waves" or variance, and would be consistent in one side's favor.

I am with Paigowdan, don't see anything outrageous about this excerpt. Some passages sound naive (justifiable, provided that they are written for pit bosses, most of whom are not really the sharpest tools in the shed), but nothing seems to be completely wrong or crazy.

What I found interesting about this is that it seems to suggest that the dealer wants the players to lose (to avoid being pulled, which would "hurt his self-confidence"), which goes contrary to what I usually hear - that dealer is on my side. Not that it matters for the result, but, I guess, I just find it more enjoyable to play with a friend rather than against an enemy. I guess, I need to forget about about this thread ASAP :)

Quote: Paigowdan

Shuffling a deck randomizes the cards -.

Well, yeah, thats rather the point. But the 'house shuffle' doesn't doesn't avoid clumping, thats impossible. The person who wrote the handbook hints that it does.

Quote: weaselman

What I found interesting about this is that it seems to suggest that the dealer wants the players to lose ....

Yes, let's don't lose sight of the fact that this reveals the casino attitude that the players should never win over the course of a shift, and that there are some things to do about it.

I suppose to some degree this reflects legitimate concern that someone may be cheating and it's worth monitoring. But there's no doubt in my mind that many pit bosses though start to feel pressure to "turn in good results" and that to say it was an unlucky shift for the house is not an acceptable excuse for someone wanting to keep his job.

You guys that think this document is "spot on" are completely insane. What the document says is:

"The house shuffle was designed to run in waves, having higher points and low points" - Any shuffle at any Casino will have this! Cards are random. Neither the Dealer, Pit Boss or shuffler know how many players are going to be sitting at the table or jumping in and out of the game. Anyone who says they can shuffle a special way to make people win or lose is a moron.

"Keep this in mind when your cards hit the lows and give the house shuffle and your Dealer's a chance to work." - The only thing that works are random cards. The Dealer or shuffle can't work any harder or less hard to change this.

"Make sure you have all the information possible about a table that you are considering a change on." - More old school crap. Cards are cards. Switching Dealer's mid push or faster than would be normal just ends up pissing a player that's winning off and makes many of them want to leave and go somewhere else. You have to take the winners with the losers. Blackjack wins in the long run. If you can't handle someone fairly winning $10,000, $20,000, $100,000, get out of the business.

"Be aware of the table percentages. Yes, table 8 has lost $1,000 of the lead we had, but the table is still up 15% of the buy ins. There's really no need for change. - Of course there's no need for change... It won't make a bit of difference! The change could bring a temporary swing toward the house or to the player, the same as no change. The Pit Bosses job should be to make sure all games are being dealt and played fairly. House edge takes care of the rest no matter who is dealing.

The whole last section titled "Other things to avoid when making changes" is just laughable and not even worth commenting on.

If any Pit Boss under me ever talked or acted like this document suggests I would give them one chance to see the light and then they'd be packing there bags after that for complete idiocy. I don't know if that's a termination reason on my paperwork, but I'd find something close.

Zcore13

Quote: Zcore13

You guys that think this document is "spot on" are completely insane.

The document's perfectly fine, and it's also unimportant and means nothing, - so just get over it.
What case or conspiracy are you trying to prove?....There's nothing earth-shattering over here...

Quote: Zcore13

"The house shuffle was designed to run in waves, having higher points and low points" - Any shuffle at any Casino will have this! Cards are random. Neither the Dealer, Pit Boss or shuffler know how many players are going to be sitting at the table or jumping in and out of the game. Anyone who says they can shuffle a special way to make people win or lose is a moron.

That's what the document also said, that it's random, not stacked. ALL randomly shuffled decks of cards have variance - or "waves." If the deck was stacked, or crooked, wouldn't it be consistently favoring one side? This is fine.

Quote: Zcore13

"Keep this in mind when your cards hit the lows and give the house shuffle and your Dealer's a chance to work." - The only thing that works are random cards. The Dealer or shuffle can't work any harder or less hard to change this.

The author was saying this. He was advising the pit bosses to give random cards a chance, and to not blame the dealer.

Quote: Zcore13

"Make sure you have all the information possible about a table that you are considering a change on." - More old school crap. Cards are cards. Switching Dealer's mid push or faster than would be normal just ends up pissing a player that's winning off and makes many of them want to leave and go somewhere else. You have to take the winners with the losers. Blackjack wins in the long run. If you can't handle someone fairly winning $10,000, $20,000, $100,000, get out of the business.

Having information on a table (who the player is, what he is betting, how long he's been there, etc...) is not old school crap. It's good advice to go into a situation knowing what the facts are before you take action, such as making changes. It's common sense, perfectly fine.

Quote: Zcore13

"Be aware of the table percentages. Yes, table 8 has lost $1,000 of the lead we had, but the table is still up 15% of the buy ins. There's really no need for change. - Of course there's no need for change... It won't make a bit of difference! The change could bring a temporary swing toward the house or to the player, the same as no change. The Pit Bosses job should be to make sure all games are being dealt and played fairly. House edge takes care of the rest no matter who is dealing.

And that's what the author was saying, too.

Zcore, what is your experience in the gaming industry?
I think if you had experience in the gaming industry, you recognize this document as trying to get away from "old school" gaming.

Old school Gaming is to:
1. Be superstitious,
2. SWEAT the money,
3. blame the innocent dealer, and
4. make unnecessary changes.
That's Old School, for your information.

This document advises pit bosses and floormen:
1. NOT to be superstitious,
2. don't sweat the money,
3. don't blame the dealer,
4. don't make any unnecessary changes, and
5. show up at the table knowing ALL the facts.

Very Fine advice.

Quote: Paigowdan

Old school Gaming is to:
1. Be superstitious,
2. SWEAT the money,
3. blame the innocent dealer, and
4. make unnecessary changes.
That's Old School, for your information.

This document advises pit bosses and floormen:
1. NOT to be superstitious,
2. don't sweat the money,
3. don't blame the dealer,
4. don't make any unnecessary changes, and
5. show up at the table knowing ALL the facts.

Very Fine advice.

Agreed. But it's pretty odd/funny that the memo is written as though it's the seminal work in the field of New School pit supervision. It's also pretty patronizing. And it's downright strange to say that the dealer's confidence would be shaken if a player happened to win. As if dealers attempt to affect the game to the house's benefit...

There's a lot of clowns in every industry, - and the author was no genius, - but he gave some good "don't sweat the money" advice.

The document was from a while ago, when dealers feared floor supervision, and floormen wanted it that way. (They still do, but they don't get it).

All I read from the document: How to look busy by doing nothing of importance.

Here is what the document could have said...

"Make sure you know what is happening at your tables. If the game is being dealt fair and being played fair, let the chips fall where they may. Don't sweat the money, change dealers or shuffle any different whether someone is beating us for $100,000 or losing $100,000."

There, I just saved 500 words and didn't demean any dealers by saying I need to boost their confidence when someone is winning. I also didn't say anything stupid like "Making unnecessary changes throws your consistancy right out the window." What the heck does that mean? A dealer change does not throw anything out the window. The cards are still random.

I stand by my statement that just about everything in the document is small minded and procedurely lame. And for the record I have been a Dealer and Pit Boss in the past and am currently a Table Games Shift Manager. A few players on here know me and know I treat them good whether they are winning or losing.

Quote: Zcore13

And for the record I have been a Dealer and Pit Boss in the past and am currently a Table Games Shift Manager.

Absolutely Wow....and I actually thought you were a gaming industry newbie....sorry! :)

As a fellow industry worker, we have to know that our industry is filled with "well-intentioned knuckleheads who are trying very hard," and that document sample was, well, a typical example: very good advice, but a bit shallow. WTH.
The advice to treat dealers decently is actually very good advice, as we have ALL seen in this industry a floorman berating an innocent dealer simply because a player has had a winning night. If the dealer isn't stacking the cards or is dealing seconds, why berate him?

Zcore, with your experience - have you taken your hand in writing up some good Casino Operations Manuals and handbooks?

It's a very hard thing to do well, with easy criticism all around. A very back-biting industry. The Hollywood Insider has nothing on Gaming.

Sometimes criticism has to be tough, ruthless, as a reality check.
But the "I can do better!" claim is often met with "show us your Pearls!" retort.

I like the part about not taking a losing dealer off the game and keeping a wining dealer on the game. In other words, just keep the dealers working regardless. I don't think the wining dealers will appreciate a two hour wining streak with no breaks.

Paigowdan... I fight the battle all the time and will continue to fight the battle wherever I work. I treat the Pit Bosses with respect and they are expected to treat the Dealers with respect. And everyone treats the players with respect. No switching dealers, no cutting the shoe in half, no changing of shuffles. As I mentioned, if the player is not cheating and the Dealer is not cheating I wish every player good luck and really hope they win. We all know the odds won't allow that, but if I've had days where I took a beating on every table just about every hour. If the Pit Boss does anything else but make sure everything is fair and laugh at the dumb luck, we've got a problem.

Oh, and yes, I help with policies and procedures. There are a few of us that all put our heads together when it's time to add or edit them. I usually lean toward player comfort and procedures that use common sense.