Over the weekend, it became apparent that most folks don’t understand the true role of the dealer when it comes to casino entertainment.
Let me clarify, I’m not talking about casino dealers, I’m talking about casino entertainment dealers. One works at a casino, the other works for events outside of a casino. The latter is the group I’m referring to.
Those of us who are in the business understand our role. We are part entertainer, part bank, and part judge. It is on us to keep the game moving, but to also ensure that everyone have a good time. There’s also another job we have – teacher.
What I’m about to say is more along the lines of a personal philosophy rather than a general rule, which is, it’s my job to give you the most accurate casino experience possible, with fake money. I do this because most of the folks that come to me have never been to a casino or have been too intimidated at a casino to ever play. I make it a point to teach players what they are allowed to do and what they are not. I don’t care if you’re rich or poor, if it’s your event or not. It’s my job to not only entertain you, but to teach you and if you walk away confident on the mechanics enough to step to an actual table, then I have done my job.
As mentioned before, not all dealers adhere to my philosophy. Many of them are there to do a job and go. Others will see that their main role is as an entertainer, nothing more, and while all these approaches have their merit, at the end of the day, what we’re doing is providing a service to benefit the players.
During the week, I dealt at a pretty sizable poker tournament. At my table was a professional basketball player (I will not name names), and he’s was about 7ft tall. I’m only about 5’6, so you can imagine I was the underdog in this. He attempted to bully me. Seriously bully me, declaring it was his table. I looked at him to my immediate right and told him, it was my table, I’m the dealer. He stood up and loomed above me, attempting to intimidate me. I got out of my seat, stood up against him (the top of my head came roughly to the middle of his chest), looked dead at him and said “You do not scare me, I’m from Queens and I went to school in Brooklyn. It’s my table, I’m the dealer.” When he realized I wasn’t going to stand down, he immediately asked me where in Queens I was from and from that point forward, he did not mess with me.
Now, I mention this story is because during the break, I expressed the reasoning behind my behavior. Most players, especially those who have no real interest in winning, play however they choose. They don’t care about the rules, only in having a good time and because they don’t care, they make it difficult for us to do our jobs, which later ticks off everyone. When we are able to sustain the basic roles of the dealer, which is, to be the judge, bank, and entertainer, (and on occasion, the teacher) it allows everyone to have a good time.
