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Gaming Guru
The best and worst craps dealers5 September 2011
Craps is a communal game where most of the players are rooting for the shooter to make his point, hit a bunch of numbers and win everyone some money. Handling the game are two dealers, a third dealer acting as stick person, and a box person. Often these individuals can make or break the fun the players have. So who are the best dealers and who are worst dealers? The best dealers are the ones who are professional and act friendly. They act as if the game they are dealing right now, this second, is important to them. They act as if they want the players to win and they act as if they are enjoying the good roll as much as the players are. They talk to the players who want to talk. They laugh and joke. They help the new players understand what is going on. They act accessible. They thank the players when they tip. They act just like you and me even though they are on the casino side of the table. Note please that I consistently use the word "act" because a truly great dealer doesn't actually have to feel everything he projects; he just has to act as if he feels it. The job of a dealer is routine and he has to deal with many an annoying and many an obnoxious player. That is tough, as anyone who has worked with the public knows. One creep can ruin an entire day. So dealers who can overcome the obnoxious ploppies at the tables and let us think they are enjoying themselves as we are enjoying ourselves or, conversely, let us think they are feeling bad when we are feeling bad are the very best of the best. They make the game a fun happening for the players and these players will return time after time to play at such dealers' tables. That's good for the players and it is obviously good for the casino as well. A happy player becomes a returning player. In my experience, the majority of dealers fall into or near the best category. To last as a dealer, the person must have a little bit of charm and a lot of character. There are plenty of just such dealers at the craps tables across America. So who are the worst dealers? Oh, their characteristics compose of legion of human foibles. The worst dealers rarely show any interest in the game being played. They ignore the players and crosstalk with each other while the game is going on. Players sometimes have to state more than once what bets they want the dealer to place. These "worst of the worst" dealers think nothing of deriding players, too, and are prone to many an eye roll or sarcastic shake of the head. I have noted some dealers and box people will scold players who take care with their setting of the dice and their careful rolls by saying such things as "You know what you are doing doesn't work" or "You took one of those stupid classes." Of course, almost all rolls of almost all players don't work in the long run, but why badger a player by scolding him for trying to win? Why act as if you don't want him to win? Why mock him? That certainly isn't going to make a player love the idea of returning to that particular casino. When the shooter gets on a long roll -- a roll that will inevitably cause the dealers to work hard placing and paying bets -- the worst dealers do not act at all happy. Instead they get grumpy and snap at the players, especially the older players who might have forgotten what bets they have on the crowded layout. You will not see them beam; you will not hear them cheer when a point is hit; you will not see them act as if something good is happening to the players at their tables. In fact, they project a complete boredom with the game and they act as if all the players are the same as the obnoxious ploppies they often have to deal with. They have not learned the valuable lesson that the best dealers have learned. They have not learned they cannot transfer their dislike of ploppies to non-ploppy players because that doesn't do them or the players or the casino any good. Few customers hunger to return to a casino where they have been ignored, scolded or mistreated. The worst dealers will often not even say a small "thank you" for a tip or they will say it so quickly you might not hear it if you weren't listening for it. A big thank you for tips might encourage the majority of players who rarely or never tip to indeed put one out for the crew. The worst dealers essentially set up walls between themselves and the players. They act superior, condescending and aloof as if what the players are doing is unimportant as opposed to what the players are doing allows such dealers to have an income. I guess in all facets of life we have the best and the worst. It really isn't that hard to be the best if you just learn one simple word -- act! This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Recent Articles
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