The Dealer’s
NOT the DEVIL – just works for him...
(11 January 2008)
by Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark: Why do all dealers hate giving
away the house’s money? It’s not theirs, so
why should they care? Marcus R.
“All” is such a vastly embracing word. Are
there some dealers sweatin’ the money as if
it were their own pirated loot? You betcha!
But I would still bet a dollar to a Krispy
Kreme that the tradition-setting majority
have no problem giving away the wampum of
the man upstairs, because a) they know over
time, the money will always swing back the
casino’s way, regardless, and, most
importantly, b) they don’t get paid mucho
dollars sitting there watching the casino
raking in millions, so in fact, they WANT
you to win. Winning players tip more, and
their generosity is the lion’s share of a
dealer’s income.
Dear Mark:
About 10 years ago at Mystic Lake, MN casino, I
was playing second base on a six-deck game. By
accident, the dealer exposed both of his cards
and he had an 18. There was a kid at 3B who had
a 17 and waves it off. The rest of us adults at
table tell him, "Kid, if you don't hit it, you
lose." He said, "But you're not supposed to hit
a 17.” We finally talked him into hitting it and
he got a three. I have told this story 100 times
and at least three people I told it to said they
would have sacrificed their hand and not taken a
hit so as not to mess up the card flow. Andy G.
Some believe it’s
cheating when a dealer accidentally exposes a
card and you use that information. It’s not.
Your story though reminds me of once when I was
dealing Double Exposure, (that’s the version of
blackjack where both the dealer cards are dealt
face-up), and both a newbie and myself had a 20.
He angrily refused taking another card stating;
“My momma didn’t raise no idiot. I’d never hit a
20.” My friendly tip, “Pushes lose on this
game,” drew this clueless response, “Duh, so?”
“All-righty, then,” I said, as my left hand slid
in snatching his money.
It actually happens more than you think, Andy;
at least 3% of the time based on your
one-time unscientific survey.
Dear Mark:
While playing blackjack, I had a $100 bet on the
layout in which I won, but the dealer pushed it.
As I was running the true outcome in my head,
the dealer scooped up the cards and the preceded
to deal the next hand. Do I have any recourse
after the hand has been completed to challenge
the payoff of a previous hand? Rick W.
Ideally, Rick,
you should challenge the hand when the cards are
still on the layout. If the cards are already in
the discard rack, it doesn’t hurt to politely
ask to speak with a pit supervisor and see if
they would run back the cards from the previous
hand. It’s easily done because the dealer’s pay,
take and scoop skills are so repetitive that the
backed up cards will generally produce an
accurate re-creation of the previous hand.
Also, although
you are not necessarily entitled to it, the
decision whether or not to review the tape, that
is, if they are actually videoing that
particular game, would likely depend on the
amount of money involved and your value to the
casino as a player.
And then there’s
always the philanthropic pit boss (I was one of
those) who would instruct the dealer to “just
give him his money back,” knowing full well the
casino will probably win it back on the next
hand.
Gambling
Wisdom of the Week: “Marriages may come and
go, but the game must go on.” -- Felix "The Odd
Couple" Unger
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