Most casinos require all dealers to have professional training, so if you’d like to make blackjack dealing a career, you’ll need to attend a professional casino school. If you’re playing at home, why not spice up the game with some card tricks? Blackjack pays 3-2 or 1.5x your bet; dealer and player push on a tie; dealer must hit on anything under 17 as well as a soft 17 (ace + 6) player can bet $1, $5, $25 or $100 depending on the table. Be The Dealer offers you the unique option of being the dealer (hence the name). CEG Dealer School trains you to become a confident, employable dealer, proficient in all procedures of Blackjack in order to pass a live audition and/or interview and become a professional Casino Dealer. The CEG blackjack course begins with the rules and objects of the game. That may seem obvious, but sometimes it's hard to smile when you're tired, sick of sniffing.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word tell to mean
(among other things):
“…an unconscious action that is thought to betray an
attempted deception.”
Most people have heard of “tells” from the world of poker,
where players give away their true intentions while attempting
to bluff or act in some other way deceptively. Blackjack players
may not realize that it is possible to find dealer tells that
can make a significant different in game strategy.
You won’t find dealer tells on every hand, but you might find
enough to make a statistical different in your winnings.
Spotting Tells
Spotting tells is all about noticing a person’s mannerisms,
finding patterns in their regular behavior, and looking for
inconsistencies in those patterns. These inconsistencies are
referred to as “tells,” and they generally indicate either a
particularly high or low hand.
Since players can act decisively to change their odds when
the dealer has a high or a low hand, these tells are valuable.
Tells are the best way to know when a player is bluffing, when a
player has nothing, and when a player really does have a
high-value hand.
Why do tells happen?
Human psychology.
Deep down, most of us don’t want to lie, and we can’t cover
up all the physical manifestations of lying when we bluff or try
to cover up the truth. Some people smile when they bluff, others
will wiggle their nose, and others get chatty or aggressive. By
paying a little attention and learning to recognize mannerisms
and vocal patterns that indicate a tell, you can take advantage
of human nature and give yourself a big advantage at the
blackjack table.
Common Blackjack Dealer Tells
These aren’t by any means the only blackjack dealer tells –
they’re just 3 examples of common behaviors that you can look
out for at your next blackjack table:
Smiles and Cheerful Attitudes
Dealers who want to act with players (hoping for big tips)
are happy to bust. This dealer will sometimes even smile or act
cheerfully when they say a low card under a ten, or get upset if
they see a high hole card.
This tell lets you know that the dealer is on your side, and
might even be sloppily giving away a hole card. (We discuss hole
carding in more detail below.)
A dealer who’s happy for you to win can be an asset at the blackjack
tables
You can also use this tell as an opposite measure – dealers
who are against the players are usually happy when you bust out
and sad to see low cards under their aces.
Frequent Hole Card Checking
When you have a dealer checking her hole card two or three
times, you should expect a high hole card. That’s because the
difference between a numeral and a letter is more noticeable,
and they should only need to look once if it’s a numeral.
If instead it’s a face card, she might need to check again to
differentiate a K from an A.
Card Placement
Look where the dealer places her cards after she checks her
hole card – if she places them slightly to her right, it’s a
subtle sign that she has a low hole card and expects to take a
hit from the show.
If she places her deck more toward the center of the table,
she probably has a pat hand and won’t need the extra room it
takes to take a hit from the shoe.
How to Exploit a Blackjack Dealer Tell
If you can read a dealer’s tells, you can tell if the
dealer’s hole card is high or low.
That means you can predict a bust or pat hand, and act
accordingly, with greater insight than the traditional blackjack
strategy chart.
In most casinos, the dealer won’t check her hole card until
after every player has completed their hands. A tell in this
situation is useless. Remember, though, that if the dealer is
showing an ace or any 10-point card, she has to check that hole
card for a blackjack before any other play takes place.
When this happens (about 38% of the time) dealer tells can
make a big difference.
When the dealer checks the hole card, she learns the value of
his hand, and that knowledge exhibits itself in her behavior.
Look for the dealer’s expression to change, watch where her eyes
rest, watch where her hands go, watch to see if she wipes her
brow or picks her nose.
Some players find that hesitating before making a decision
can help draw out a dealer’s tell. Eventually, if you watch
closely enough, a pattern emerges, and if you stay in the game
long enough, you can exploit that pattern.
So how do you exploit it?
Imagine that you’re holding a hand worth 15 against a dealer
10. According to basic strategy, you should surrender. However,
if you can read tells, and you’re confident that the dealer is
holding a bust hand, the better move would be to hold still and
wait to collect your win when he busts.
Hole Carding
One method of taking advantage of a dealer’s mannerisms—hole
carding-doesn’t require any psychology at all.
The simplest definition of hole carding says that it’s “the
act of obtaining knowledge of cards that are supposed to be
hidden from view.”
It means literally looking at the dealer’s hole card at the
right time, hoping for a combination of a sloppy dealer and a
wise and seasoned hole-carder. A player who can see the dealer’s
hole card gains a theoretical advantage against the house of as
much as 13%, depending on strategy.
That’s an unheard of edge on any casino floor.
Is Hole Carding Legal?
Understandably, casinos aren’t happy to find hole carding
going on at their tables.
But the practice seems to be totally legal.
A famous case in 1983 involving the Golden Nugget Casino in
Las Vegas went all the way to Nevada’s Supreme Court. The
justices in that body found that “…the conduct did not
constitute a violation of the cheating statutes.”
That’s because hole carding involves nothing more than
finding a sloppy dealer, sitting in the right place, and looking
in the right place at the right time. There is nothing illegal
about any of that.
The legality of hole carding may not matter much if you get
caught, or if the casino senses that you’re doing something to
manipulate the results. Remember that casinos can kick you out
for any reason (or for no reason at all).
How To Be A Dealer In Blackjack Machines
While it’s not as bad as spending a night in jail or having
your bones broken by a guy named Knuckles, being asked to leave
is embarrassing, and it cuts you off from your juicy dealer tell
or hole carding opportunity.
Now that we’ve learned about hole carding and the law, it’s
time to figure out how to put together a successful hole carding
campaign.
There are just two steps:
- Find a blackjack game and dealer that offers a hole carding opportunity.
- 2Bet accordingly.
Finding Good Blackjack Games for Hole Carding
So how do you scout for good hole carding opportunities?
You look for 3 things:
- Poorly-designed card shuffling machines.
- Poorly-designed casino or table layouts.
- Poorly-trained or sloppy dealers or procedures.
Poorly-designed card shuffling machines
Within a few minutes of Googling, we were able to research
weaknesses in two common shuffling machines (the Shufflemaster
Ace and the iDeal) that make it incredibly easy to read the
dealer’s hole card.
In both cases, the machine itself is manufactured in such a
way as to almost require the reveal of the card.
Poorly-designed casino or table layouts
Casinos and game tables should be designed to put shuffling
machines out of the view of gamblers.
But that’s not always the case.
Shuffler machines designed to sit on top of the table, or
forced on top of the table by the table’s design, are ideal for
the hole-carder. With most shufflers sitting at first base
(thanks to dealer familiarity with dealing from a hoe) they’re
vulnerable from the most positions around the table.
Blackjack Dealer School
It’s almost as if these casinos want the hole card to be
visible.
Poorly-trained or sloppy dealers or procedures
You have to look for a small but consistent and revealing
procedural problem. Some dealers grip the cards the wrong way,
showing just enough of the symbol to give it away. Sometimes
you’ll see dealers raising their cards too high, or turning
their wrist out. All a hole-carder needs is a glimpse of the
hole card to gain an edge.
Advantage gamblers like blackjack because plenty of
mathematicians and other big thinkers have already worked out
the house edge and ideal playing strategies. There’s less
thinking required to stick to proper blackjack strategy than in
a game like poker. Combining an ability to scout for vulnerable
dealers and tables with this built-in rigid strategic system is
a recipe for blackjack success, online or in a traditional
land-based casino.
To succeed at taking advantage of things like dealer tells
and reveals, you have to combine traditional game preparation
with hours of scouting and research and the perfect moment in
time.
Are you looking to become a successful blackjack dealer? Find out the normal blackjack dealer job requirements and what training you need to be a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas or your local casino.
Blackjack Dealer Job Requirements
Requirements for becoming a blackjack dealer can vary from one casino to another. Generally, most casinos will require their blackjack dealers to have attended casino school. Some casinos even have their own dealer schools. In order to become a blackjack dealer you will typically need to apply with the casino and then follow their application requirements. If you already employed by the casino in some capacity you may have a slight advantage over others who are interested in becoming dealers.
In some casinos, you will need to attend an in-house training session. This typically lasts about two weeks; however, once again this can vary from one casino to another. Depending on the casino at which you are applying you may also need to audition in order to become a dealer. This typically involves dealing at a live action game. If you pass the audition, then you will generally be hired as a dealer and then begin work as a blackjack dealer.
See Full List On Wikihow.com
Blackjack Dealer Hours
The hours you will work as a blackjack dealer will also vary from one casino to another; however, it is not uncommon to work long hours. Some blackjack dealers will work ten hour days; working several days on and then having several days off. Many casinos also work what they call mandatory overtime. This means that if the casino is busy and they are short on dealers you must work overtime even if you had other plans. In the reverse of this, there may be times when the casino is not busy and you will be sent home early.
Become a Successful Blackjack Dealer
In order to be an effective and successful blackjack dealer it is best to have good people skills since you will be dealing with people throughout much of your shift. Dealers often find themselves dealing to the same people for hours at a time.
As a dealer you should also be able to count quickly. Math skills are imperative to being a good blackjack dealer. You must be able to handle money, count out chips and deal the game accurately according to house rules.
The amount of money a blackjack dealer can make can vary. In Nevada, where there are certainly a number of casinos, dealers earn the minimum wage. Dealers make their real money through tips. Obviously, tips can vary but it is not uncommonly for a good dealer in a good house to make at least $75,000 per year.
The actual amount of a tip can vary. Some players tip very well, some do not tip at all. The real money is in the average amount of tips that you receive. Many players will tip straight out; however, some players will give the dealer the choice of a straight up tip or the bet of their choice. Taking the bet gives the dealer to make far more than they would with a straight up tip; however, they also run the chance that they will receive nothing.
Blackjack Dealer Tells
In order to be a successful blackjack dealer, it is important to always be aware of any tells you may be giving out. Savvy players are well aware that they can be on the lookout for tells from the blackjack dealers in order to improve their advantage.
Every dealer tends to have his own tells; however, there are some tells that tend to be quite common among dealers. For example, if the dealer has a hole card then it is common for the dealer to accidentally reveal this. When a dealer has a stiff card he or she may lift the card slightly more than normal just to make sure that the card is not an Ace. Likewise, if the dealer has a paint card then he or she may need to take a quick look at the under card. If the under card is a paint, the dealer’s glance at the card will usually be briefer than it was a number card.