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THE CASINO CRAPS DEALERS OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM
One third of the daily messages in my inbox will be someone asking me for advice on all kinds of issues and problems that one encounters as they are learning or entering the casino business. As I mentioned in the introduction page of the site... I'm NOT an expert! On the
other hand, I have yet to meet one. Everyone in this business
Believe it or
not Blackjack is not as easy as it looks. It's just as stressful for BJ dealers
and craps dealers alike. There are very few good BJ dealers. But that's
another story. Major strip resorts want multi game dealers. Most resorts have no
problem teaching a craps dealer how to deal on live card games but are very reluctant
on teaching craps in a casino for obvious reasons. Dealing dice is not the
As a break-in dealer you should use your inside hand only if you are 'running stacks down'- Let's say the player buys in for fifty dollars, you can use your inside hand to cut $45 (red) and your outside to pick five $1 chips thus using both hands.
You sir are correct, you should always set the odds bet on the dont pass so that it's the first bet that gets paid followed by the flat bet.
They don't want you to turn your shoulder away from the player next to base because when you do that you're exposing your working stacks and the player is given the chance to past post bets. I don't teach that in school.
For those of you who don't know the term 'cross firing' - it's when dealers talk amongst themselves on a live game. The big deal is this, you should only talk about game related issues while you are dealing. You are working in the customer service industry. This means customers come first. Lets put it this way, have you ever stood in line at the grocery store waiting for your turn to check out and some stupid ass checker is talking about her date last night to the checker at the next register? Or perhaps you're in a bar and you want another beer and the bartender is busy bull shitin with the cocktail waitress. In both cases you - the paying customer - perhaps in a hurry are put on hold while they they have their little chit chat. While you're on the game you should give the players your undivided attention. Like it or not, customers (players) come first. Don't look at this issue as a negative.
Simply imagine that what ever the 'die' is leaning against is a piece of ice. If the ice melts ....what number would it land on?
I knew this was
coming. Believe me,
when the 'shit hits the fan' with big money all over the layout "they"
Each and every craps dealer wanted to quit at some point in the beginning of their dice dealing career. Myself, I wanted to quit many times. If you hear some dealer tell you otherwise, they are lying! It's going to be a little rough on you at first because your just learning and you are dealing with peoples money. There is no room for error when it comes to money. Just hang in there and try to do deal to the best of your ability, listen and learn and in time everything will work out. I know it sounds like a stupid cliché but it's true....Quitters never win and winners never quit! Furthermore, Atlantic City develops some very good dice dealers. I think it's because your players are very knowledgeable compared to most of ours. Most of the AC trained dealers here in Vegas seem to have decent dealing skills. Just hang in there my brother, your learning how to deal in a great casino.
Yes, from what I hear, the hardways are off on the come out. I wish Vegas would do this.
Take some good advice and go on vacation. Get out of town and stay in a nice hotel. Go eat and drink and have some fun. Seriously. The only way to understand what customer service means is to enjoy it yourself "on the other side of the fence". There is nothing better in life than to be treated with service......good service. Nobody can teach you how to treat people. Go on vacation and see what it's like. I'll bet you'll come back with a whole new perspective. Oh and by the way, handing off come bets is not customer service.
If you feel you still need some 'basic live game training' try the Plaza, Golden Gate or the Las Vegas Club. Coast resorts, Barbary and Gold Coast will hire you out of the Cortez, odds are slim the SunCoast or Orleans will hire you unless you're an above average break-in with good hands and tremendous confidence. The Boyd Group Casinos, Fremont, California and Main Street Station Downtown or Sam's Town on the East side would be a good choice. Those three downtown casinos will throw some big Hawaiian action your way so be ready! You also have the Primm Casinos at Stateline which could take you into MGM/MIRAGE properties and you may want to check out Slots-a-Fun and Westward Ho next to Circus Circus or O'sheys next to the Flamingo. You may also want to try either of the Arizona Charlie's casinos or even the Stratosphere and Sahara. Any of these casinos would be a good choice for they all are very good at training dice dealers at the intermediate level. Station Casinos generally want at least one year experience but have been known to take a break-in now and then but like the SunCoast or Orleans you better be prepared. Any lump can get a job, but only a dealer can keep one.
It sure doesn't
hurt. Most dealers think you need to know the casino Years ago I had this oriental gal in the school learning dice. She was having problems learning the game and most of her fellow students thought of her as some Chinese bitch that was dumb as hell. There was also three students that helped her understand craps and took her under their wings. She was a very determined young lady. She wanted to learn to deal dice and invariably she did! To make a long story short she had already been a dealer, she had already learned all the card games, roulette and even tiles. She actually quit her job to learn dice and go downtown to the El Cortez like everyone else. You see, she spoke seven different languages and in time learned to deal ALL the games. She landed a "high limit room" dealing gig at a MAJOR resort before she was promoted to Casino Host. She brought with her multi game knowledge and communication skills and she also brought three young crap dealers with her. She too never forgot.
If I we're a casino manager wouldn't it make sense to hire dice dealers and 'cross train' them into dealing cards? This way when the casino wanted a dice dealer all we would have to do is go and pull you off a BJ game rather than go through the hiring and audition process. For this reason you need to learn BJ. Resort casinos want MULTI GAME DEALERS!
Welcome to the casino business. We all go through this and it's not just the break in casino, this little dilemma is found in every casino. When I was a break in dealer I remember one boxperson wanted me to cap come bets "thereby keeping the bet and payoff together" as he would say and another boxperson would come flying out of his chair when I did that on his game. The bottom line is this, the boxperson is you supervisor and is responsible for anything that goes wrong. If they want you to do certain things a curtain way, then do it - and if another wants things done another way then do it their way. Simple. Make adjustments as they come. And another thing, the boxperson must adjust to a particular pit manager as they in turn must adjust to different shift managers. It's not just the dealer that goes through this.
You make your
own decision. Let me tell you two stories about giving advice: The second story was a young man seeking my advice about a promotion to box after a year of dealing and I told him to "go for it" then one day he ended up getting fired after five years sitting box. When he went job hunting he ran into a dilemma. He had only one year dealing experience and the strip casino wanted 3-5 years experience. That casino wasn't looking for a supervisor, they we're seeking an experienced dealer. They auditioned him anyway and of course he failed. He may have had six years experience in the dice pit but remember, he only had one year of actual dealing experience. He currently deals in a small casino downtown. What he should have done and perhaps you should do is deal the games for five years before donning the suit. In my case I dealt for 6 1/2 years before the suit, thus if I get fired tonight when I go to work I can seek a dealing job tomorrow in the larger resorts and have the confidence and ability to pass an audition. It's easier to supervise games than it is to deal them.
THIS IS THE RUDEST BUSINESS I'VE EVER BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH! We are cannibals. We love to eat our own. Lets just call it tradition. Believe me, you'll understand once you learn how to deal. Until then you may want to for I have just the thing for you.
Is it a man's game? Hell no, it's not a man's game. It cracks me up when a guy thinks like that it only means that his ego is threatened by a female. There was a time when all dealers here in Las Vegas we're men. It wasn't until the 70's that girls started entering the casino business and much later when 'she' found herself behind a craps table. Even to this day the female dice dealer is somewhat a pioneer. You are still stereotyped to a degree. As an instructor in a dealing school I see more and more women entering the business as a craps dealer each year. I see more and more women supervisors in the dice pits each year. Where I work at NYNY three of our shift managers are women and the Mandaley Bay and MGM Grand two of the largest resorts in the world now have female casino managers! As far as your concerned in Tunica it may be that they are to busy for live game training and perhaps you should stay an hour after work on graveyard and deal a little bit or come in early if your working day shift. The Graveyard dice pit would be the best place to get your feet wet.
Yes it's true
that the Cortez is the most famous break in house for craps dealers in all
of the gambling world and has been for many decades since the days of Again don't quit this job. Nobody will respect you if you quit this job because it's to tough. You are learning how to deal craps from the best training pit managers in the business. Tony, Billy and Jonnie have been doing that job probably longer than you've been alive. Learn as much as you can and you will know when the day comes that you feel you're ready to venture to a larger property. Remember this; no solder enjoyed boot camp in the military, however, when it was all said and done their survival in battle was dependant upon those lessons learned in that boot camp. Same theory holds true in the casino business.
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has their own
opinion on what is right and wrong about dealing craps. In fact you can't even
get two craps dealers to agree on anything related to dealing the game. Just
because I'm a casino games instructor doesn't mean I'm more knowledgeable than
the next guy. Anyone that has been in the business for a couple of years can
teach students how to deal casino craps. The only prerequisites you would need
is to have is a tremendous amount of patience and a good sense of humor. This is not
rocket science we're talking about here. What I will try to do is give you
an opinion. I will answer the most common questions you have and with some luck
you may have a better perspective on some issues and of course I in turn will have a smaller mail box.
My most important opinion is that you should take pride in what you do. You should try to be
the best at what you do. If you are a student in a dealing school you should try
to learn to the best of your ability. If you are a break-in dealer and you feel you
are not the best dealer in the casino then try to be the best 'break-in
dealer'.
deal the
game with absolute text book procedures. When they audition for a job "they" deal
the game with absolute text book procedures. (Most of the time) When you watch these guys deal a
'regular game' they seem a little lazy perhaps but you need not worry about
them. Worry about YOU. Don't give into 'peer laziness' as I call it, where you
see one dealer skip a few corners thereby YOU do the same. Deal the game the
same way all the time regardless if it's a routine bullshit game or when it's
busy. I've seen plenty of dealers not pass an audition because they dealt with
bad habits they developed. Stay away from all of this. Again,
deal the game with absolute dealing procedures at all times thereby you will not
have to think of what of what your supposed to do when it gets busy of your
dealing during an audition. 
