The dealers need more training on mechanics.

[bigfish]

I am a regular player playing on 8-16 game for the last 5 years at CA.  I would say there is about 50% good dealers and the rest is really bad.  I am writing this segment not to accuse any dealer but hope to improve dealing skills for the dealers.

1)  Dealers are not paying enough attention to the games.  They literally watch the TVs and let the player run the games.  As a results, misdeals happen or deal the cards face up. 

2)  When mucking the hands, dealers are picking up the mucked hands and expose cards to other players.  I even corrected the dealers but the problem still exists very often that I can see the mucked hands by sitting on the end seat--seat 2 or 8.

3) I've played poker for almost 20 years and I traveled around the country.  This poker room is the only room that I find that dealers love to talk back to the players.  I only asked if it was a kill pot and I got a dirty look from the dealer and an unpleasant response.  She said "pay attention to the game and announced already".  I didn't see the kill button or the kill post out--that's why I just wanted to verify but the dealer just wanted to swallow me alive....Am I the only one feeling this way or does anyone else have the same experience. ??  T

[KS1971]

I agree with you about dealers not paying attention. I played the Jack and Jill tourney today and I had a dealer that was more interested in the football game than the action on the table. He was also told by the floor that we would be the next table to break and he kept looking around and stopping after each hand instead of keeping pace until being officially told to stop.  These tourneys do not provide enough chips to have staff members wasting our precious tourney clock time. Every hand counts when you only have T2500 to start.

I also saw a player in the 1 seat in the cash game tell the dealer to take a look at his hand as he folded. The dealer lifted the 2 cards exposing his cards to me (I was in the 7 seat) and obviously exposing them to both players to my left while we still were waiting to act.

One other thing that needs an adjustment is the slot bank they just put in near the row of tables to the far right.  The volume on those machines need to be turned way down. I was at a table there today and it was difficult to hear the action on the table.

[anthony]

I think there are way more than 50% good dealers. I think if we started telling the supervisors about the bad dealers maybe they could do something about it. I think as a group we need to be more vocal in the room, not just here on the forum about what is going on. have a good day boys and will see you at the tables

[Argus]

Rating the dealers'  can be somewhat subjective; we are all going to have differing opinions,
The proficiency and attitude of dealers runs the gamut.

Most of the dealers can be classified as "good", there are a number who are exceptional, and a number who fall below what could be considered acceptable by most standards.

"Exceptional"
Most of the exceptional dealers have years of experience and apply  the knowledge and mechanical skills gained in those years to good use; Running efficient and mistake free games, that, coupled with a positive attitude, understanding and appreciation of their job is what sets these dealers apart from the rest.
These dealers do their best to make the games run so as to benefit the players as a whole.

"Good"
There are dealers who don't fall in to the exceptional range but have the potential to be exceptional.  KEY, is that they have the desire to be exceptional, they may just need more experience to get to that level, the point being, is they TRY to be better.

"Average"
For the most part they can improve, the questions: do they want to, or CAN they improve?
Many average dealers are that because the just don't try harder than they need to, it's not they that don't care, or cannot improve, they just don't care enough to make the effort.
There are some who will almost always be average...it's just not "in the cards" so to speak to be "exceptional". No amount of training will raise some dealers from the level at which they currently deal.  There are any number of factors that can cause this  What sets these dealers apart  is that they  DO care about their performance and want to improve. , I have seen some pretty poor dealers that make every effort to try to improve, but it just doesn't come as naturally, at times they make breakthroughs, it's a slow process, but they are continually trying to improve.

"Poor"
For some of these it is simply a matter of focus, they need to understand that they are not the center of attention; they need to learn when it is appropriate to be social, and when to just put their head down and deal.  The game dynamics will be fairly obvious in a short period of time and dealers should be able to recognize when the can/should interact on levels other that what is necessary, WITHOUT impeding on the control of the game.
Their mechanics may even be above par to a point, yet their personality actually impedes them.

"Burnouts"
There are dealers  who have years of experience but seem to have lost the desire and sometimes ability due to physical limitations such as onset of repetitive use injuries, to perform at the top of their abilities.  Burnout is bound to happen; sometimes a simple break of several weeks from the tedium can alleviate the burnout, sometimes not.  Sometimes it's just simply something that will not go away easily (injury, no fault of the dealer).

"Green"
The new dealers just getting in to the industry, almost all are full of vim and vigor, great attitudes and happy to learn, players should be tolerant and with ALL types of dealers, if you spot some area that can be improved, be careful when being critical...be constructive.

What I find completely unacceptable are the dealers at any level with a sense of entitlement. A dealer, who does not say "thank you" after every toke, regardless of toke size, needs be given a hard-line reminder of their responsibility. This level of dealers also seems to lack the ability to take constructive criticism and refuse to accept responsibility for errors in running the game.

This sense of privilege also applies to the employees' when playing in the poker games, (not just from the poker room, Blackjack Dealers as well) and "Casino Hosts".  Casino Arizona allows their dealers to play on shift (this is an arguable policy for another discussion.)  , and employs "Hosts" that play at their own discretion.
There are playing dealers and Hosts who show exceptional tact and etiquette when playing, they represent the Casino well.
There are a number who seem to forget that they work in this casino room as soon as they get on the players side of the table.  Their behavior is many times unacceptable and should be again, given a hard-line reminder that they WORK for the casino first, they are a player second, and they must learn that their attitude and behavior reflects back on to the casino and the rest of the staff that otherwise represents well. The bad behavior does nothing but create a negative image.

I think it is a good idea to speak with the supervisors about what we see going on in the room.  Supervisor/Floor Personnel can't be everywhere all the time and may not even be aware of some of the issues in general, when you have an observation, approach supervisors in a manner that is conducive to conversation.  If you are angry, calm down a bit, you will be better understood and taken more seriously if you approach them in a professional manner.