What Games Should Someone Learn At First?

Here is a question that I received quite frequently when operating the dealing school and it is probably the number one question I get from people visiting eCasinoDealer.com.

The Answer:

It all depends on your priorities and your circumstances, for instance;

·         Do you have a personal preference?

·         Would you rather sit or stand at work?

·         What locale are you planning to work in:
Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Florida, California, Colorado or maybe I should list the States that don't have gaming, which would be a lot easier?

·         How much time are you willing to dedicate to training?

·         How much money are you willing to commit to paying for your training?

Above are just some of the questions you must ask yourself prior to answering the question of:
What Games Should Someone Learn at First?

Do you have a personal preference?
Many people are familiar with some games because they enjoy playing them. This shouldn't be the main focus on picking which games to learn but it may make learning the games more interesting since you already have a familiarity to with those games.

Would you rather sit or stand at work?
If you have a prohibiting or debilitating circumstance such as a back pain issue, this may something that needs to be prioritized more so than someone who doesn't have any issues with physical impairments. In Poker, you will be sitting and reaching during your normal workday. In Blackjack, Craps, Roulette or other table games, you will be standing the majority of your work day.

What locale are you planning to work in?
Knowing what location you plan on working in at least initially in your career is a huge factor. If you plan on working in a location that needs many craps dealers and you are learning poker which has a very low demand, you may be in for a long wait to start this new career your training for. On the other hand, if they need craps dealers and you learn Craps, Blackjack and Roulette, you are now more than adequately training and ready to service the casino in locale of your choosing.  

How much time can or are you willing to dedicate to training?
Each dealer school has their own time frame for training certain games. Usually Craps and Poker take longer to learn to deal than Blackjack and Roulette. If you're choosing to learn multiple games, you will have to add up the allotted number of total hours and consider whether or not you could begin working after you learn a game or two, while still continuing to complete your training if in fact you have other games to learn.

How much are you willing to spend on your education?

Don't think that the most expensive school is the best. Be sure the games you are learning are in demand prior to enrolling for every class the school offers. This is also not an area I feel you should be overly frugal in. You are investing in your future and possibly your worth on the open market. Decide what the market needs and wants, decide what your passions are and commit to the fee as an investment which should pay back dividends far beyond the investment costs.

If you have any questions, you may contact me at: mike@eCasinoDealer.com.

Good Luck!

Mike Vitale

Owner of eCasinoDealer.com

The first step is finding a good dealing school. Some people don't have many choices due to the limited amount of dealing schools in their area. Others have a lot of choices like those living in Las Vegas or those willing to travel to the educational facilities. However, even when you're in locations that have a lot of choices, there may only be one or two schools that are offering what you expected; a quality education, clean and safe facility, good instructors, fair pricing and connections with casinos so they can help you find a job (Job Placement Assistance).

Let's discuss each of the above mentioned expectations:

·         Quality Education

The information being taught to you and the games being offered should be consistent with the industry today. That is to say that an older school may have experience at teaching dealers but is what they are teaching applicable in today's market. When I was in the dealing school business, I found that many of my competitors were teaching old, antiquated processes that even if their students learn the material perfectly, they still had to relearn the new methods being performed as to be able to hit the casino floor. This also influenced the view of the managers when they would observe someone on their audition. If the casino holding the audition was a good tip earning casino, they would be less likely to hire someone that had to be retrained as opposed to someone who seemingly had been taught a process similar to the industry standards of today.

·         Clean and Safe Facility

Most businesses know that if their establishments aren't in a clean and safe location their probably doomed to failure. However; the dealing school business is unique in that since it is a niche market and usually not very much competition in their area (2 or 3 other competitors), they believe they can afford the cheapest, unsafe and seedy location available just because it's CHEAP! Let me tell you this, if you find the school your considering fits that description, RUN! If they didn't care about your opinion or safety before you give them your money, what would make you think they are going to try and provide you good service after you've paid them.

·         Good Instructors

Ask for a list of the instructors you will be receiving your instruction from.

1.       Have they been in the employed as a dealer, teaching the game they will be teaching you, for at least 2 years or more?

2.       Can you meet them before you sign up?

If yes, do they appear friendly with the other students?

Does your first impression seem like a comfortable one?

Can you watch them teach a class?

Can you ask the students their opinions politely and quietly?

Are they working in a casino now and if so, where?

·         Fair Pricing

Ok, this is relative to the market you will have a chance to work in when you have completed your course(s). It also is related to the level of competition in the local area. In Las Vegas, there are many schools to choose from hence this forces the schools to be priced very competitively and usually translates into lower pricing. However; there are exceptions to this just like everything else in life, there is a school in Las Vegas that charges five, six even seven times as much as the other schools in town and this is because they get you a loan from the government so you don't have to pay upfront for the tuition.

If you absolutely had no money at all for your education and saw no way of getting it over the next few months, then this may be an option. Otherwise, shop around and see what the difference is between their school and the others. You may not have to pay today, but you're going to pay potentially 7 times more money later!

Schools in other markets tend to be a bit more expensive but consider where the school is located and if it's work looking into traveling for a more reasonable price not to mention the overall experience.

·         Job Placement Assistance

Ok, listen and listen well! Notice the terminology "Assistance" being used. Most states will not allow a dealing school, which is also considered a postsecondary vocational school, to say they guarantee you a job after training. This is good and bad for the potential student looking for the best deal, no pun intended, which he/she can find.

If Big Brother (the State) allowed schools to advertise that way, there would be a lot of complaints and law suits and people losing their monies to predators just interested in taking your money.

On the flip side, if I guaranteed someone their money back and if I couldn't find them a position, let's say 90 days after your training completed, and I did in fact give you your money back then that would be a fantastic deal for the student.

The truth is this, most schools take advantage of the terminology "Assistance" and when they have received your tuition payment and complete your training whether it was sufficient or not, they could then be free to tell you to look online or in the newspaper and maybe even clip it for you and post it, they have now performed "Assistance". I'm not sure that is what you had in mind when asking about Job Placement Assistance but I'll guess you hoped they had connections to casinos that often hire people with little to no experience dealing. I'll bet you hoped that when your training was complete that they may even make a call or two for you to those casinos that we just described.

Be very careful with this phrase, they will pound in your head the idea that they can't promise you a job but "wink, wink, you won't have a problem getting hired". Ask them for a list of casino's that they often either send for auditions or receive requests for newly graduated students. If you can, visit that casino and speak with the people working in the pit, do they know of the school, do they know if the hiring manager contacts that school and if not who do they contact. Speak with the dealers on staff, did they go to that school and if not where and did they like it? Remember, they are working at the moment you are talking to them, that isn't a bad track record to the school they attended.

Good Luck!

Casino Games Player vs. the Casino Games Dealer

Many casino patrons sitting at the casino's gaming tables find themselves in an epic dual with the casino games dealers, thinking at times that the dealer is rooting against them since they are in fact employed by the casino.

As an 18 year casino industry veteran, I can assure you that this is simply not the case. Sure there are the older dealers who have what is called, "felt fatigue" or who are often referred to as, "burnt out". There is also the new dealers that think if they are seen having fun with a customer who is winning they may have issues of job security. Finally, there are the dealers that have recently moved from a foreign country, who don't feel comfortable speaking English and as a result appear to be "for the casino" or a "house dealer".

All these above mentioned individuals make up approximately less than 5% of the dealers around the globe. The other 95% find themselves working as entertainers with the gaming table as their stage. Their job is to ensure the customer has had a pleasant experience whether they win or lose. This is much easier to ensure when the player wins of course however; most customers realize that the chances of losing are greater than winning.

Dealers are rooting for the customers to win with the hopes that the customer shares the wealth by tipping. Dealer's hourly salaries don't usually amount to much more than $8.00 per hour. They may very well be one of the largest workforces with the lowest per hour salary average. This is why you can be sure the dealers are not rooting against you. Players that are losing don't usually tip as much as the ones who are winning.

Players, who understand this, often times place wagers for the dealers which results in the dealer wishing more for the player to win than the player themselves. This results in the dealer doubling their tip wager or sometimes even more than double.

Customers are usually playing with entertainment money, earnings that have been saved and set aside for gambling, eating, drinking and fun. The dealers however are rooting for their mortgage/rent, children's education, car loans, etc.

So the dealer in all reality has more to lose than a player when they have a wager in action. Keep this in mind and watch the dealers' face the next time you sit at a blackjack table, place a bet for the dealer and watch the dealers face when they draw a five card 21 against your 20. They usually are swallowing their own hearts when it happens.

The last thing you should know about a dealer is when you find a dealer making suggestions as to how you should play the hand, you should pause and consider it. They may not be an expert, but their time on the job and nightly experiences may help you increase your chances of survival.

Remember, if just 7 players wager $2.00 for a dealer once every hour, the players are often times paying the dealer double per hour that the casino is offering so their allegiance is with the players.

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