Dealer's Choice is a popular format for home poker games. Although money is involved, dealer's choice games are often played mainly for entertainment rather than for profit. The essence of the game is that on each deal a different poker variant, chosen by the dealer, is played. Please refer to the page giving general rules of poker for poker. The dealer shuffles a standard 52-card deck. In casinos, the dealer never plays. A round disc–known as a 'dealer button'–moves clockwise from player to player with each hand. The button marks which player would be the dealer if the deal were advanced from player to player as the game went along.
Why would you want to become a poker dealer?
There are a few reasons that poker players, in general, decide to become poker dealers. One of those reasons, the most obvious reason, is that dealing poker is very profitable – much more profitable than most people realise.
Think of it like this, it’s pretty much good practice to toss the dealer a buck every time you win a hand right? Not everyone does it, but most of us do, some toss more especially the travellers and other people that don’t play the game on a regular basis.
How much do poker dealers earn?
For right now, let’s go with that, an average of $1 per hand in tips. We won’t even take into consideration tourists and other big tipping games. Now we’ll consider another fact about dealing poker, the fact that poker dealers are expected to deal an average of 30 hands per hour minimum.
So, assuming an average of $1 tip per hand, 30 hands per hour means poker dealers are making about $30 an hour in tips plus very small paychecks they are taking from the casino.
In Oregon, for instance, at Chinook Winds Casino poker dealers are paid $8.80-$9.48 plus tips. Comparatively, Table Mountain Casino in California pays new dealers $8 plus tips. Dealers in Oregon must pass an audition at the casino as well as undergo an extensive background investigation, pass a drug test and receive a licence from the Gambling Commission.
There are lots of openings for tournament dealers; however, cash game dealer positions are actually pretty hard to come by.
How do I become a certified poker dealer?
The most common way to become a certified poker dealer is to take a class on dealing poker. The length of poker dealing classes varies from as little as two weeks to as many eight weeks. The price of the classes varies almost as much as the length required in them.
The ease of finding a class and being able to afford that class largely depends on where you’re located. For instance, in Oregon at Chinook Winds Casino, classes are offered free during the slower months in effort to gear up for busier summer events.
Classes at Chinook Winds Casino are usually a couple of weeks long with as much follow up as is required for a new dealer to pass an audition. Caesars in Las Vegas also offers free poker dealer classes when they’re gearing up for the World Series of Poker season. These classes are three weeks long, are followed up by auditions, background checks and licensing by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
The average price to learn any new casino game seems to range from these free classes, that aren’t offered regularly, on up to about $1500 with a guaranteed job placement after you’ve graduated at the larger more expensive schools. It’s been said that the best dealer schools teach new dealers how to deal multiple games including Chinese Poker.
If you are curious what sort of things you might learn at a professional Holdem Poker dealer school check out videos on YouTube for learning to deal casino poker.
Dealing these major tournament events offers these new dealers a venue in which they can hone their skills, become ready to pass stricter auditions working in places such as Atlantic City, Las Vegas or aboard poker cruise ships.
Obtaining your State Dealers Licence
Once you’ve gotten the necessary training, and a position at a casino, you’ll need to become licenced by the state where you’re to be employed. This process generally involves proving your citizenship via the same documents employee’s use to prove their right to work legally within the United States and passing a criminal background investigation.
The background investigation usually requires that the applicant submit to fingerprinting and submit a photograph of themselves with their application. Applications then need to be renewed every 3-5 years.
Breaking into the Industry
If you’re looking to become a licenced dealer, at an actual casino, you’ll need experience dealing professionally. It’s the same catch 22 the world has dealt with when looking for employment for decades, you have to have experience to get it.
The best way to break into the field without actual live game dealing experience is during large tournament events. When casinos hold monthly, quarterly or annual large events they tend to be very short-staffed so this is a great time for a trained, yet under experienced dealer, to pick up some extra dealing time and grab some experience to put on the their C.V.
The biggest tip you can take advantage of is to learn every game you can whenever you get the chance. Whether it’s poker, or another casino game, the more games you can list on your job applications the more appealing you will be to the casinos you send your C.V. to.
Remember, as you hear about free classes like the one’s held occasionally at casinos like Caesars, that 100’s of dealers before you have paid a lot of money for these classes to get their position within the casino. You may have to pay for other classes in the future so, snap up these free opportunities whenever and wherever possible!
Introduction
Dealer's Choice is a popular format for home poker games. Although money is involved, dealer's choice games are often played mainly for entertainment rather than for profit. The essence of the game is that on each deal a different poker variant, chosen by the dealer, is played. Please refer to the page giving general rules of poker for poker basics. This page covers only the specifics of the Dealer's Choice game.
Players and Cards
Dealer's Choice works best with 5 to 7 players, the ideal number being six. With more players, the range of playable variants is restricted; with fewer many of the variants become uninteresting.
A standard 52-card pack without jokers is used. As in any poker game, it is best to have two packs with different coloured backs, so that one can be shuffled ready for the next hand while the other is being dealt. This reduces the amount of down time between deals.
The ante and betting limits should be agreed among the players, and all players should buy at least an agreed minimum amount of chips - say 50 times the minimum bet - or if using cash for betting (less convenient) should bring at least this amount to the table.
The Deal
3 Card Poker Dealer Rules
The first dealer is chosen by some random process, such as dealing cards clockwise face up until a jack appears. With one exception, mentioned later, players take turns to deal, in clockwise order around the table.
Before beginning to deal, the dealer chooses and announces what poker variant will be played. The main requirement is that the dealer should be able to explain the game clearly and concisely, remembering to deal with any options or special rules that may be needed. Most groups that meet regularly establish a range of variants that they like to play. These known games, and slight modifications of them, can be chosen without fuss. But since the variety of games played provides part of the entertainment, most groups will be willing to try unfamiliar variants occasionally, and dealers sometimes introduce their own inventions, hopefully having carefully thought them through in advance to be sure that they will work.
To help the game run smoothly, players should try to decide in advance what variant they are going to call when it is next their turn to deal. Then they can specify the game without hesitation and the game can continue without delay.
If any problems occur, such as ambiguities in the rules, or mistakes in the deal or sequence of play, it is the dealer's reponsibility to fix them in a way that is fair to all players. The principle that once significant action has occurred the game must continue applies here as in other poker games. Once two or more players have had a turn to bet, throwing in the cards and starting again is not an option - the problem must be solved in a way that allows the deal to be played out.
Multi Deal Variants
There are some variants that inherently last for more than one deal. For example they may be designed to continue until the pot is emptied, which may take several deals. In many cases, it would be unfair for the player who called the game to keep dealing, because the dealer often has a positional advantage. So the turn to deal should pass to the left until the variant is completed. It then returns to the player to the left of the one who called the multi-deal variant, who calls and deals the next variant.
Poker Rules Dealer Mistakes
The Games
Poker Dealer Rules
There is an ulmost unlimited range of variants to choose from. A selection of them will be found listed on the poker variants page. Stud poker games with various enhancements seem to be among the most successful, but there are also draw and shared card games that work well. In addition, it is quite common to allow games that are not strictly forms of poker - not only games like Badugi, which uses different hand types, and Guts, which uses a different form of betting, but also games like 7-27, Bourré and Acey Deucey which have nothing much to do with poker, apart from being gambling games suitable for a similar number of players.