So You Want to be a Dealer? (Part 2)
By Crazyman

Now that you have a job dealing poker, what should you expect? Hmmm...Well, you could expect to get first hand knowledge of how players play. Or you could expect to make lots of money, because most dealers like to play when they finish their shift.

But the truth is, expect the unexpected! Remember in Part 1 that I said you would be nervous at your audition? Well, you're gonna be nervous on your 1st day also!...and on your 2nd, 3rd, and probably 4th. I sure was. My first day, I ended up dealing a 7 Stud Hi-Lo 8 or better tourney! And I thought this was going to be easy?!

During the tourney, I did everything right. That is, until I had a 5 handed, 4 all-in hand! For those who don't play, this particular situation is tough because it has 5 different pots. Now I got a taste of the real poker world! Upon setting up these side pots, a player questioned as to if they were set up correctly, and that's when the poker world took control!

Now everyone in the hand was yelling, and getting involved in what I was doing. "It's not right!" I heard. All hell broke loose. Funny, I thought I was the dealer...But in poker, EVERYBODY playing is the dealer. (This is really not true, but I'll settle that later).

I was so confused at this point, I was ready to quit. Those people were ruthless. I thought I knew how to deal. Well, I ended up backing up all the money and resetting the side pots. It was like feeding animals at the zoo, and they finally all quieted down. The hand was over, the pot was split, and I was ready to deal the next hand.

"Wait! I don't think that was right!" said the man who won the majority of the pot. Now I got confused again. "Call the floorman!" he says. The floorman came over, heard the situation, and overruled the player. "The pot was right" he says. "Deal," I am instructed by the floorman. So finally, I got to deal the next hand.

What seemed like an eternity really only took 5 minutes. And I, the dealer, was right. And I knew that. Or did I? That particular hand stayed with me the entire night. How could a guy on his first night have been so gun shy? After all, I play poker! But I don't remember it being so personal! I just put my money in the pot and hope I have the best hand. I watch for tells and act accordingly. I take my beats like a man. All true, but guess what? I'm not playing now...I'M DEALING!

So, as reality sets in on what you are doing, try to remember all those times (there must have been a few times at least), that you blamed the dealer for something he really wasn't responsible for. Try to remember that when you played poker, you thought you were one of the best. Try to remember how you never paid any attention to what the dealer was feeling. And try to remember why, for some idiotic reason, YOU WANTED TO BE A DEALER!

Let's review:

1. Expect to be nervous the first couple of weeks.

2. Expect the unexpected.

3. Realize that all players think they are dealers.

4. DO NOT TAKE IT PERSONALLY.

In the next article, I'll explain how and why you must be in complete control of the game you are dealing at all times. And what live games are really like. Until then, PLAY GOOD!

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