Those Amazing Dealers

I love sitting down at a new poker table and finding out the background of the dealer.

Most poker players ignore the dealer except to flip him a tip when they've won a pot. Not yours truly.

When I sit down at a poker table, my first comment generally comes out like this: 'This is the poker table my mother warned me against, but I'm here anyhow -- caught up in a den of iniquity.'

That usually causes someone at the table to smile. Then I turn to the dealer.

'Where are you from,' I ask, 'and how long have you been dealing.'

The dealer responds gracefully and I follow up with, 'What caused you to become a dealer?'

Now this question often provokes the dealer into opening up on his career. Sometimes it will bring a comment from one of the players. Then before you know it, a formerly silent table starts opening up. People start talking to one another. The entire mood of the table changes.

I now control the tone of what is transpiring, which was my goal in the first place.

If you control the table, you generally will win. It's as simple as that.

When other players control you by their raises, they generally have the edge. That is why you must take special efforts to be in charge of things.

I have been at tables where I feel at a tremendous disadvantage because one or two of the other players are in charge of things. I either have to change that status or leave the table. Nothing else will work.

Another way of controlling the table is to ask for a series of reshuffling or washing the deck. In extreme cases when the cards are noticeably bent, ask for a new deck setup. Sometimes you will get it, sometimes you won't but it's worth the effort and it has been noticed by the other players.

The nice thing about talking to dealers is they will remember you for it. The next time they deal to you, they will be relaxed. Subconsciously they will be on your side.

I remember the night Leon Wheeler was dealing to me at The Orleans Resort, one of my favorite Las Vegas casinos.

Leon has a machine gun method of dealing which has gained him a reputation of being the fastest dealer in Las Vegas. The night I met him we were playing $4-8 Omaha High-Low and the bad beat jackpot had risen to $49,000.

I was down a couple of hundred when I asked Leon to wash the deck. which he promptly did.

Three hands later, I was dealt four queens and another player received quad jacks. My share of the bad beat was $11,000 and Mr. Wheeler received a nice tip. After his shift was over, Leon was kind enough to give me a lift to Binion's Horseshoe where I had a room. We talked about a lot of things -- his wife is a dealer and they have a very happy life together. We have been friends ever since.

You'll never go wrong making friends with a dealer. They have a tough job and provide a lot of pleasure to the players. They cannot receive enough credit for their work.

How they keep a happy face despite the frowns and complaints of of many of the players is beyond me. They must practice those smiles until their faces crack from exertion. More power to the dealers. They are truly amazing and worthy of their tips

When I played at Downstream Casino in Quapaw, OK. just outside Joplin, MO., I nominated Pepper, a smiling dealer, for 'the most dangerous dealer of the month' award. Pepper blushed and accepted the nomination while the other players applauded. A few hands later, she dealt me four aces. It pays to compliment a dealer.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).