Dedicated dealer: good or bad? (1 Viewer)

[quintooo]

By my choice I bought a shuffletech at the beginning of the year & became the dedicated dealer who also plays. As the host I feel it's a better experience for everyone including me. But why take my word when you can ask @Godzilla28, @quintooo, @Big Money or @Gavin?

(Go easy guys or we're playing with dice chips next time)

Having a dedicated dealer is 100% a better experience, though my view is definitely a little biased.

I deal my own home games, because my players:

1. Never pay attention
2. Don't know how to properly shuffle
3. Always mess up the stub pass, whether it's shuffle behind or ahead

so, I end up shuffling and dealing the whole night.

I have hired a dealer a couple times for my games, but haven't rehired for a couple months now, because they moved away.

I have a better experience at games where there's a dedicated dealer and an auto shuffler or even passing the shuffle around. Obviously prefer no shuffle, but not having to worry about dealing, keeping action, handling the pot, makes an insane difference for me. Another important factor is the board never ends up at the edges of the table, making it hard for players at the opposite end to read the board.

Also I can get as zoinked as I want, which is nice.

 

[Rhodeman77]

Is it though? If you have 7 players who all agree to $25 to a dealer - that's $175 plus tips for an X hour shift.

Personally, I'd gladly pay that, plus a couple bucks per winning pot to not mess with dealing.

It is very group dependent. If they are used to paying a seat fee upfront it would be easy. The argument against it is that someone pays the $25 up front but in the first orbit goes bust 3 times and leaves. Now they are out 3 buy-ins but they also paid $25 on top of it for a service they aren’t using.

 

[Statesvegas]

Having a dedicated dealer is 100% a better experience, though my view is definitely a little biased.

I deal my own home games, because my players:

1. Never pay attention
2. Don't know how to properly shuffle
3. Always mess up the stub pass, whether it's shuffle behind or ahead

so, I end up shuffling and dealing the whole night.

I have hired a dealer a couple times for my games, but haven't rehired for a couple months now, because they moved away.

I have a better experience at games where there's a dedicated dealer and an auto shuffler or even passing the shuffle around. Obviously prefer no shuffle, but not having to worry about dealing, keeping action, handling the pot, makes an insane difference for me. Another important factor is the board never ends up at the edges of the table, making it hard for players at the opposite end to read the board.

Also I can get as zoinked as I want, which is nice.

I had never considered dealing my home games myself (instead of rotating the deal), and I think this may be a viable option for the very reasons stated, especially the board ending at the end of the table making it difficult for the players tat the other end to see. Other players always draw for seats, with me taking the seat where the chip tray/dealer station is located since I am the only one that handles the currency/chips for buy ins/rebuys. I usually end up dealing for players at the ends of the table for convenience, but I am wondering if taking on all dealing responsibilities isn't a good option. I think I am going to float the idea next time we play.

My son dealt for the group for tips up until a couple of years ago when he transitioned into a payer, and I have to say it was nice to have a dedicated dealer who was focused on their task and paying attention. He started when he was pretty young (12), but he had probably spent 6 months watching us play hanging around the table and soaking up the game. The group was ok with the idea when I offered his services as dealer, and had their been any resistance I am not sure what I would have done. Luckily, I didnt have to deal with that issue.

My son dealt for tips, and the players were usually pretty generous which allowed him to build his initial bankroll. He is 15 now, and is as much a part of our player group than anyone else, and in fact gets invited to games at the homes of my other players on the very rare occasion that II am unable host or attend on my own. None of us are heavy drinkers, and I cannot remember the last time any of my players became intoxicated.

All that to say that if the circumstances are appropriate, having a child of an appropriate age with the right attitude could create a some additional quality time and help develop the father/son relationship. Friendly game with family oriented players? You may want to consider giving it a try. The language at my table can be a little rough ( 3 of us are Marines), but my son knows better than to use profanity in my presence and would never be disrespectful of me or anyone else at the table.

 

[CraigT78]

It is very group dependent. If they are used to paying a seat fee upfront it would be easy. The argument against it is that someone pays the $25 up front but in the first orbit goes bust 3 times and leaves. Now they are out 3 buy-ins but they also paid $25 on top of it for a service they aren’t using.

We all know the proper response to that person.

Spoiler: Answer

Play Better!

 

[Gavin]

Agree with @TheRealTeddyKGB ().

Had our Annual Family Poker tournament during the day of - but before - our Thanksgiving dinner. The typical complaint (family and all ) is that poker takes too long (which could mean that players don't see enough hands to stay interested due to the constant change of dealer or it really does "take too long").

Because of this, I decided to be the dedicated dealer (no shuffletech) having the other players shuffle when the hand ended as I continued to deal (same thing at Table #2 - someone volunteered to be the other dedicated dealer). It definitely provided more hands per timed round - so that helped. And when we consolidated to one table, I took off the timer having each orbit being one round (when we got to 6 players, we went back to the timer) - and since I'm like a "poker-nazi" dealer, that helped cutting down on time too.

And I didn't have a problem with it, and if I needed a few "extra seconds" to decide on a hand, no one had an issue with it since I was the dealer...

So, kind of a win-win in my opinion...

Hope this helps a little...

p.s... Oh, my definition of "poker-nazi": deal fast, make sure the appropriate player knows action is on them(!), move bets to pot quickly, gather cards quickly, etc... I don't hustle people to decide on action, I just make sure they know that action is on them...