Deal Me In: A gaming column for those who feel lucky

Mark Pilarski, special to reno.com, tahoe.com
January 11, 2008

Dear Mark: Why do all dealers hate giving away the house’s money? It’s not theirs, so why should they care? Marcus R.

“All” is such a vastly embracing word. Are there some dealers sweatin’ the money as if it were their own pirated loot? You betcha! But I would still bet a dollar to a Krispy Kreme that the tradition-setting majority have no problem giving away the wampum of the man upstairs, because a) they know over time, the money will always swing back the casino’s way, regardless, and, most importantly, b) they don’t get paid mucho dollars sitting there watching the casino raking in millions, so in fact, they WANT you to win. Winning players tip more, and their generosity is the lion’s share of a dealer’s income.

Dear Mark: About 10 years ago at Mystic Lake, Minn. casino, I was playing second base on a six-deck game. By accident, the dealer exposed both of his cards and he had an 18. There was a kid at 3B who had a 17 and waves it off. The rest of us adults at table tell him, "Kid, if you don't hit it, you lose." He said, "But you're not supposed to hit a 17.” We finally talked him into hitting it and he got a three. I have told this story 100 times and at least three people I told it to said they would have sacrificed their hand and not taken a hit so as not to mess up the card flow. Andy G.

Some believe it’s cheating when a dealer accidentally exposes a card and you use that information. It’s not. Your story though reminds me of once when I was dealing Double Exposure, (that’s the version of blackjack where both the dealer cards are dealt face-up), and both a newbie and myself had a 20. He angrily refused taking another card stating; “My momma didn’t raise no idiot. I’d never hit a 20.” My friendly tip, “Pushes lose on this game,” drew this clueless response, “Duh, so?” “All-righty, then,” I said, as my left hand slid in snatching his money.

It actually happens more than you think, Andy; at least 3% of the time based on your one-time unscientific survey.

Dear Mark: While playing blackjack, I had a $100 bet on the layout in which I won, but the dealer pushed it. As I was running the true outcome in my head, the dealer scooped up the cards and the preceded to deal the next hand. Do I have any recourse after the hand has been completed to challenge the payoff of a previous hand? Rick W.

Ideally, Rick, you should challenge the hand when the cards are still on the layout. If the cards are already in the discard rack, it doesn’t hurt to politely ask to speak with a pit supervisor and see if they would run back the cards from the previous hand. It’s easily done because the dealer’s pay, take and scoop skills are so repetitive that the backed up cards will generally produce an accurate re-creation of the previous hand.

Also, although you are not necessarily entitled to it, the decision whether or not to review the tape, that is, if they are actually videoing that particular game, would likely depend on the amount of money involved and your value to the casino as a player.

And then there’s always the philanthropic pit boss (I was one of those) who would instruct the dealer to “just give him his money back,” knowing full well the casino will probably win it back on the next hand.

Gambling Wisdom of the Week: “Marriages may come and go, but the game must go on.” -- Felix "The Odd Couple" Unger.

A recognized authority on casino gambling, Pilarski survived 18 years in the casino trenches, working for seven different casinos. Mark now writes a internationally syndicated gambling column, is a university lecturer, reviewer and contributing editor for numerous gaming periodicals, and is the creator of the best-selling, award-winning audio cassette series on casino gambling, Hooked on Winning.


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