By Samantha Williams
A casino dealer or croupier is a casino employee who works at a gambling table by taking and paying out bets. However, extensive training and expertise in the gambling industry sets apart those who have a job and those with an exciting career.
A License Needed
A casino dealer applies for a gambling license during his initial training. Include in the application is a thorough background and credit rating checks. This is to determine reliability and suitability for a career in gambling.
Lumpies
Once a croupier has received his gambling license as passed a table test in the game he has been learning, he will be permitted on the gambling floor. There is a definite art form to dealing. The credo in the industry is “technique first, speed later”. Novice dealers are often called ‘lumpies’ when first dealing the tables. This is because their abilities at shuffling and chip manipulation are choppy and lumpy. They are very deliberate and very slow. Experienced dealers move seamlessly, but that is the result of their experience. Speed is also an area that is determined by practicing day in and day out. Usually a casino dealer is up to the casino’s standards of technique and speed within 3 months.
A Progression
The training for croupiers varies from country to countries just as gambling laws are different from country to country. There is a normal progression of training. For instance, a casino dealer in the United States will first learn blackjack because it is a popular and simple game. If a dealer makes an error in blackjack, it won’t bankrupt the casino. In contrast, a croupier in the United Kingdom will first perfect his gaming skills at roulette. Since casino turnover is very high, dealers will learn a second and third game within 12 months of beginning. This allows a casino more options for staffing its tables. Craps is reserved for the most skilled dealers because the payout systems are very complicated.
Skills A Croupier Needs
A casino dealer becomes a specialist in the game he is dealing. At the basic training, dealers learn the foundation of the art. They learn the different techniques for dealing cards. There are specific techniques used with certain games. For example, a blackjack dealer has to deal how to deal from a single or double deck. He must also know how to operate the shuffling machines that are at many casinos. He also needs to know how to cut cards and how to make payoffs to winner. Most important, a casino dealer at the blackjack table has to know how to control the game. A crap dealer has to be able to deal with the fast pace of the game and be a quick thinker. The craps tables need 4 casino employees to staff a table. The box attendant supervises the game and makes decision on particular rolls, an employee called a stick who pushes the dice toward the player before a roll and two crap dealers. The two crap dealer not only deals the cards. They handle cash payout and provide players with chips. They also control the table.
