Bobby's Breakroom - for gaming employee chatter + YTF appreciation. See restrictions in Post #1

It is just amazing to me when people don't show up for an audition dressed appropriately.

One time I was playing some morning poker while they were getting ready to do auditions. Only one table running, and one person set to audition was to my right. Auditions start at 10am, but there was also a $100 hot seat at 10am. The draw takes place after the 10am hand finishes. The guy runs over and asks the manager if he can stay for the drawing before they start. He says "Yeah, I mean, I guess so." so he runs back to play the last hand.

It gets to him on the button and he immediately slams down a big raise. I look down at KK and figure he'll keep betting to try and finish the hand early. So I tank call and hit top set. I check. He slams down another bet so I again tank then call. Turn I check and he shoves. I call and he flings his cards into the muck.

Neither of us won the draw. He ran to the audition several minutes late, heavily tilted, and $300 lighter. This was before I was a dealer, I might not handle it the same today.

Let's bring up a topic that may or may not get some interesting responses. Since this is a thread for poker dealers on a website dedicated to improving your poker play......

How has dealing poker made you a better poker player?

I know my direct response to this and I have some general comments, but I will hold off to hear others first because I think there will be some good responses.

I think there is a lot to learn in this.

Uh, it's made me not want to spend any time voluntarily being around poker players.

Dealing has not made me a better player. The only way to get better from watching poker is to really pay attention and play back hands after they finish, figuring out the what's and why's of what just happened. I'm just trying to either not make any mistakes (tournament) or to crank out as many hands as I can (cash).

The only thing it's been good for is understanding table selection. I've seen how nitty 1-2 and 1-3 games get absolutely destroyed by the rake. I used to stay in those games way too long hoping to make something from them, now I'll find a new table or go home. The difference between one table and another can be huge in a way players typically don't see. Also different stakes play very differently in different cities. Sometimes 2-5 is where the action is, sometimes it's where action goes to die. Sometimes low stakes PLO is all crazy gamblers, sometimes it's all grinders.

I'm also of the belief that big high hand promos don't help anyone but the house and maybe the bad players. They kill action which kills player profit and tips, and the occasional windfall is not enough to make up for it. I just saw a room taking out $3 for the promo drop when the pot hits $20. But they increase room traffic, so they've taken over most rooms.

I would have gotten a little less pleasure from watching him squirm while I tanked, at least.

Reducto, how do you believe high hand promos kill action? I haven't noticed that happening in games I play.

Players will call a bit more, but they bet a lot less. Hit a set? Check/call it to the river hoping to improve. Flop a combo draw? Check/call it to the river hoping to hit the straight flush. They also bring in the tiny limit games who win a higher percentage of the high hands because they're all making it to the river. In some rooms those games tip well enough, in others they're terrible.

I've consistently done better as a dealer and player in the late night games after high hands end.

Oh, where I play if you have a hand that could improve to a high hand bonus winner and everyone folds, they will rabbit hunt the turn and river to see if it would have hit, and you still win. I guess that prevents the need to slowplay.

Wow, I’ve never heard of this. It may even be against gaming regulations.

I've played and dealt a lot of rooms and never heard of that. In fact, one of the dealers in my old room got his gaming license revoked for pulling that move.

Washington state.

Yes, it is in Washington, and I'm sure they wouldn't be doing it if it went against gaming regulations.

It certainly seems better for the games than having people check it down to see if they hit.

I'm not doubting your story, just pointing out how unusual that rule is. I've played in WA a few times but never during a high hand promo.

I'm torn on how I'd feel about having this policy. It would make the 1/2 games less bad, and increase profit for the house slightly, and players would like it. And I suppose I'd deal an extra high hand occasionally that I wouldn't have otherwise. But it would get old being asked to run the turn and river every time a player has an overpair and they need to see if it would make runner runner quads after everyone folded on the flop.

Everything has a cost .. if you want to Rabbit Hunt, then toss in $1 more for the rake (not Promo Fund).

I'm also in favor of extra rake for RIT, so this should be no surprise here. GL

Anyone looking to move? Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee has posted the Poker Room Manager position with an eye on 'Spring' poker re-opening.

I have no clue how it's taken this long for this facility to reopen post-CV .. Previously hosting two WSOPc Series and Two Main and Two Regional MSPT events per year along with it's own tournaments.

While Rivers (near O'Hare) and perhaps Green Bay has taken in some of the poker action there has to be lots of pent up poker in this large city. They actually ran Limit Games on the regular too!

Just FYI .. GL

They don't run it out for that, only in the cases where just one more card is needed to make a high hand, when someone already has a set or straight flush draw.

Also, if the current high hand can't be beat they don't run it. So if there is already a straight flush on the board, they don't bother to see if you would have made quads.

Well with those stipulations, I'm on board. Sign up my room for this policy, it actually sounds good.

Now that I think of it, there was a room here in FL (Derby Lane) that had a spade royal progressive jackpot in the early 2000's-- as a few other places did-- before high hand promos as we know them today. And I recall that even if you raised PF and everyone folded, you were allowed to rabbit hunt the whole damn board and be eligible if you had two broadway spades in your hand. The only hole in my memory is that I can't remember if it was cash games only, tourneys only, or both.

It sounds like being a dealer has made you a better player even if it is just game selection because that is a very important detail to being a profitable poker player.

I agree that in order to get better watching poker you need to play back and review hands after you see them, but I think that hand review while slightly distracted is easier than most think. Even when playing and I am not in a hand and distracted (on my phone or talking to someone else) I still somewhat pay attention to the action so I would be aware if there is any gross plays or such. Same while dealing.

Unless distracted by dealer duties (counting my rack, getting a fill, etc.) I think dealing is fairly slow so there are lots of periods (especially postflop) where players are thinking that a dealer has absolutely nothing to do. A dealer can spend thus time glancing at the nearby TV (which I have done), mildly ogle a nearby cocktail waitress/massage girl (which I have done), or try and put each player on a range (which is what I usually do). The bigger games a great for this, not only are the players better and therefore much harder to read, but there is also much more downtime as the hands will take longer with more thinking.

That said, a vast majority of my dealer errors come from anticipating the action too much and being wrong.

One of the most profitable players I ever knew was a high limit PLO player. He gave me advice about winning that I never forgot. He told me that the most important part way to win money is to play against players who aren't as good as you. He used to get great lineups together and would reserve a table in my room that would have the other PLO pros drooling as they played at lower stakes against each other.

The better advice would have been to tell you how he got that group of players together. I have heard of this kind of thing many times and wonder how they do it.

By being very social and making it a fun game. The pros at the table made a point of playing looser than normal and would make EV- plays from time to time to keep the game lively. And they kept the alcohol flowing. The GTO pros at the lower stakes games never got the hang of it.