Dealer keeps changing out the chips in the pot
There’s a dealer who keeps changing out the chips in the pot during the hand. For example, if their rack is low on $5 chips and there’s a pot in progress with five $5 chips in the pot they’ll take a $25 chip out of their rack to switch it for the $5 chips. I told the dealer I don’t like that as I’m superstitious but they still keep doing it saying they need the $5 chips to run the game. Why can’t they just get a chip runner if they need change? Do I have a right to complain and tell them not to change the chips in the pot during hands I’m in?
Your superstition should not slow down the game. I would be more concerned that the dealer is skimming from the pot with this kind of constant changing out of the chips.
When a dealer claims they need $5 chips within their well to run the game, I'm going to assume it's a larger stake game, at least 2/5 NL but likely bigger, a game where $25 chips do a lot of the work. I agree your superstition is not enough to raise complaints. Asking for a chip runner solely for $5 chips is something I'd consider a waste of time, while making change is typically a thing done on "dealer time", such as immediately after dealing the flop and players are taking time to take their actions/make decisions. For a good amount of places, dealers are usually taking in a lot of $5 chips into their rack over the course of a down, to make change for rake, jackpot, or tips for themselves or cocktail servers.
Now if the dealer is making change with an improper/unclear procedure, that's where you can raise issue. The proper procedure is to prove the transaction in front of the rack & away from the pot, with the incoming chips on one side (left is standard) and the outgoing chip(s) on the other. If the transaction isn't being properly proven & can be seen in real time, then you have a reasonable complaint.
There’s a dealer who keeps changing out the chips in the pot during the hand. For example, if their rack is low on $5 chips and there’s a pot in progress with five $5 chips in the pot they’ll take a $25 chip out of their rack to switch it for the $5 chips. I told the dealer I don’t like that as I’m superstitious but they still keep doing it saying they need the $5 chips to run
Oh man, a dealer doesn't stop doing something completely fine because you're superstitious? Color me shocked. You don't own the chips, especially once they are in the pot. As long as the dealer isn't skimming there's nothing wrong with this.
If they're doing it too fast for you to verify it was done correctly or they're doing it excessively, you are fine pointing it out. If not, you're going to have to learn to live with it. They're doing their best to keep the game running quickly, which you should want.
It's their rack, it's the table's pot, and it's the dealer's job.
I think in a game like blackjack that fundamentally has more of a one-on-one dynamic with the dealer, you're welcome to ask them to deal *your* hit cards a certain way or something, but even then the dealer very well not comply unless you're an especially important customer and *even then* the room may forbid it because of (eg) edge sorting.
I commend (rather than condemn) you for asking the question and inviting criticism of your impulse rather than acting on it, and the words like "entitled" and "catering" are pretty fraught and imply some mean-spirited personal judgements I don't want to invite into this conversation, but I do think they accurately describe the impulse you want to fight here.
I don’t consider it a waste of time to ask a chip runner for fives if you literally have none. If it is a higher stakes game and this guy is a fish then yeah absolutely they should abide by his request that maybe takes a minute to fulfill.
It’s better for them to ask a player to change the chips if needed. “Hey I have too many greens, can I trade you for a stack of reds?”
It’s better for them to ask a player to change the chips if needed. “Hey I have too many greens, can I trade you for a stack of reds?”
This.
This dealer aggressively changes out the chips from the pot throughout his down to avoid having to call a chip runner. He does it so fast that no one can see what he’s doing not to mention he does it during the hands when people are distracted. He doesn’t announce what he’s doing he just does it. He should just ask the players for change instead of ****ing with the pot nonstop
I am a bit skeptical now. Your first statement sounds like what the dealer is doing is a W for the players and/or house, getting more hands a W for the players if game is time rake, generally a W for all if it's a normal pot rake game. The idea that he is "too fast" or not announcing making change is by itself not a valid complaint IMO. Is he procedurally correct or not? This just seems like your opinion or superstition of what he should do is different from what he actually does.
If you take such issue with it, perhaps you could have a good amount of red in your stack & offer your neighbors/table mates change. Offer to buy the $25 or $100 chips in the dealer's rack with your red if they're running low. This would take a reasonable amount of effort & attention
You would be lying to the floor while claiming the moral high ground. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE...
This. This dealer aggressively changes out the chips from the pot throughout his down to avoid having to call a chip runner. He does it so fast that no one can see what he’s doing not to mention he does it during the hands when people are distracted. He doesn’t announce what he’s doing he just does it. He should just ask the players for change instead of ****ing with the pot
LOL
Bro if it’s a raked game with or without a BBJ drop they are needing to make change from the rack like 90% of hands. If the dealer announced it every time you’d ask them to stfu in less than five minutes.
Maybe spend less time raging about superstitions and more time focusing on poker. Your posts do nothing other than make you come off like a miserable person to deal to and with.
LOLBro if it’s a raked game with or without a BBJ drop they are needing to make change from the rack like 90% of hands. If the dealer announced it every time you’d ask them to stfu in less than five minutes. Maybe spend less time raging about superstitions and more time focusing on poker. Your posts do nothing other than make you come off like a miserable person to
He does not need to make change 90% of hands.
I’m not talking about a $20 bet where someone calls with a $25 chip and the dealer has to make change.
I’m talking about a hand where all the preflop action is complete and while players are checking on the flop, the dealer is stacking up 20 $5 chips from the pot to change out a $100 chip in his rack. He shouldn’t be doing this during the hand and if his rack is short on $5 chips he can ask a player for change or call a chip runner instead of ****ing with the pot
Frankly if there are that many tiny chips in relation to the game I would rather win the one bigger chip
The only questions that can be answered here have already been answered. The dealer is doing nothing wrong as far as we can tell. If you have a problem with it, talk to management at the room.
It’s uncertain if the dealer is doing anything wrong. Most places want dealers to manage their tray so that they are asking for chips if they need them, not taking 5’s out of the pot.
I think that the OP is an unreliable narrator so it’s hard to know if there’s a problem here.
No you don't understand, the dealer is changing out 20 reds from the pot during 9 out of 10 hands. You can trust OP on this.
I am a bit skeptical now. Your first statement sounds like what the dealer is doing is a W for the players and/or house, getting more hands a W for the players if game is time rake, generally a W for all if it's a normal pot rake game. The idea that he is "too fast" or not announcing making change is by itself not a valid complaint IMO. Is he procedurally correct or not? This j
Don’t know how it’s a W for everyone if the dealer is frequently distracted by coloring up his rack during hands. It might speed the game up because the dealer won’t need to get a fill but if someone occasionally notices the pot is wrong due to the dealer hastily swapping out chips during the hand then it negates the benefits. Or if the dealer is distracted from busily coloring up the chips which causes him to lose track of the action, that slows down the game too.
I like the idea of getting more small denom chips myself to help the dealer color up so he won’t have to keep ****ing with the pot, at least not the ones I’m in.
It’s uncertain if the dealer is doing anything wrong. Most places want dealers to manage their tray so that they are asking for chips if they need them, not taking 5’s out of the pot.
I think that the OP is an unreliable narrator so it’s hard to know if there’s a problem here.
Where am I unreliable?
Your example in OP is a totally normal thing. Then you try to dig in by claiming he does so "aggressively" and changes twenty $5 for a $100 in later posts. That's why you're considered an unreliable narrator
Your example in OP is a totally normal thing. Then you try to dig in by claiming he does so "aggressively" and changes twenty $5 for a $100 in later posts. That's why you're considered an unreliable narrator
My original post:
“ There’s a dealer who keeps changing out the chips in the pot during the hand. For example, if their rack is low on $5 chips and there’s a pot in progress with five $5 chips in the pot they’ll take a $25 chip out of their rack to switch it for the $5 chips. ”
“Keeps changing out the chips in the pot” = aggressive. The OP already suggests he does it aggressively even if I didn’t use the word aggressive because he does it frequently.
Taking five $5 chips out of the pot to switch for a $25 chip is an example in my OP. It’s consistent with the dealer also taking twenty $5 chips out of the pot to switch for a $100 chip when he has the opportunity.
He has done both. Just because I gave the $25 chip example in the OP and later mentioned he’s also done $100 chip makes me unreliable because I didn’t mention the $100 example in my OP?
Does that mean it’s ok if he switches five $5 chips for a $25 but not if he switches twenty $5 chips for a $100 chip since according to y’all it’s such a big difference that not mentioning the $100 chip in the OP makes me unreliable?
Your main argument in OP was you didn’t like it because you’re superstitious.
That’s a sure fire way to make sure absolutely nobody cares about what your complaint it. It’s also on brand for a misreg to complain about the dealer changing out chips because you’re superstitious but then you say “why can’t the dealer ask another player?!?!?”
“Rules for thee, not for me.”
It’s a common pattern on this forum for people to make a complaint about a ruling or procedure, not get the answer they want, and then exaggerate the issue or introduce new claims that weren’t in the OP. For example, it seems like you wouldn’t just mention a 25 dollar chip if there was an example of the dealer changing a 100 dollar chip out of the pot.
It also seems unlikely how frequently the dealer is doing it. I could believe a few hands in a down but so often and so fast that you can’t even verify him doing it seems unlikely.
I can't fathom how you are confused about why you are unreliable when in your first post you say don't like it because you're superstitious and in your very next post you say that you will tell the floor that you are worried about skimming.
But anyway, what if I have a superstition that the dealer not making change mid-hand is unlucky for me? (After all, for you to be lucky, someone else has to be unlucky, and vice versa.) Whose superstition takes precedence?
We limit deck washings despite superstitions and because it slows down the game. This is no different. There are pieces of a reasonable argument interspersed between your posts, but the real reason why it upsets you is silly, and you're not even being honest about that, so it's hard to engage with the rest seriously.
I kinda disagree with most here, but not for the reason OP mentions.
Your main argument in OP was you didn’t like it because you’re superstitious. That’s a sure fire way to make sure absolutely nobody cares about what your complaint is.
Absolutely true. I almost stopped reading OP here. In person, I will never take your complaint seriously, by default, if it's made because you're superstitious about things. People who ask for setup changes because of "bad luck" drive me bonkers, as do rooms that allow players to request it. This isn't that bad, but it's not good either.
Having said that...
Dealers should keep their mitts out of the pot. Especially mid-hand when no one is watching. This used to be SOP, and something most here agreed with. Dealers can cheat, they can skim, they can make mistakes. They should not be messing with the pot whenever the hell they want. When they need to make change with the pot, they should do so clearly, and if it's not just making change for bets they should articulate what they are doing and why.
If a dealer needs to make change for someone for actual bets being made, something that happens a lot more routinely, they can do that, but presumably people are watching the betting and see that happen, and they understand why it is happening. And none of the chips are going into the rack, they are just moving between pot and players.
If they need help to keep their racks workable, they should ask players to exchange chips between hands. That way at least that one player is paying complete attention to the transaction. If no one wants to, then stop the game and call a chip runner. Then everyone can blame themselves for the slowdown.
Yes, I know it is slower. Too bad. Having the dealer messing with the pot mid hand is a greater sin.
Of course, in a rake game the room wants hands turned over quickly, so they are probably fine with the dealer speeding things up as much as possible. Just not worth it to me as a player.
