Dealer keeps changing out the chips in the pot

Fair enough. I am superstitious and that is one of the reasons why I don’t like it but I also don’t like the dealer messing with the pot. Skimming and mistakes are also real concerns. I just kept it simple in the OP because I wanted to know, regardless of my reasons, whether this is something that the dealer should be doing. When I brought it up to the dealer in the past, I said I was superstitious to not imply he’s clumsy or a thief. But as it turns out, people will disregard my complaint if I say it’s superstition so going forward if I complain to the dealer or management I will state my other concerns.

I agree with Dinesh, the dealer should keep their mitts out of the pot unless making change for bets during that round.

If I were to bring something like this up to management or the dealer, I would not initially state any reason. I would simply ask why it is being done this way, implying that it is not standard.

If pressed for a reason, maybe then give the list of possible downsides to doing it that way, but at no time would I ever mention superstitions.

Bingo.

One of the policies of the room I work in is that we are supposed to keep the rake up-to-date before dealing the next card (turn and river). This can often require making change, especially at $2/$5 where often there are not enough white $1 chips in the pot for accurate rake. Basically, management absolutely hates it when the hand gets to the river which goes check/check, there is a show-down, dealer kills losing hand(s), and then in front of everyone, the dealer takes a $5 chip from the pot and makes change to take the rake.

For one, this slows the game down, the dealer should do it while the action is on the players. For two, it makes it obvious to everyone that chips are slowly being drained away from the game. Sure almost every player knows the game is being raked, but why rub it in their face? For three, it means when a dealer forgets to rake the pot it results in full rake being lost rather than partial rake if done in real time.

So oftentimes when I am on a table where I need to make change for the rake, I will do it on the flop when the players are acting. Then by the time it gets to the river, all of the white $1 chips in the pot do not need to be there. All of the players making it to showdown have plenty of white chips. So I will bring $5 worth of the white chips back and color the rake back up to red.

There is a player that this change/color up drives him absolutely bonkers. He constantly moans about how I am doing extra work (yes, but I am doing it when I wouldn't otherwise be doing anything else but stare at a player). He once complained to a floor who agreed with him and told me not to rake the hand until the end before pushing the pot (or once max rake was hit). The player rubbed it in my face. He was talking shit about me doing a better job, etc. So after my down I went to the Operations Manager (who was the ultimate authority on the policies and procedures). I asked if policy changed and we were supposed to take rake at the end (or in real time). He made it quite clear that we were supposed to do it in real time. I explained to him that Floorperson X told me to do it at the end. I guess 15 minutes later the Operations Manager ripped the floor a new one.

Sure, I threw the floor under the bus, but he initially threw me under the bus by miscorrecting me in front of the players.

Next time I saw that player I raked the game the correct way, and he started in on me. He wanted the floor to come over. I called the floor and a different floor told him I was doing it correctly. I guess later he went to the floor that made the incorrect ruling and that floor told him to drop it because I was fine.

As an edit, I should clarify. If pre-flop the bet is $15 with one caller and there is $30 something in the pot, wr are to bring in the bets, deal the flop, then when players are acting on the flop, we are to make the correct rake. Same afterwards. If on the flop a player bets $15 and gets called, we are to bring in the bets, deal the turn and then make the rake right. Etc.

There are occasionally times where the players act so quickly that I don't have time to get rake right before the next card is to come out. Management totally understands these situations and we are not dinged for waiting to rake the pot. They don't want to slow the game down, but they just don't want lazy dealers who wait until the end to rake the pot despite having lots of time to do so during the hand.

That’s an interesting account from a dealer. As a player who has complained about the dealer changing out chips in the pot, I have never minded when a dealer did it for the rake because I understand it’s standard operating procedure. He has no choice and it’s also for a small amount, like taking a $5 chip out of the pot to switch for five $1 chips. I also don’t have a problem with a dealer making change for a player for the same reasons. Additionally, it’s done when others are watching the chips (chips going into the pot) and the player receiving the change can verify the transaction.

I do have a problem with a dealer who frequently changes the chips in the pot to keep his rack filled. At the room I play in, players can rebuy from the dealer so the rack often gets short on smaller denomination chips. The dealer is obligated to keep his rack reasonably filled for the next dealer. I don’t know if it’s standard operating procedure to get his fill from the pot as it requires the dealer to frequently mess with the pot for larger amounts of money than $5 for the rake. The dealer also does it during the flop, turn, or river when players are deciding on their action and not paying attention to the chips. What do you think about that and what would your management say?

I wouldn't have a problem if any/most/all of these were true:

• Dealer tray looks short on reds
  
• There are greens in the pot
  
• The players in the hand have green chips
  
• The game isn't slowed down in making change from the pot
  
• There are multiple red chips in the pot (this by itself would be bad)
  

I'd have a problem with the dealer making change from the pot to another player or the dealer making change out of the pot for more than $25. Otherwise, delaying fills is good for the game.

The real problem is that this is one of those "it depends" situations. What is perfectly understandable in one situation is sketchy in another.

A few things that matter to me:

1. Dealers are taught to manage to chips on the table. What I mean by this is that dealers should be aware of the demoniation of the chips on the table. If every player at the table has one or more stacks of white $1 chips, them they shouldn't be flooding the table with $1 chips. Conversely, if there are very few $1 white chips on the table then flood away. For example, basic 101 of dealing is never push a pot without at least a few $1 chips in it so the player has something to tip you with.

Obviously this can be a feel type of thing and can lead to absurd situations. There are plenty of situations where I am at a table where one player has multiple stacks of $1 chips and pushing them more is crazy, yet they will be on the river against an opponent who has zero $1 chips in their stack. As a dealer, I am trying to figure out who is going to win so I can figure whether to include $1 chips in the pot or not.

So whether to make change from the pot is very much a grey area. I feel thing. I can argue both sides of it all day. There is no right answer.

That said, just know that 99.999 percent of dealers are on the up and up. If the pot is shorted it is more due to incompetence than malice. So if the pot is shorted $1, it is equally likely that it will be $1 high.

That said, there are scumbags who live in that .001 percent. They steal from pots. It sucks. It is dumb, but it happens (it is dumb because I could never imagine risking my job over stealing $5 from a pot). The risk/reward is insane.

But it happens. People are dumb/desperate.

The problem is, how do you design policies to handle the extremely rare situation of theft all while allowing the beneficial effects of dealers making change? There is no good solution.

That said, as a dealer I rarely if ever make change for anything greater than $5, or if I do I make it very clear and obvious so everyone can follow. More often than not, if I need to make change for a $25 or greater chip, I will ask a player to make the change. 90% of tables I have ever dealt at, players are always looking to color up so there is almost always a taker. If there isn't, I will go out of my way to make it very clear and obvious how I make change and make it so most should be able to follow it.

That said, if I am making change for $5, I am doing it cleanly, but I am doing it fast as well, I have other shit to worry about. If someone cannot follow, that is their problem.

That said, part of my attitude as a dealer is that of a player. Obviously I want everything to be accurate, but speed matters more in such trivial situations. As a player my attitude is that if a dealer is really stealing a dollar or two from the pot, they are desperate. Better to let them steal a dollar or two from me rather than get get really desperate and collude with another player to cheat and stack me.