Dealer School: How Casino Employees Are Trained for Success

If you love casino games and have a knack for working with people, then casino dealing may be your perfect job. It is not an easy profession to master, but the good news is that the course is quick and relatively inexpensive. Hard shifts and hours lie ahead, but dealers have quite an extraordinary career path.

Within the first few years, with the right skills, you can ply your trade at the bigger casino establishments. Who knows, you may be cutting blackjack decks at a Caesars casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Or the bustling gaming venues in Atlantic City, or anywhere in between. Your capabilities may be better used in casinos abroad, or even on cruise ships, or managing live dealer games for millions of gamers around the world.

The Basics of Casino Dealer Courses

Dealer schools prepare you with all the skills needed to thrive as a casino dealer. You don’t need to have any previous experience managing games, but a passion for casino games is a great advantage. As you will learn in-depth how to operate casino games, to the point that they practically become second nature to you.

Going to a school or taking a course is an absolute must. When you complete your course, you will receive a diploma or certificate, a necessity for applying for any casino dealer job. Casino dealer training schools are most often found in states and cities where gambling tourism thrives. You must be at least 18 years old (21 in some states) and have either a high school diploma or GED (general educational development tests). Plus, you need to have a clean criminal record. Apart from that you don’t really need much else, but the following attributes would give you an edge:

• Multilingual abilities (speaking 1 or more foreign languages)
• Prior customer support experience
• Good communication skills
• Basic knowledge of mathematics

How Dealer School Works

There are lots of different types of courses that you can take, from simple one-game courses to definitive courses that cover all the games you may possibly need. If you are really looking to specialize, some courses teach you lesser-known or rarer casino games. For example, learning exotic games such as Andar Bahar, Sic Bo, Teen Patti, and various variants of popular casino games. Not all casinos will supply these games, but if you are an expert at say Dragon Tiger Baccarat, your skills will be greatly appreciated at venues with extensive Asian games.

The single-game course will teach you how to master one casino game. These do not just apply to specialist games, but you can also learn how to manage classics such as roulette or blackjack. A single-game training course can last 4 to 6 weeks and is the least expensive. Depending on the location and the school you apply to, you can generally find courses for under $500.

A comprehensive program will prepare you to be an all round croupier for craps, blackjack, baccarat, poker, and several other games. It is really the basic package that anyone needs to break into casino dealing. These courses last longer and may take 8 to 12 weeks to complete. However you can always look for intensive programs that offer accelerated versions of the comprehensive package. In an intensive course, you can master the games in as little as 3 to 4 weeks, but these require more hours per week. The courses can range in price, but generally, ou will find them under $1,000. Though intensive courses may cost more.

Curriculum and Practising

The programs cover everything you will need to work on a day to day basis on a casino floor. Learning the rules of the casino games is a big part of the courses. That includes mastering the art of dealing, the techniques of managing each game, and learning all the payouts by heart. You will also need to learn how to professionally shuffle decks, launch roulette games, and manage craps games.

Quick mental math is a must if you are to efficiently handle the payouts for each player and maintain the flow of a game. It’s quite easy in blackjack, where the payout is 1:1. But in roulette, where payouts range from 1:1, up to 35:1, you need to be able to swiftly and confidently pay out winning bets.

During your courses, you will be tested through practice sessions, in which the teachers will assess your capabilities. Ideally, by the latter part of the course, you should be able to handle games without any mistakes or delays. In real-life scenarios, it is quite common for players to communicate or interact with dealers. A newcomer may ask you how the games work, or you may get players asking specifics about the game. Dealers must be ready to handle these queries, without breaking up the flow of the games.

People management and communication skills are a big part of everyday life for dealers. In your training course, you will have to hone your people management skills. This essentially prepares you for all kinds of patrons, from inquiring newbies to problematic misbehaving customers.

Finishing the Course and Final Examinations

At the end of the dealer training course, there are typically written and practical examinations. Upon completion, you will get the licensure and qualifications needed to become a dealer. The written exam will test your knowledge of the game rules, and may include questions regarding casino regulations and procedures. Plus, it may also test your mathematics skills.

The practical examinations will have you work under simulated casino conditions. You must conduct games proficiently, learning how to handle the chips and maintain the rhythm of the games. All whilst remaining open to any interaction by players.

Career Opportunities as a Casino Dealer

As soon as you have obtained your gaming license, you can start applying for jobs. Entry level dealers are generally tasked with dealing standard casino games, such as roulette or blackjack. These are the basics, and a good place to start for fresh graduates. Plus, the tables that most beginners start at have low limits, and are mainly poised to attract beginners.

This means new dealers don’t really get a large share of tips, as the players at these tables generally play with smaller sums of money. But as the entry level dealers gain more experience, they can gain positions at higher limit tables, and even start getting more peak hour shifts. As you gain more experience, you will also get a chance to operate more specialized tables, or serve the higher stakes games. In the beginning, your choices may seem narrow, but after the first one or two years, you will find lots of different areas in which you can further your career.

Types of Casino Dealers and Career Trajectory

For instance, if you can manage lots of players at a time and are proficient with casino technology, you can become a live table casino dealer. This is a very specialized position in which the action on the table is streamed to players all around the world, and you have to manage the games. Having a foreign language or two under your belt greatly improves your chances of applying to be a live casino dealer.

But you can also take your skills to casino cruise ships or gaming boats. The market may seem quite niche at first, and it requires you to work for months at a time. But the rewards are aplenty. Cruise ships have high roller clientele, players who will bring wads of cash to their games, which can potentially see you earning tremendous tips. Plus, you will travel frequently and to many places – the ideal job for any adventurer.

The big bucks can be made at the Las Vegas or Atlantic City casinos. These establishments garner the largest crowds with hundreds of gaming tables for dealers to serve bidding players. If you work your way up, you can get a table at a casino resort, where the base salary and tips can create a handsome salary. If you have an eye for game management and show proficient operational skills, you can even apply to become a casino pit boss. These are basically the operational managers, who are responsible for maintaining high gaming standards and creating a buzzing environment.

If you are looking to work on a more intimate basis with the patrons, you can also try your hand at VIP hosting. Casino hosts are concierges who guide high rollers around the casino and cater to their every need. A foundation of dealing and casino games is essential, and you have to be adept at working with people.

Learning How to Succeed as a Dealer

The road to becoming a casino dealer is not difficult and practically anyone can attend dealer school. The beginnings of the career are quite difficult, and at times you will come against obstacles. Such as fussy customers, long shifts, scarce tips, and challenging work environments. But such is the case for practically any career. Once you have mastered the basics and done the heavy lifting, you will find rife opportunities both in the US and abroad. There are opportunities to specialize in specific games, change your career path and become a floor supervisor or casino host, or take your chances at the most prestigious and historic casino venues in the world.

It all starts with taking a dealer training course. Within the space of a few weeks, you can learn how to deal like a professional and open up a world of career opportunities.