The following anonymous email (on August 26, 2007) was sent to me regarding dealer pokers here in Calgary.

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Hi there Kevin,

I stumbled across your site and noticed that you have been in this industry for a quite a while and thought maybe I could ask you a few questions about dealing poker.

I am interested in becoming a poker dealer to fund my education... A while ago, a friend of mine told me that you can cash in for $4,000 a month if you work the night shifts.

1. I do know that it is a minimum-wage paying job. On a normal shift, how much can you expect to make on tips (Working the night shift)?

2. If you are working overnight, do you get to keep all the tips to yourself? I thought all tips were pooled and split.

3. I have no experience in the industry, although I am quite familiar with the rules of poker. How long does it usually take for an average person to learn how to deal poker?

4. In your opinion, which casino would be the most profitable to deal in town?

5. As a new employee, are casinos usually flexible with your schedule or do you have to work with their schedule?

6. Last but not least, would you recommend working as a poker dealer to save up money? Why or why not?

If you would like to share your personal experience working as a dealer, don't be afraid to do so. You could also post this under the News / Blog entry if you desire, as long as you post me as an anonymous poster.

Thank you very much for your response and have a great day.

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Kevin's ANSWERS:

1. First of all, there are currently 5 casinos with poker rooms that offer 24 hour poker. Without sharing specific details, generally late night poker dealers will usually expect to make around double the rate per hour in tips as compared to what you would make during regular casino hours.

2. Dealers in Alberta have no choice but to pool their tips. After 2:00am poker dealers will only pool their tips with each other. During regular hours, tips are pooled with all the dealers in the casino regardless of what games they are dealing.

3. Most poker courses I've seen are around 4 weeks long, 5 days a week, & usually about 3 or 4 hours per day. Having some previous poker knowledge will help, but many instructors I've heard say they would just as well teach someone with no previous poker knowledge. Playing the game and dealing the game are very different. Being good at one does necessarily mean your automatically good at the other, although it is possible to be good at both. Completing a course does not make you good poker dealer. It takes many months for most poker dealers to fully get the hang of it.

4. Assuming that a person can get the shifts they want and the hours they want (which is of course hard for anyone starting out) rumor has it that Casino Calgary (ABS) has the best tips on late night poker. This is only what I have heard.

5. Some casinos are more flexible than others. I would suggest to anyone to talk to whoever is teaching the poker course and find out exactly what the hours and scheduling will be. I would also find out who makes the schedule and talk to them directly about what you could expect for shifts and hours based on successful completion of your course.

6. I would say to anyone that is interested in poker that it is a great way to make money if you like the casino environment and you generally like people. From what I have seen, the average poker dealer stays with it for a few years. A lot of times dealing poker can be a great way to supplement another job if its not something you want to do full time.

I have a billion stories that I could write about regarding dealing poker, but I don't have that kind of energy today. I started in the casino business in 1997 and I am still here. I left the industry a few times only to find myself back in it. Why? I guess I have a passion for the game and that's probably why I am still working as a poker dealer. I find it is the most fascinating game of all, and for me it only makes sense to get paid doing something that interests me. Be advised, not everyone that loves to play poker will love dealing poker. They are quite different.

Thanks for your questions. This website was revived to help people find information relating to poker. If I don't have the information people are looking for, I can point them in the direction of the people or the websites that do. . . Links

Cheers!

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