This is – as promised – a follow up of the post from yesterday. Yup…still grouching. The following are the events that led up to my pushing into the game behind David:
BEGIN DAVID***
Here’s the story:
I pushed into table #6 and found a five-handed $20-$40 half-kill Omaha eight or better game. Four of the five were regulars: Jay, Mark, Tan Le, a stranger, and a regular who’s name I don’t know (he’s the one who was in the six seat and wears a leather vest–white male, about 55-60).
I asked for the time and was met with a polite directive that I was to “take the time from the first killed flop”. We know that this game requires that each player pay his/her own time. But, I’ll let it go–I’m just not in a fightin’ mood.
Well, as luck would have it, the first hand we see the flop. There is a bet but no call: the pot has $80 pre-flop, a $20 bet and no call. Following their directive I start to push the pot and the group (in concert) invites me to take the time NOW. I’m thinking that I just didn’t hear them correctly. What do I know. . .I’m just a dealer.
OK. Take the time, push the pot, move the button. Scramble, shuffle up and move along. But wait, there’s more.
Four of the five (not including the winner, of course) point out that I forgot to put out the Kill button. At this point I check the sign to see if I’ve missed something. I tell the collective that there was only $80 in the pot, well short of the required $250 for a Kill.
At this point Mark tells me that the guys decided, in the interest of creating more action in their short game, to use the structure we use in the $80-$160 game: Time from the pot and a Kill on any flop.
Now I really don’t care what they’re doing. Whatever the group wants to do and that management will let me do, I’m willing to do it. I know this is not right, so I’m going to get Boba to OK it. I’m not about to tell a customer “No”, so I use the trick of calling over a floorperson and let them tell ’em.
I called Boba over and asked him to change the table sign to reflect the “new” table rules. Specifically, the sign says “1/2 Kill on $250.” A two-inch piece of white tape would make everything A-OK with me, management, and the gaming commission’s agents. Boba, always perturbed with Omaha headaches, comes over a declares that “this isn’t the game we play at Bellagio”. These guys are welcome to stay and play the house’s version of the game but are not welcome to make up their own variations.
As Boba RUNS away before the flack starts to blast, all I get is “Thanks a lot, David.”
“Yeah, thanks!”
“We been playin’ like this for two and a half hours! No one’s complained. How come you got to complain?”
I offered no comment–nothing I could have said would have pleased them. Nothing.
Instead I just dealt the game. I came out of there with $4 dollars. Fifteen hands–four dollars. And they came from Tan and Mark, both are guys I’ve worked with for years.
As for my feelings: like I said before, I really don’t care what they’re doing. Whatever the group wants to do and that management will let me do, I’m willing to do it. I don’t care what the rules are. Just tell me the rules–I’ll follow them.
I don’t really know who I’m more disappointed with: dealers or players.
As for dealers–do your damn job. You know how it is following some dealers. They let the game go to hell and you have to come in and get it back on track. And the worst part is I can be stereotyped by the actions of the incompetent dealers on out staff. There are times when players start to correct me before I even come close to making a mistake. My first reaction is to be insulted. But then I have to think of the incompetents in our midst who have screwed up this guy’s cards before. And then that’s when I soften up and start to think, maybe this guy’s just doing the right thing and looking out for his interests.
As for players:
This is where I was going to write a couple of paragraphs bitching about players. But that’s not right. These players come in and spend good money for the privilege. WE are the professionals. WE are the one who have to accommodate THEM. If we don’t let our rules be known and if we don’t enforce our rules in a consistent manner, then it is our fault–not a player’s. I accept that players will take shots, bending rules to the breaking point. I also accept the responsibility to see that the rules are enforced fairly and consistently. I only wish my co-workers were as diligent as I think I am.
I can’t control them–I can control me. That’s my strategy and I’m stickin’ to it!
END DAVID***
When I sat down, Kenny – 1s, Tan – 2s, Guy in the vest – 5s, Stranger – 6s, a walker in the 7s. I announced “Time Pot!” The four players threw out $5 each and the “Walker” appeared. It was Mark. We dealt with him at the Mirage some years back and he’s been in gaming for quite some time – possibly only as a player now but he’s dealt and knows the dealer’s POV. Guess that’s why this is so unexpected from him. He was having a fit. It all had to do with David, the dealer I pushed.
The gist of his irritation was that the ‘house’ would not allow them to play the game with the format they wanted. But his main irritation was with David. The guy in the vest chimed in with Mark and seconded all of the points Mark made for them to be able to have the game the way they wanted it…it went on and on…punctuated with the fact that neither the vest nor Mark were going to tip David again.
Why? Because he did what every dealer should do…his job. He did what the first dealer should have done when the players first talked about changing the game, he called the Floor.
The vest stated that he tipped a lot (which he does, he’s consistent and never fails to tip and we really appreciate him for it) and “…he will never see another tip from me…”
Mark was throwing in his two cents worth and was so upset that he just couldn’t play anymore (although the other players asked him to stay) and he was going to talk to David away from the table about the mistake that David had made by DOING HIS JOB!
What the hell is going on here…stupid dealer…doing your job? Why? You mean you have work ethics and moral standards…idiot! Slap…smack…kick…better yet, no tips for you! If you do your job right, the same way every time, it might mean you are protecting me – the player – but what do I care…let me threaten you with loss of income and berate you while I’m doing it because you wouldn’t bend the rules for me!
Kamell (swing supervisor) walked up to the table and the conversation continued with the players taking the stance that if they were playing high limit, they could do anything they wanted. Kamell told them that just last week, he’d been called for a decision just like this one in a high limit game. He told them no too. He tried to explain the reason for consistency in having a standard game ran the same way all the time.
Mark left and the conversation continued for a few moments longer. With Kamell standing at the table, I butted in, “David shouldn’t be blamed for something that someone else allowed to happen. The real problem is the dealer that allowed it to happen to begin with instead of calling for a decision.”
Kamell said, “Well, no kidding.”
I was really hoping that it would register, to everyone left at the table, that David was only doing his job. Kamell left, I dealt, they played. But Mark returned for one last stab…to tell the others that he knew for a fact that in high limit the players could do whatever they wanted. Ugh! Mark forgot what it’s like to work in the industry.
Working in the industry is not just from the house’s side. Players work at it too but sometimes they forget why rules are made. They also forget that rules work best if they are enforced. Letting someone slide and enforcing it for others just doesn’t cut it.