Adding to the Repertoire

I've worked 3 days on day shift so far, and I've noticed a couple of surprises. The first is that the action during the middle of the day isn't nearly as heavy as I thought. I spent a significant percentage of my day glaring off into the middle distance or watching the Packers/Seahawks game on the bar big screens. For a Saturday afternoon, it was quite surprising.

The other thing I've realized is how freakin' easy some of these carnival games are to deal. Since I've worked nothing but graveyard for the past 9 months or so, I never got to learn those games since they weren't open at night. Carnival games are as follows: deuces wild, 3-card poker, let it ride, ultimate texas holdem, etc. Well, my string of games yesterday included a $10 pai gow game, 3-card poker and a $10 blackjack shoe game. I must tell you, it was quite an enjoyable day. On graveyard, I would deal nothing but blackjack (mostly double-deck pitch) for the entire 8 hours if I wasn't on dice. Going into a shift knowing that you'll be dealing 3 different games is a nice change of pace.

One difference in the learning curve though is that most dealers learn these weird games at a break-in joint, like Fiesta Rancho or such. I'm learning them at a mid-tier house. The difference being that I was dealing to a guy yesterday playing $200 per hand and $25 in the bonus on 2 hands at the pai gow table. That's significant money if I happen to screw up a hand set or bonus pay out. And I'm definitely still making rookie mistakes on these games. At one point, I went to pay out a bonus at pia gow, but mistook the bonus betting circle for the regular circle, and vice versa, which almost cost the guy about $16.

One piece of advice, let-it-ride is the most moronic casino game ever invented. It has a house edge of around 20%. I feel dumber for learning it. If a casino ever received an enema, the let-it-ride players would be the last to be flushed out.

After the Packers whipped up on the Seahawks yesterday, I had the opportunity to give some grief to a couple Green Bay fans. This line came out of my mouth at one point, "Sir, surveillance can't see your bet past your cheesehead." Sure, I was kinda being a prick about it, but my point remained valid. Every time I would get over to 3rd base to give this guy a card, his ridiculous head o' cheese would cast a shadow over his betting circle. I might have cut him some slack, but earlier in the session he made the ultimate mistake of claiming he was born in Detroit and was a big Michigan fan.