Chicago Sun-Times: Seasoned hands always on deck for good reasons

Q. I watched a TV show called "Sex, Dice and Vega$," and one of the stories was about a new blackjack dealer fresh out of school. They showed his first day on the job. It was a dream table, where each player bet the table maximum, and the players won so much that the dealer actually ran out of chips. Consequently, the pit boss pulled him, in favor of a more experienced dealer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but are not the fortunes of the dealer supposed to go strictly by the cards, and not the skill or swiftness of the dealer? Can you shed any light on this situation?

Anthony C.

A. Besides basic proficiency at pitching cardboard, all break-in dealers who graduate from the typical dealer school have learned shuffling and card placement, card totaling, chip handling and cutting, taking losing bets and paying winning hands, and "changing color" (converting house chips into larger or smaller denominations). Special emphasis also is given to accuracy and speed. And though dealers acquire some of those skills, they cannot accelerate their game nor boost their skills without a lot of hands- on experience.

The reason the veteran stepped in for the apprentice dealer was two-fold. Management prefers a seasoned dealer to handle high-limit action, and they want more hands per hour (speed) than they would get out of a break-in dealer. The more blackjack hands you expose to the built-in house advantage, the faster an experienced dealer will obliterate your bankroll.

Early on when I was a newbie dealing blackjack, I dealt to a guy who was betting between $500-$1,000 a hand on three spots. After a panicky pit boss saw that I was not combat-ready, he yanked me off the game and brought in a dealer whose pitch and pay-and-take were about the fastest in the business. The action was far too hostile for me to handle on my first week out of basic training. Though a dealer change is often credited with ending a favorable streak of cards by superstitious pit bosses and players alike, it's actually the players seeing more hands per hour that modifies their luck, not some poky dealer lacking chutzpah.

Q. Recently, a dealer was not even halfway through the shoe and the cut card appeared and she shuffled up. Next round, even fewer cards were dealt before she had to shuffle again. Seems she was doing more shuffling than dealing. What gives?

Stewart S.

A. Personally, I believe if those timorous stewards of gambling were to conduct time and motion studies of their blackjack games, they would find that blackjack becomes more profitable for the casino when the dealer's shuffle points are deeper. By allowing additional deck penetration, the dealers will deal more hands per hour, the extra action more than making up for an occasional loss to a card sharpie.

Besides, since they employ pit bulls to run off the counters anyway, they're just erecting a super umbrella over their standard umbrella, and, I think, using a nickel to protect a penny.

Mark Pilarski writes a nationally syndicated gambling column. E- mail him at pilarski@markpilarski.com.