News reporter tries out Blackjack dealing

A Blackjack player knows that it takes only a few minutes to learn Blackjack, a few months to become really good at it and a lifetime to master it. But it is often easy to neglect the job that is going on on the other side of the table. News reporter Meghan Kalkstein went on a mission to find out how hard the dealer job really is.

Before she could become a dealer, Meghan, who had very limited knowledge of Blackjack, pursued with a fast trainee program at Three Rivers Casino. It was a quick course and nothing like the real deal which requires 50 hours of testing before you get your real certificate, but nevertheless, Meghan got a sense of what it really takes to be a successful dealer.

Meghan was quick to find out that it was more than just dealing cards. She added, "it's not as easy as it looks there are a number of procedures to remember including hand gestures, ways to turn cards, and of course math." Apparently, the noise and all the lights was an issue too. "It's easy to do some of the dealing in a sealed room, but the real deal pit requires so much attention - or you lose it."

So how did her dealer experience end? Apparently, she made quite a few mistakes at the table. Meghan forgot to let the players act first, hand out winnings and even forgot how to double down.

2007-11-16