Become A Blackjack Dealer

A blackjack dealer must at least have a high school diploma or its equivalent, to access promising job opportunities. Most dealers today have completed a program at dealer school either funded by a casino or as part of a vocational school. Gaming programs are quite common in areas where casinos prosper and their duration is usually six weeks. Ultimately, the best thing you can do to become a truly professional Blackjack dealer is to just keep on practising.

The Role of the Dealer, the Role of a Lifetime

The role of the dealer, or croupier, is a prestigious and important duty, integral to the organisation of a casino. Everything that happens at the game table – from the punters and the chips going in, to the winners and the chips going out – is the responsibility of the dealer.

It’s the perfect transition for those who already know a bit about gambling – if you enjoy a good blackjack game from time to time then why not consider becoming a blackjack dealer? You can put that experience to great use and get paid while you win for the house. This is possible for land-based casinos as well as live casino sites.

But what makes a tip top blackjack dealer? Besides the knowledge of the game and its rules and strategies, there’s actually a collection of skills and qualifications that are often required to be a consummate croupier. Some of these can be studied, while other softer, non-technical skills are always a work in progress that can be built up and focused on.

Qualifications Helpful to Becoming a Blackjack Dealer

While in the UK there are no real qualifications that you absolutely need to kick-start your blackjack dealer career, there are some programs that can give you a little leg up against the competition. These are private courses that you can take to get a comprehensive blackjack training.

These courses, such as dealer courses offered at schools such as Ace Academy, teaches not only the technical skills and knowledge that underpin blackjack, but also the etiquette that is to be expected on casino floors, and how to navigate the interviews and table tests that you’ll come to expect as you navigate the entry-level casino world.

Regardless of technical skills and industry know-how, applicants to croupier positions are expected by most employers to have some basic qualifications – at minimum between 3 and 5 GCSEs, with English and Maths included in those. It also would help to have some experience working with money to show them you’ve got the right stuff.

Bear in mind that in being accepted in a position as a blackjack dealer, you’ll likely be onboarded in a vocational training scheme, and you’ll get the gist of how to behave, how to deal and all the other ins and outs for that specific casino. An outside course can never hurt to get your foot in the door, however.

Skills Needed to Be a Blackjack Dealer

In becoming a blackjack dealer, qualifications and knowledge can only get you so far. Sure, you can know your spades from clubs and the values of the chips, but without some of the soft skills that help finesse your craft, it’ll be hard to climb the ranks.

By soft skills, we mean those non-technical skills that define how we work. These are often interpersonal, problem solving, and organisational skills. They’re harder to work on than technical skills, but mastery of these soft skills will guarantee you success in not only a dealing career, but in every facet of your life.

• Communication: The best dealers wield a strong level of communication. On the casino floor emotions can run high, and it can be a very overwhelming environment with lights flashing, and alcohol flowing. To communicate clearly, directly, and with authority is a golden trait.
• Interpersonal skills:

Although blackjack dealing is all about control and responsibility, you’re a dealer, not a robot. It’s important to make whatever guest is playing at your table to feel welcome and at ease. They’re playing to win, sure, but they’re also there to have a bit of fun.

• Customer Service: The punters that come to your table are paying customers of the casino that they’re visiting. You’ll need an open and compassionate approach to dealing with both accolades and complaints. Remember – empathy is key.
• Analytical Thinking: Blackjack is a game of numbers and chance. You’ll need to have a firm grasp of the quick mathematics that the pros use, to keep track of the game. There are always going to be some rotten eggs that seek to game the system and cheat, so part of your analytical thinking will be to detect any potential threats to the integrity of the game.

Perks of the Job

Besides being around a game you already love, there are a few sound reasons why blackjack dealing could be the calling for you. Money is the first one – you’ll be surrounded with it all the time, and if you’re lucky some of it will rub off on you. Flexibility is the other, and you’ll be glad for it.

Salary

Blackjack dealers get a fairly decent starting salary, beginning at £17,500 a year and climbing once you prove your worth and get to more prestigious tables. Poker, for example, pays a bit better than blackjack, as the skills and attentiveness required to deal the game are a bit more advanced.

While it doesn’t happen as frequently as in the movies, from time to time big winners will tip the dealer a huge portion of their winnings in their ecstasy, and often you’ll get smaller tips too. Dealers can expect to net about £400-500 monthly in tips. It’s most common to have a shared tipping pool amongst the dealers at a casino, but most poker table dealers get to keep theirs, acknowledging the expertise that poker dealers put into the game.

Hours

As casinos are often 24 hour enterprises, dealers need to be present behind the table all the time. While this might sound bad at first, believe us, you won’t be working like a horse! This means that dealers get a huge flexibility of hours. If you want your days free, you can work evenings, and vice versa.

Promotion

The gambling industry is going through huge shifts and changes in recent times. Part of that is growth, and casinos are continuously creating more professional opportunities for their dealers to step up and take a firm hold of their careers.

After entering the gig as a blackjack dealer, if you play your cards right and give a professional and consistent experience to your guests, you can expect to move up to becoming a pit boss, or a dealer inspector. You can even take it all the way to casino manager- the casino floor is your oyster.

A Professional Opportunity That’s a Safe Bet

When you reflect on all the responsibilities and skills that comprise the esteemed croupier profession, it all comes up a bloody respectable job. It requires some technical know-how, a handful of interrelated and indefinite skills, and a love of the game. What’s more, there’s no denying that it’s a classy job.

Frequently Asked Questions

There’s always bound to be some questions with starting a new job, and our readers are a very inquisitive bunch. We’ve compiled all the most common questions we get asked about how to become a blackjack dealer, check them out below.

How long does it take to become a blackjack dealer?

Find a job post and apply in no time at all, easy as that. You might be put through a training program beforehand that could last around six weeks, but if you have the knowledge of the game already, through a course or prior experience, you’ll be off to a great start. If you would like to know more about the game, check out our blackjack guide.

Do blackjack dealers make good money?

Dealers make decent money for an entry level job. £17,500 a year can be expected as a starting wage, but remember - you can add an extra £6,000 on top of that to account for tips if you can turn on the charm like the best. You will find that many of the best live casinos do not allow tipping, however.

How do you become a blackjack dealer?

Becoming a blackjack dealer is easy, and you don’t really need any specific training. Of course it helps, as does being a people person, good at customer service, and having a history working with money, but you can bring a good attitude and a general knowledge of the game to an interview and be successful. If you need to brush up on the rules of blackjack, then click to go to our detailed page.

How much do blackjack dealers make in tips?

Blackjack dealers can rake it in with tips - it’s part of the big draw to the profession. On top of their wage, blackjack dealers can expect to make an extra £400-500 in tips from a shared pool. It depends on the casino that you are playing in, and online casinos tend to be different.

Is it hard to be a casino dealer?

That’s a difficult question that changes from casino to casino, and situation to situation. Generally, casinos are pretty flexible with hours, and you can fit the job around your life. If you are a dealer at one of the top UK live casinos, you will also be working for a prestigious developer.

Where Do Blackjack Dealers Go to Get Trained?

Blackjack. One word says it all. This game is widely considered the most popular strategy-based casino card game. Blackjack, or 21, is based on a simple premise. The player is tasked with beating the dealer’s hand total without exceeding 21. An Ace +10-value card equals blackjack, or a natural, but any combination of more than 2 cards which totals 21 is simply called 21, not blackjack, and different payouts result. These are but a small sampling of the many intricate rules inherent in the game of blackjack. Anyone who dreams of becoming a blackjack dealer needs to have an in-depth understanding of all the rules of blackjack games, as well as having an easygoing attitude towards blackjack players.

So where do you get started? There are generally 2 options available to casino aficionados seeking to become blackjack dealers. The first is the casino itself. Many land-based casinos around the world, notably those in Las Vegas and Atlantic City are prepared to train blackjack dealers in-house. The in-depth training takes place over several weeks, depending on the intensity of the training regimen in question. The other option is an accredited blackjack course with a college. Both of these options have their benefits.

What does the Blackjack Dealer do at the Table?

While many of us tend to use the term ‘deal’ cards, the correct term used by blackjack dealers in the United States is ‘pitch’ cards. This is the physical action by which the blackjack dealer deals cards to each of the players seated at the table. The blackjack dealer deals one card to each person in turn, and follows this up with a second card. Player cards are dealt facedown to every player in the game.

Only one of the dealer's card is face up and that one is visible to all players at the table. Next, each of the players in the round will look at their own cards and decide whether to hit, stand, split, or double. The dealer obliges.

If the player's hand total exceeds 21, the player busts and loses the original bet. Play continues around the table until each of the players has acted. Based on the player’s hands, and the rules of the blackjack game, the dealer will act. Typically, the dealer draws to 16 and stands on all 17s (hard and soft).

The ranking hand total wins – sometimes it's the dealer, sometimes it's the player. That’s blackjack in a nutshell, but the mechanics of all these actions are made possible by the expertise of the blackjack dealer. Training and experience are paramount – dealers without the requisite skills to manage multiple hands of blackjack simultaneously, understand hand totals, rules, and payouts can be detrimental to the casino, and to the player experience.

Many land-based casinos provide players with training through ‘dealer schools’. These are the equivalent of blackjack academies, where novices can learn the art of the blackjack deal. These dealer schools are open to receiving new students every couple of months, as several teaching programs run every year. There are scores of examples of dealer schools that are currently available, such as Thunder Valley Blackjack Dealer School.

This particular blackjack dealer school accepts online applications from participants, and the course can be completed in 6-8 weeks. During the blackjack training program, expert casino dealers train students how to pitch cards in blackjack, how to remove cards from the table, how to take bets, make payments, comport oneself, and how to become adept at different variants of blackjack such as Atlantic City Blackjack, Las Vegas Strip Blackjack, 21+3 Blackjack, et cetera.

How To Become A Blackjack Dealer In Colorado

CEG (Casino Education Group) is another fine example of a reputable blackjack school located in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the first things that players learn at blackjack school is the value of individual chips. Different colored chips have different values, such as Silver $0.50, White $1, Red $5, Green $25, Black $100, and Purple $500. These color rules invariably hold true in all Las Vegas casinos. Cutting chips is next in line. When blackjack dealers ‘cut chips’, they learn to stack them in a way that is easy to determine their value.

Chips can be stacked 5 tall for quick and easy counting. Stacks of blackjack chips are cut into equal portions of 5 chips (also knowns as cheques) for counting purposes. The final quota of 5 chips for each player can either be deposited on the table in a bridge format (2 chips stacked + 2 chips stacked + 1 chip on top of both stacks), or as a ‘splash’ with the 5 chips splashed across one another.

IMPORTANT BLACKJACK DEALER LESSON: As a rule, red stacks are always cut into groups of 5s. Green stacks are cut into groups of 4 at the casino.

Blackjack dealer training also teaches the following:

• How to pluck cheques (chips) from the chip tray (done with index finger and thumb and middle finger to feed additional cheques).
• How to plug blackjack cards from the shoe
• How to shuffle cards
• How to strip cards (4-7 strips known as a top strip)
• How to lace cards
• Blackjack card placements (players first then 1 to dealer, then 2nd card to players)
• How to sweep cards off the table
• How to play the insurance bet
• How to play split bets
• How to double down
• How to surrender a bad hand against the dealer’s upcard
• How to change money
• How to change cheques
• How to color up (cashing out)

The Requirements of Becoming a Professional Blackjack Dealer

Each state in the US has different requirements vis-a-vis how to become a licensed and certified blackjack dealer. At the very least, blackjack dealers are required to hold a certificate from a reputable college, or blackjack academy. Professional blackjack dealers must be high school graduates, with a certificate in hand attesting to their blackjack training. As stated earlier, there are typically 2 avenues to becoming a professional blackjack dealer. The first approach is via a reputable land-based casino training program, of which there are many. The other option is a casino school or academy, or a college which offers training for becoming a blackjack dealer.

All students are required to understand the mechanics of blackjack games, including the rules of individual games, the physical requirements of working with players, chips, cards, and cash. Given that basic mathematics is sacrosanct, students must display an aptitude for quick calculation of winnings, hand totals, and multi-player blackjack betting. Beyond the rules of play, and the mechanics of blackjack, blackjack dealers must also be familiar with state gambling rules and regulations, casino rules and regulations, and general casino etiquette. To this end, it is imperative that blackjack dealers have exceptional people skills.

All applicants for blackjack dealer positions undergo rigorous criminal background checks, ID verification, and screening. Given that you are working front and center at the casino, with players and lots of real money changing hands, security considerations are a top priority. Among the many responsibilities of blackjack dealers are the smooth functioning of blackjack games at the table, the accuracy of payouts, and the ability to provide quick coaching tips to new blackjack players. Naturally, blackjack dealers are required to keep their tables running smoothly, with discards collected after every round of play, chips neatly stacked back into the rack, and all cash deposits processed with the utmost efficiency.

What Are the Benefits of Becoming a Blackjack Casino Dealer?

Blackjack Dealer School

Blackjack casino dealers get to live the life that so many people dream of. They live, work, and enjoy the casino life – Glitz and glam, lots of pulse-pounding entertainment, and many casino perks like discounts, employee benefits, big tips from high rollers, and interactions with interesting people on a daily basis. Some blackjack dealers get to progress through the ranks to become casino managers, although this process can take a considerable time to occur. Players who are on a roll tend to splash the cash and tip the dealer accordingly. The same can't be said of players who are losing lots of money – they may often accuse the dealer of being behind a casino conspiracy to defraud them.

As a blackjack dealer, you must be prepared to stand for long periods of time. In fact, you will be standing for the full duration of your shift, which typically run for several hours at a time. Since casinos allow players to drink and smoke at the tables, blackjack dealers are required to put up with things like dry eyes, smoke-filled tables, and the occasional badly-behaved drunkard. For the most part, the life of a dealer has improved considerably over the years. Nowadays, casinos feature top-of-the-line air filtration systems and air conditioning systems to purify and cleanse the air of toxins, making it more pleasant for other players and dealers to be in this type of environment. Among the many benefits of becoming a blackjack casino dealer are the following:

• No college degree required
• Competitive pay (hourly + tips)
• Fantastic benefits for employees
• Transfer to different casinos all over the world

Salaries for Blackjack Dealers

Salaries for blackjack dealers vary from one casino to the next, and from state to state. Typically, the average casino dealer can expect to make $50,000 per annum during their first year. When casinos allow blackjack dealers to keep their tips, their earnings can rise as high as $100,000 + per year. Naturally, your tips will improve dramatically if you treat your players well. That's why it's just as important to have practiced hands as a blackjack dealer as it is to have incredible people skills for the players you're working with.

The type of blackjack table you're assigned to will also determine your salary. Clearly a $500 blackjack table is likely to generate far more tips than a $25 blackjack table. There are many avenues to explore when searching for blackjack dealer positions, notably casino job offerings at casino-specific job search sites, or conventional options like Monster.com, Indeed, or Casino Careers.

Now that you know what to expect as a blackjack dealer, the next step is to pick the perfect blackjack training platform to learn the skills before applying for a job at a casino.

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