Blackjack is a traditional table game where the player’s primary objective is to beat the dealer’s hand. The dealer is in charge of the table, and there are certain duties that you, as a dealer, are expected to exhibit. This article shows how to exhibit those duties excellently.
Step 1: Understand the Role of the Dealer
The first step to working in every organisation is understanding your role. Similarly, with Blackjack, you need to understand what it entails for a dealer, covering what the casino and the players expect of you.
Your primary duty as a dealer is to deal with the cards fairly and quickly. Also, they are responsible for maintaining the game’s flow. Different players require different speeds for the Blackjack sessions; therefore, it’s best to learn how to deal fast and slow. Matching the game’s speed must be done transparently, so no one feels cheated.
Finally, as a dealer at an online casino, you don’t determine the game’s outcome. The results are 100% random, determined by the Random Number Generators (classic) or the rules of the game (live casino). Hence, know the rules before trying to become a dealer at a live casino.
Step 2: Prepare the Decks
These four steps are key in the preparation of a standard Blackjack deck.
- Selecting and Inspecting the decks: The standard number of Blackjack decks is usually between 6 to 8. Casinos often use new decks to prevent marked or worn-out cards for each shift. Hence, as a dealer, you need to inspect for missing, damaged, or marked cards to prevent cheating.
- Shuffling the Cards: There are different ways to shuffle cards as a dealer: manual and automatic. You either choose to strip, riffle, box, or repeat shuffle techniques with the manual method. However, with the automatic method, you have continuous and batch shufflers.
- Cutting the deck: You need to insert a cut card into the deck. It is done to determine where the shoe starts dealing, manually or automatically.
- Loading the shoe: Finally, you need to place the shuffled decks into a dealing shoe. This shoe dispenses cards one at a time when dealing.
Step 3: Collect Player Bets Before Dealing
Every player is expected to turn in their desired bets before the dealer starts dealing. This requirement is strictly based on the rules governing Blackjack’s gameplay.
When is the ideal time to collect players’ wagers? Based on the rules, there is a specific time frame after the deck has been prepared for players to place their bets. After the alloted time elapses, you deal the cards to those who placed bets. Players who missed the wagering time frame are required to await the next round before placing a bet.
The structured approach of dealing cards before the round starts is essential for the game’s integrity. As a dealer, you can without a doubt guarantee a fair experience for everyone involved. For the players at your table, there’s clarity and peace of mind during the session. They, therefore, focus on their strategy as the game unfolds.
Step 4: Deal the Cards
After a successful collection of bets, you move on to the game’s main course, dealing with the cards. Dealing with cards is the central part of gaming. In this phase, you are expected to deal with the initial cards first. The dealing of initial cards is where you give each player two face-up cards while you, the dealer, get one face-up and one face-down card. The face-down card is known as the hole card.
The initial dealing of cards is when the gaming commences, where players are expected to decide to give up or continue by requesting another deal of cards. You are expected to maintain the card order placed in the deck and the visibility of the card to all players. This is done to ensure transparency and fairness in the result of the game round, especially in the live dealer games.
Step 5: Manage Player Decisions
In this phase, you represent the casino and let the players play against you. Hence, you are required to ask for the next move from each player, starting from the left to the right.
The various actions expected from active players and what they represent are as follows:
- Hit: The player taps the table or says, “Hit”.
- Stand: Players indicate by waving their hands horizontally.
- Double down: The player places an equal bet next to the initial bet and says, “Double”.
- Split: The player places a matching bet and says “Split”.
- Surrender: The player says, “Surrender”.
All these actions determine if the player intends to move further and continue with the game or if they want to give up and forfeit their stakes based on the cards dealt. In an online setup, these actions are carried out by selecting the corresponding buttons, and then the dealer confirms and acts accordingly.
Step 6: Play the Dealer’s hand
After receiving and managing every action of each active player, you are expected to play the dealer’s hand. This means you reveal your hole card, which was hidden in the initial deal phase. Note that this card is only to be revealed after every player has acted on their dealt card to ensure fair gameplay.
There are specific fixed rules you have to follow as a dealer. These rules contain actions to take for certain hands you have as a dealer. They are;
- 16 or Lower: For a hand with a 16 or lower total score, you are expected to take a Hit (take another card).
- 17 or Higher: For a hand with a 17 or higher total score, you are expected to Stand (no more cards).
- Soft 17 (Ace + 6): This particular hand requires you to act according to the house rules of the casino or Blackjack type.
Step 7: Resolve Bets and Pay Winnings
After completing the compulsory hits and stands, you are to compare your final hand against each active player’s hand. Then, you move on to handling payouts and collections based on the players’ hands.
Firstly, you handle the collection of losing bets from players that failed to beat the house’s. Then, you move on to paying players with standard wins at a rate of 1:1 and players with Blackjack wins at 3:2. Finally, you return original bets to players who had a tie.
In addition, you are required to make verbal announcements for each outcome. You state “Winner” for players who won against the house, “Push” for ties, and “Dealer’s win” for a losing bet. If you are a live dealer for a live blackjack, you only need to announce the results while the system handles the payments and collections.
Step 8: Shuffle or Reset for the Next Round
Shuffling and resetting the deck of cards is an important measure required to be carried out in Blackjack to prevent card counting and maintain the game’s integrity. Although the process of shuffling between the live dealer and RNG Blackjack differs, the aim remains the same: randomising the cards.
There are several instances where you are required to shuffle the cards:
- At the end of a shoe (rarely occurs),
- When a cut card has been reached,
- The arrival of a new dealer, or
- At the end of every round (in some casinos).
In some casinos, shuffling and resetting is carried out mid-hand.
In RNG games, the software shuffles the decks automatically every round to eliminate the chances of predictions. In live dealer games, the shuffling can be done manually by the dealer or automatically through the auto-shufflers.
What Makes a Good Online Blackjack Dealer?
To be considered a good online blackjack dealer, certain qualities are required for you to exhibit. You need to maintain clarity with the rules and instructions of the game and maintain consistency, fairness and efficiency in your actions. Most importantly, every good dealer is expected to strictly abide by the rules of the game and avoid making judgment calls.
Furthermore, if you are learning for a live dealer role in a digital game either through free Blackjack rounds or videos, you need to know that handling cards accurately is a key feature of a good dealer.
