Table Games Annoying BJ Dealer and my casual BJ playing experience

I just got back from Vegas and had an encounter with a very annoying BJ dealer. It was early in the morning and I was playing by myself. The entire time she told me to either hit, stand, or split. Long story short, 3 of the hands she told me to hit ended up a bust. I also had a hand where I got 4 consecutive 3's. I split 4 times. My hands after the split were between 14 and 19. I felt pretty good going into it as the dealer up card was a 5. Well instead of winning any of the hands, the dealer hit 21. I lost all my bets. The BJ tables weren't nice to me on this trip. Granted, I don't usually play BJ so I don't know if what the dealer did was the norm when no one else was playing. But I find it a bit annoying telling the player what to play each hand. I do give her credit letting me know that if I play the sucker bet with me being the only player I can win those sucker bets with a little better odds. I should've tried once because for 3 consecutive hands I could've cashed in on the sucker bet. The first begin a straight, then a royal flush, then another straight. But each time I decided not to. Throughout my play there were a few more hits with the sucker bets. Maybe next time when I play by myself I'd try some.

 

The dealer should sometimes just keep quiet about strategy, especially if they don't know basic strategy. Against a dealer 5, you made the correct strategy to split the 3s into the four hands you had. Unfortunately, you will lose all four sometimes. Whether you are playing alone or playing with a full table, your odds on the "sucker" bet isn't going to change. If you tracked the cards coming out, there might be little differences, but not due to the number of players.

 

The majority of dealers (and players) don't constantly give advice, but it's not uncommon to encounter those who do. They're usually just trying to be helpful (whether their advice is good or not), but obviously it doesn't always work.

As for those "sucker bets," I do believe the odds are slighter better with fewer players, but probably not all that much. (I don't have a clue if that's the true or not, but often make the side bets anyway. It usually just comes down to what would make me feel worse: losing $1 on most hands or missing out on a big payout.)

I finally learned that if you get annoyed at a dealer (or player), it's better to leave, even if there aren't any other available seats at other tables. The only exception is if you're doing really well, in which case it's doubtful you'd find anyone annoying.

 

You might ask how long until your next break? Then decide to sit this one out and pull your chips back. If the critter asks why tell him / her. If not allowed color up..... You should be given more courtesy than that as you are the one wagering and possibly losing / winning....not the dealer. I would agree this type dealer is in the minority of all dealers you will encounter.

 

Did you try asking the dealer not to give you advice?

Some dealers develop attitudes against their employer or become sympathetic with players. They could give unsolicited advice or overlook suspicious players' actions. Others become callous or even cynical toward the players. They get sarcastic or critical, or whine when they're not being tipped, There is much justification for both points of view. With the first type of dealer, I nearly always stay at the table. With the second, I nearly always leave.

 

No, I did not try asking her to stop. I was a bit distracted with the dealer and the other dealers near my table. I did tip during my play. I guess I should've got up and leave to avoid the situation and find a table.

 

Were you annoyed because you think her advice was wrong or is it just the fact that she was trying to help at all that was annoying?

 

I imagine the advice was correct but because the decision was almost made for you and it was a loser it's easy to look for someone to blame, when in reality it's just gambling.

 

If the dealer was giving you correct basic strategy advice she was trying to help you. Splitting threes against a 5 is correct, sorry it didn't work out, but that is the way you should have played. Worst thing you can do in Blackjack is start deviating from correct strategy because it doesn't work out on that hand. In the long term, you are just increasing your donation.

Chances are you were making strategy mistakes and she was trying to help. If you wanted her to stop, you should have politely asked or just moved tables.

The sucker bet is a bad bet in every Vegas casino I'm aware of. Forgo it and bet that extra money on something with a lower house edge.

 

Wait, what?!

Which sucker bet was this?

In my experience: any dealer who recommends playing the sucker bets A) is an idiot or B) wants tips that would come from a big win or C) both.

 

Would you have been annoyed by the dealer if all the advice led to winning hands? Or did it maybe annoy you a bit extra because you were losing (which I can understand, things anmoy me quicker when I'm losing). Was she friendly in her advice or was she acting like a drill instructor?

 

Tell that to the two people who won the million at Planet Hollywood and Harrah's earlier this summer

 

She was annoying the entire time not just when she gives advice. I didn't mind she gave me advice. But her talkative nature non stop that made it annoying.

 

I didn't mind the advice as for the most part they are correct but I can't stand the dealer being overly talkative. There was one hand that i was dealt 15 and she had an 8. Low cards were dealt the previous few hands and I had a gut felling it was going to be a high card. I didn't trust my instinct and listened to her. I hit and got a 10 busting my hand. Maybe next time I'll decide to surrender.

 

What casino?

 

I mean this in the most helpful way possible...but a couple things come to mind here. 1) You could've just ignored her advice. If you don't want to hit, you don't have to. I know you said you're a casual player and I get that for some folks, playing tables is intimidating. But I don't understand your complaint about the dealer "telling you what to do". After a while if you were unhappy with the advice, why did you keep following her lead and then complain about it? 2) Hitting a 15 against an 8 is the correct play. You're absolutely free to play on "instinct" but doing so increases your losses. (Also interesting: You say you should have "trusted your instinct" because you got a 10 on your hit...but you don't way what the dealer's down card was--had you stood, would you have won?). Another thing: Surrendering a 15 vs 8 is a poor play.

I completely understand being annoyed if she was overly talkative. But there again, I don't understand not just getting up. To each their own, I guess.

 

I think the best approach is to casually mention your mood directly to the dealer. It's common courtesy. Such as "I want to make my own decisions on the cards, and sometime I might go on a hunch". On a couple occasions I have asked dealers to slow down the deal. I have also asked the dealer to not slide my losses over to the winning player on my right. (It's just a pet peeve with me. The dealer did nothing wrong.)

So first, man up and talk to the dealer. If that doesn't work, color up and walk.

 

Whenever I see side bets, i.e. sucker bets, I have to remind myself that the casino wouldn't offer them unless they were a cash cow for the house. In BJ using correct basic strategy, with decent rules, you're not giving away a huge edge to the house. The side bets definitely increase the house edge in an otherwise good game for the player.

 

You know, next time when I get into this type situation, I'll get up and find a different table. This was a learning experience for me as I only played BJ a few times at a casino.

 

As a player, if I see a novice player sit down and not have clue one about any hand, I do try and offer some advice if they appear puzzled. But, I also tell then to at least, go buy the card and think of Bj as a 4 sided Math Game. I.e. The Dealer can have good/ bad cards to start and the same is true for the Player. Decision making is based on knowing the book, but the Player can still rely on a bad Dealer's draw even if they end up with crap themselves.

Of course, I only do that for people who are nice, not the addled obnoxious drunks doubling on a hard 5 for 3 Black! Yep, saw it.