Deal or no Deal?

(Photo: Tomas Stacha)

As a poker player you’re going to sometimes love them and sometimes hate them, and not always in equal measure! They are the dealers - the black-clad, card-shuffling, centre-piece of every table - without whom we’d be quite lost in the world of tournament poker, left to our own fumble-fingered attempts or, worse, at the mercy of any mechanics out there!

But what is it that attracts someone to this side of the game? After all, they could be playing poker instead! And it seems like a pretty thankless task (if we forget about them being paid to deal, of course) when players silently – and sometimes not so silently - curse them out for not answering their ‘one time baby!’ prayers.

To get an answer, I decided to take an inside look at the life of a dealer and see what makes them tick…

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When 23-year old part-time poker dealer Zuzana Mikulikova walks into a card-room, the first thoughts from almost everyone are likely to be ‘why isn’t she a model’?

Well, she is a model – but she also has plans well-beyond that of cashing in on her phenomenal beauty - currently studying in Bratislava to become a pre-school teacher, with dreams of some day running her own kindergarten.

Poker dealing came into her life, she tells me, “almost five years ago in a small poker room in Slovakia.”

Zuzana explains:

"I was 18 and a senior at the high school, and one of my friends used to play poker. He was friends with the owner of the small poker room in my hometown, who was looking for new people. I was looking for some part-time job and this sounded like a really good opportunity for earning. I went to the dealer’s course every day after school, and after two weeks of hard training we went for it. To this day I remember how nervous I was!”

If any of that nervousness still remains, it’s certainly not visible when Zuzana deals – her demeanour that of a consummate professional throughout the WSOP Circuit Festivalat the King’s Casino in Rozvadov this past three weeks.

NLHE, PLO, PLO Hi/Lo, Pineapple, Stud and 2-7 are all in this young woman’s repertoire as a dealer, and the same drive and ambition she shows in her studies and modelling career extend to dealing as well, claiming:

"I’m catchin' every opportunity to learn more!”

Do you have to be a good poker player to be a good dealer?

Probably not, but Zuzana does play herself, explaining to me that:

"I really enjoy playing poker,” adding, “My boyfriend is a player and when I play he takes care of me, my personal former teacher!”

As players we have all seen mistakes being made by our ‘men and women in black’, Zuzana admitting that:

"My biggest error was after 14 hours working, when I raked all the pot and the worst thing about it was that I didn't really remember what I did with the pot! So the floorman had to watch all 30 minutes of my table to find out where the pot disappeared to. And of course I have made a lot more mistakes on the table, but I am also just a human and nobody is perfect.”

Players are often loathe to admit it, but if you’ve ever played for 14 hours straight you’ll recognize just what tiredness can do to your thought processes, and accordingly Zuzana’s only ‘ downside’ to poker-dealing is the “night work!”

The pros of being a dealer?

"Freedom!” she says with a wide smile, “and the salary is also a good reason.”

Looking to the future, the multi-talented Slovakian is categorica

"Finishing University is my number one priority.”

But, and with youth there should always be one of these, Zuzana states clearly:

"If there is a good opportunity I take it – Bratislava, Rozvadov or wherever on Earth – and it doesn't really matter if it’s modelling or dealing!”

Zuzana’s tale as a dealer is but one of many – and at huge events like the WSOP Circuit event at King’s there were plenty of them to choose from, including fellow dealer/model/Zuzana, this time Zuzana Strakošova, who graced Czech Playboy magazine’s cover back in August 2014 (and yes, I take my research seriously!)

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But how do you ensure that dealers are up to scratch; making as few mistakes as possible and also looking the part in a beautiful casino? You start up your own Poker Dealer’s Training School, of course!

That was the King’s Casino’s approach, a task which fell to the mercurial Vojta Julis – a poker dealer himself for six years whose wife Tereza works alongside him as a floor-manager - and the perfect choice to pass on his expertise to the 40+ full-time and 100 part-time ‘big events crew’.

The most important attributes of a dealer according to Vojta?

He tells me...

"Excellent presentation, knowledgeable about the game, a positive attitude and consistently excellent card-dealing skills.”

His strict-but-fair-and-friendly guidance was in evidence at the WSOP Circuit event this past 19 days, even the additional dealers (such as the Zuzanas, brought in to allow for the hugely-important and massively-popular Ring events) showing just how dealers should work, look and act – all under his watchful eye.

And his reaction was plain to see, a wide smile breaking across as his face as he declared:

"I’m really excited and happy that we have trained so many high-quality, professional dealers for this event.”

He explained that his “right-hand man”, poker dealer co-ordinator Jan Rakusan help him to keep the standard so high – both men having a ‘checklist’ with which to monitor the dealers’ skills and behavior.

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Training dealers from scratch is Vojta’s favored approach, a “blank canvas to work with” as he puts it, which negates any bad habits which might otherwise weasel their way into King’s Casino, and “seeking feedback from experienced poker players themselves” keeps things on-track and improving.

Owner Leon Tsoukernik agreed with Vojta, and with the multi-millionaire’s backing the Dealer’s School was born, and now offer training courses every two months to those seeking a career in the massive and rapidly-expanding poker-focused Rozvadov casino.

Where there are poker players and tournaments, there will always be a place for excellent dealers…

…so, next time you feel aggrieved that yours didn’t hit you with that river ace you needed, or fails to laugh loudly at your umpteenth bad attempt at humor, just remember - they are professionals doing their job, and we desperately need them, so be nice to them!

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