A Casino Dealer's Typical Shift

In this blog post, find out what a dealer goes through from the start until the end of a shift. You may have seen some things, but what about the rest?

Discover the reality of a dealer's daily experience in this blog post. Have you ever wondered what happens in a casino dealer's typical shift? Each day, a dealer's experience is shrouded in uncertainty. What kind of players will they encounter? Will they receive tips? Will their supervisors be in a good mood? Which game(s) will they be dealing? These are just a few of the questions that may cross their minds.

Every dealer hopes for a table full of happy players, but they must also be prepared to encounter disgruntled individuals and mask their true emotions when they do have one.

For instance, if a dealer greets a table and is met with "Shut up and deal!" the thoughts that go through their head more often than not, must not, under any circumstances, be repeated verbally. Instead, they smile and carry on as if they just received a warm greeting.

Before dealers enter the pit (the area where the table games are), they must know to which game(s) they have been assigned. A dealer also has the option of signing the EO list. That's a piece of paper a dealer signs if they want to go home early. There is no guarantee of going home early by signing it. When games start closing, and there are extra dealers, a supervisor will take the EO list and send dealers home beginning with the first on the list. When a dealer takes an EO, it doesn't count against them for attendance, but they only get paid for the number of hours worked. This helps save payroll.

Table Assignments:

Dealers may be assigned to a single game or the relief of the string. Typically, a string involves a set of three games, although sometimes it's two, or in some casinos, four. The number of tables a dealer covers as relief is contingent upon the number of open games, the number of dealers at the time, and the player count.

Once the relief dealer makes sure all the dealers in the string are at the game, they take a twenty-minute break immediately. Upon returning, they proceed to the first game in their string, then to the next, and so on, until they've provided a break at all their tables. For example, if I'm assigned to Blackjack 21, roulette, and Blackjack 2, I would take a twenty-minute break and then relieve the dealer at Blackjack 21. That dealer then takes their twenty-minute break. When they return, I move to roulette for twenty minutes, then to the last game, Blackjack 2. Once the dealer from that game returns from their break, I would have completed my string, and then it's my turn for a break. If I have four games, I deal for an hour and twenty minutes total, a string of three games constitutes an hour, etc. The string then starts over from the beginning.

This rotation persists throughout the shift. As tables close and dealers finish their shifts or go home on the EO, the string may change. I might be reduced to two games in the string, which means each dealer would have forty minutes at their game before their break instead of an hour. Occasionally, we might be at a game for just twenty minutes before a break. In some cases, we might deal for an hour and twenty minutes, as some casinos schedule their games this way, or, on extremely rare occasions, a dealer remains at a game for up to two hours. When games start closing, the shift may go to a rubber band (explained below)

Some casinos operate differently, using what is known as a rubber band. This involves a list of dealers and their respective games, referred to as a roadmap. When dealers return from their break, the person managing the roadmap assigns the dealer(s) returning from break to the next dealer(s) who are due for their break.

Typical Shift Schedules

• Graveyard: 3:00 or 4:00 AM until 11:00 AM or noon

• Day Shift: 11:00 AM or noon until 7:00 or 9:00 PM

• Swing Shift: 7:00 or 8:00 PM until 3:00 or 4:00 AM

  Please note: The shift names and times may vary by casino, or may not exist at all. In my 24 years as a dealer or supervisor, every one for which I have worked has had at least a day shift and swing shift.