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What expierance do any of you have with dealing schools? Cost? How long? etc.

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Since no one has addressed these questions yet:

I went to a dealers school in Las Vegas to learn poker in 2000. It cost about $250-400, I can't remember exactly. They told when I signed up that there is no time table to graduate. You come in whenever you want to practice, and they'll let you know when you're ready to go audition. For most students, it takes 4-8 weeks to get to that point, with almost everybody needing the full 8 weeks, and very rarely is somebody ready after 4 weeks.

On Day One, they sit you at an empty table, and show you how to pitch the cards, and how to cut the chips. This takes a lot of practice, especially the pitching. They also give you a booklet to study, outlining rules and procedures. A big chunk of the book is elementary stuff like ranking of hands, but knowing everything in this book inside and out is still very important.

Once you can pitch and read the hands, you're ready to practice dealing. There's a constant poker game going at the school. It's made up the students, who take turns dealing to each other. There's no money at stake, they're just playing for fun, and to give the student in the box a game to deal. YOU'LL GRADUATE A LOT FASTER, IF YOU SPEND MORE TIME DEALING THIS GAME THAN PLAYING IN IT. A lot of people find it fun and relaxing to just "hang around" the school, playing hold'em and shooting the breeze. Somebody will deal this game for 10-15 minutes, and the instructor will say, "OK, that's enough, let's give someone else a turn. Who wants to be next?" No one volunteers, they all look at each other. Either they're shy, or they lack the confidence in their ability to run the game in front of others, or they're just lazy like I said. Be the one who always says, "I'll go next," and you'll get through the school much more quickly.

The poker instructor at the school I attended was also a poker dealer at a casino that frequently hired "break-ins". He could see I was smarter than the average bear (I was the first person ever to come in under his "4-8 week" estimate), and recommended me to his poker manager. I auditioned there, and got the job.

Hope this post helps.

Oh yeah, one more very important thing: I learned more about the job from 2+2's "Poker Dealer's Handbook" for $20 than I did from that school for $100's. I still recommend going to school--the practice you get will give you the confidence you need at the audition--but the 2+2 book is also a must-have, if you take any pride in your work at all.