[pokerlife]

I'm not a serious poker player, and I play mostly for fun at casinos. I've always been pretty sympathetic to the dealers, and I tip dealers well. In my experience, most dealers are friendly, and they add to the enjoyment of just playing poker. But a dealer will come once in a while who is just in a foul mood or is generally not friendly. And they totally ruin the game experience for me.

For example, today, I noticed that one of the cards I received was pretty bent up. I'm a newb, so I don't know much about new setups and stuff like that. But I saw someone request a new setup at the table earlier, and they changed the decks. So I pointed out to the dealer that this card seemed bent, and it would be obvious for others to know what card that is. The dealer then shot back at me, "Well, what do you want me to do?!" ??? I don't know; I was merely pointing it out. He just scowled at me, and I was in a foul mood the entire time he dealt because I didn't understand why he would be angry at me for pointing that out. The table talk died down, and the general atmosphere just became dead.

Later on, another player told me that the automatic shuffling machine sometimes causes the cards to get bent that way. And there's nothing much that you can do about it. So why the hell couldn't this dealer just explain that to me? He just chose to attack me when all I did was ask because I thought that particular point may affect the game.

Also, a few dealers that I've encountered get angry when you point out a mistake. Today, a player next to me requested something and everybody at the table heard the request except the new lady dealer. So the player gently tapped her on the arm and repeated it, and she turned around and snapped back at him, "I didn't hear you!" The other players at the table had to validate that the player did request a certain action. I mean, it's just a trivial matter of pointing out a fact. Why do certain dealers get so worked up about it?

Anyway, after the bad dealers left, the game got fun again. The other dealers were much friendlier and willing to answer players' questions. Even when an annoying player who kept bothering the dealers with questions sat down, all the rest of the dealers were willing to accomodate the new player by explaining things to him.

I know that dealers are people. And people come with all kinds of characteristics and traits. But dealers are providing a service. And that service is gambling entertainment. I appreciate dealers that make the gambling experience fun. But when certain dealers ruin the mood, it kills the game. How would you feel if you went to a restaurant and you requested a napkin and the waiter just snapped at you? Or if you point out that you ordered onion rings instead of fries, and the waiter scowls at you? Would you appreciate their service and tip them well (or not at all) for a mistake that he/she made?