Deaf Poker Player @ Casino...

[MikeyG80]

A childhood friend of mine is deaf and just found out he has been playing online poker. Me and a few friends will be heading to Atlantic City sometime this spring and my friend might come with us. Being a friend of someone who has a disability like this, i know he never wants me to volunteer information to people and places that, oh by the way my friend is deaf. But should something be said to a dealer or a floor person that some assistance might be needed in this situation. Mainly, knowing the amounts of raises to him and pot size, etc. Was just curious if anyone is deaf or play with someone who is deaf in a live game. Should something be said so he's not stuck trying to sign to a dealer who won't know what the heck to do?

[Humble Pie]

Tough call. I say don't take him. I think it would seem unfair to the other players if your friend had somebody using sign language and giving him information about pot size and such, only because they can't be sure what else his helper might be telling him. Also, what kind of accomodations do you expect the dealers/floorman to make.

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[boscoboy]

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Tough call. I say don't take him . I think it would seem unfair to the other players if your friend had somebody using sign language and giving him information about pot size and such, only because they can't be sure what else his helper might be telling him. Also, what kind of accomodations do you expect the dealers/floorman to make.

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wow. did you miss the part where he said this was his friend?

[jjshabado]

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Tough call. I say don't take him. I think it would seem unfair to the other players if your friend had somebody using sign language and giving him information about pot size and such, only because they can't be sure what else his helper might be telling him. Also, what kind of accomodations do you expect the dealers/floorman to make.

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I say this is awful advice. I agree with the part about being careful with information other players don't have, and no signing during hands, but don't let him miss out on a good time just because its a little extra work.

[John Deere]

I played with a deaf guy before, and had no idea that he was deaf until he tried to talk to me. That, though, was a limit game (which removes the need to follow chip counts, etc.). Seriously, if a guy can play in the WSOP with his feet, I don't see why a deaf person can't play.

[GiantBuddha]

wtf...people play with headphones on all the time. Your friend shouldn't have a problem and hopefully will have a great time. It's probably best to let the floor know so the dealers know to be as clear as possible in directing the action, etc. Also you don't want them to think any gestures you might use are some sort of poor attempt at collusion. But tell your buddy this and he'll understand; no one wants people to think they're cheating.

[HLS2k6]

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Also, what kind of accomodations do you expect the dealers/floorman to make.


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Since every one else pointed out the bad advice that preceded this sentence, I'll just add that I'm pretty sure there's nothing in the Americans with Disabilities Act that says "except for casinos." So it's not just what accomodations the poster or his friend expect them to make; it's what accomodations federal law requires them to make.

OP, I'm sure your friend will do just fine. If he'd like to go, DEFINITELY bring him!

[juanez]

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I'll just add that I'm pretty sure there's nothing in the Americans with Disabilities Act that says "except for casinos."

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Not to hijack the thread, but this reminded me a woman who used to come into another room I was working at. She was in a wheelchair, obese, had a "therapy" dog (a golden retriever who was cool as hell), and was just feeble in so many ways (I'm not making fun of her here). She would usually play tournaments. While incredibly annoying as a person, she was not a real hassle or anything and we treated her with respect and did what we could do for her to make her comfortable.

She played there for months without incident when she decided one day that she couldn't reach the cards or make bets easily from certain positions on the table....she only wanted the 5 or 6 seat.

Well, CO Poker Regs say that tourney players choose their seats randomly at the beginning of the tourney and when a table breaks during a tourney, and that they will go where they are needed if tables get unbalanced.

She protested one day when her tourney table got short and broke and said that she couldn't reach the cards or make bets because she couldn't toss the chips in far enough from the seat that she drew, etc. Again, this is after playing for months with no issues, but who knows maybe her condition worsened. I tell her "I'm sorry you will need to play in that seat, but I can have someone sit with you to handle your chips, cards, etc."

She freaks out and starts screaming about the ADA and a lawsuit. The MOD gets called and he shows her the part about "reasonable accommodations" for disabled persons from some part the ADA. She threatened to sue, of course, and left. Her stack was blinded off.

Nothing ever came of it. She was back a week or so later and we never had another issue. Sorry, kinda rambling there.

As to the OP: as far as deaf players go, we’ve had many deaf folks play and never had an issue. We had a group of about 20 deaf guys come in for a private tourney and they were just fine with the action, etc. Bring your friend with you and have a good time. Letting the floor know is a good idea though, just so he can inform the dealers so they don’t get frustrated or whatever if the deaf person didn’t hear something the dealer said. If the dealers know there should be no problems.

[xxrod17xx]

Yes I actually played with two deaf players, he was excellent at reading lips and all we did was put up our hands and showed him the bet amount if he didnt catch it right away. I assume he told the floor person before he sat down, but he seemed to be a regular...the floor person came to the dealer and said he is deaf so help him out where he needs it and the dealer already knew him. Try the taj because the staff already knows how to deal with deaf players so it wont be anything new.

and good luck to you and your friend, not being able to hear shouldnt stop anyone from playing poker!

The other player was just an [censored] so he wasnt worth mentioning, but bet sizes and things were not much of an issue with him either.

[SellingtheDrama]

If he really wants to play, I'd quietly let the floor in his section know what's going on and let him handle things.

If its a limit game, it shouldn't be too bad (the actions are fairly telegraphed and there's less verbal-only actions ("all in").