Poker Dealer: Live or Electronic?

The debate continues. Once upon a time, every casino, small and large, needed poker dealers and croupiers for every poker game, event, and open poker tournament. Today, many race track poker rooms and other smaller casinos are putting the electronic poker dealer to work. This computerized dealer appears to save money for a poker room while allowing the poker players to play more hands. To many it seems like the fiscal solution for the future of live poker. Is it really though? Can something electronic actually replace the live, adaptable and interactive enjoyment a human poker dealer brings to the felt?

Some poker rooms do believe that the electronic poker dealer is an irreplaceable value. Beyond just dealing more hands, taking no breaks they help a poker room save money in other ways. They are able to accurately deal the cards to players with no concern for mistakes, or burn. Many of the electronic poker dealers are also created in a manner that avoids potential cheating concerns. The cards are dealt to a screen in the table, before the poker player who is sitting there. Without his / her holding the cards, they are able to cover the small window to keep what they were dealt out of table view. Additionally they are generally programmed or programmable with all possible poker variations, which draws in more possible players. One other obvious advantage is the electronic dealer does not ask for a raise or require benefits, vacations or need other coverage.

If electronic poker dealers are so convenient and money saving, why don’t the major casino’s use them? The answer is far simpler than you likely realize. A live poker dealer is a money maker, as much as or more so than an electronic one is a savings. At a live encounter with a poker game or tournament, the poker dealer often sets the tone. A happy comfortable table is reflected in the pot sizes. Poker players are also known to stick around at a table where they like the dealer, making him or her a reason to play the game. In some casino’s poker players have been known not to play a game while their favorite dealer is off the tables. Live Poker dealers are also able to verbalize the rules of the game, should something of concern come up or a new player begin active play. This enables the needed comfort zone for the players to bet big.

As you can see, although to a small poker room the electronic poker dealer is saving them something on overhead, it is not generating more income. There are no sales people to the poker players on hand to answer questions and insight action toward the extras. Often when the change first occurs from live poker dealer or croupier to electronic one, drink and food sales go down, noticeably. Over time the owners of the poker room find a way to overcome that, however it is generally not the easiest task, and may require hiring someone else to the staff. Obviously having a live poker dealer to resolve issues, maintain a positive cash flowing table, and play personal poker sales person makes more sense than installing tables with electronic methods of play.