For those who don’t know a croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game. This means they deal with the distribution of bets, payouts and when you are dealing with online casinos they can even dish out the free spins and sometimes they also become the card dealers. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos and here are some great facts and stats about them…

10 – The Origin Behind the Word “Croupier”

Originally a ‘croupier’ meant one who stood behind a gambler, with extra reserves of cash to back him up during a gambling session. The word derived from ‘croup’ (the rump of a horse) and was by way of analogy to one who rode behind on horseback. It later came to refer to one who was employed to collect the money from a gaming-table.

9 – Training Depends on Where You Are Hired

Training methods to become a casino croupier vary from country to country. In North America, blackjack is almost always the game that dealers learn first, as it is simple and popular, and when the dealer makes errors, they tend not to cost the casino much money. In Europe, croupiers tend to learn roulette first. Complex, busy games such as craps, with complicated payout systems, etc., are usually reserved for the most competent and/or ambitious dealers.

8 – They need a License

American, Australian and British croupiers are required to apply for a gambling license. This license includes police background checks and credit rating checks, to help determine if they are eligible to commence employment. Croupiers are not permitted to deal at a casino until being issued this license.

7 – Croupiers Get Tips

As is common with customer service staff in the United States, croupiers there depend on tips to make their wage worthwhile. While a croupier should theoretically have no personal interest in the outcome of the game, a successful player customarily tips the croupier, especially in American casinos. Tips are often pooled and divided amongst all the staff. Fraternising with customers is frowned upon, and most casinos prevent their gambling staff from being seen smoking or even being seen in uniform outside the casino. Some gambling strategies include suggestions to tip the casino dealer in order to create a good atmosphere and improve dealer’s mood. According to these strategies, tipping might even make the dealer shuffle the cards less frequently and thereby allow easier tracking of particular cards. Australian casinos forbid dealers from taking tips.

6 – Secondhand Smoke Exposure

Because casinos tend to allow smoking on the gambling floor, American croupiers are exposed to secondhand smoke. A health hazard evaluation of several Las Vegas casinos showed that nonsmoker croupiers suffered from more respiratory ailments than their administrative counterparts at the casinos and had cotinine and NNAL (both components of secondhand smoke) in their urine samples. Britain banned smoking in all public places, including casinos, in 2007.

5 – Croupiers Often Cheat

If you look around the web you will find thousands of stories where the croupiers are caught cheating. Things like moving betting chips and even dealing favourably with friends!

4 – Inside Man

While it doesn’t happen so much these days in the early 1970’s there was often robberies on casinos and often the “inside Man” was a humble croupier who was sick of being paid peanuts.

3 – Croupier Psychologists

So you think being a croupier is easy work. They not only have to deal the chips and cards, they are also trained to “analyse” the customers to make sure they are not gambling too much or behaving in an unusual way. They also have to keep a look out for anything suspicious!

2 – Loved and Missed

In a recent survey of online casino players over 40% of them said that they missed having a real human croupier to talk to while playing. Online casinos often counteract this by live streaming a real croupier into the play board.

1 – The Art of Dealing

Dealing the cards is often considered an art form! Each dealer and croupier put their own kind of body language and personality into the job. It’s what makes each dealer unique, but it’s also probably the most difficult thing to teach.