Misdeals & Disputes: When the Game Goes Wrong

Handling Misdeals & Disputes

Handling misdeals and disputes is another situation that can lead to some uncomfortable conversations. It’s never fun to tell someone they’re wrong, or that they’ve lost money when they think they shouldn’t. If it is fun for you, well, I’m worried about you. Either way, you’ll need to know how to handle these situations when they come up, because they will come up.

Handling misdeals and disputes is a part of the job that isn’t quite black and white. There is some grey area. And some casinos have different policies or preferences on how to handle these situations. What we talk about here is how to handle them without giving away free money, ensuring the integrity and fairness of the game for both sides.

Now, there are a ton of ways a hand can be misdealt. A player could not have received any cards, or maybe only one, for some reason. Sometimes the dealer forgets to give themselves cards somehow. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

The guidelines we’re going to lay out here work in almost any scenario on any of the card games.

First, you’ll want to give the guest a chance to back out of the hand or stay in if they want. You can say something like, “We’ve got a misdeal here. You’re welcome to back out of the hand if you want, or stay in and finish it. Either way is fine with us.” This is important because it puts it on the guest. They might have bad cards and want to get out. They might have a 20 and want to stay in. They might have a blackjack and will be very upset if that gets taken away from them. We’re not here to make anyone mad. Offer them the chance to stay in or get out, but make it clear that if they stay in, they’re in win or lose.

Anyone who chooses to stay in has their bets settled normally, win or lose. Remember, we gave them the choice to stay in or get out. When the hand ends, if they’re worried about the shoe being different now, tell them we’re happy to shuffle and start another new shoe, no problem. It’s important that the guests don’t feel taken advantage of in any way. We gave them the choice of what they wanted to do, and offered to shuffle after it was over. Done deal.

Now, we need to talk about some things not to do. There are a lot of commonly practiced ways to handle these situations that we don’t want you to be a part of.

Do not let the hand play out, then pay the winners and push the losers. This is giving away money. It’s a casino, not a handout.

Do not move cards backwards. This opens up a can of worms. The rule to keep in mind is that a card can move forward or be burned, but it can’t go backward.

Do not try to move cards “where they should have been”. Once cards are in a place, leave them there. If someone was skipped, just deal them two new cards. Rearranging cards can cause disagreements because not everyone has the correct understanding of what should have gone where. If you set the standard of skipped spots get a new card, it will save a ton of time and possible arguments. If they don’t like the cards, refer to the above guidelines and offer them a chance to back out if they’d like, and the other players as well, since everything is out of order.

The important thing to remember here is that we don’t just hand people money for a hand they haven’t won. You’ll hear a lot of guests say, “You made a mistake. You should just pay us all,” or some variation of that. Don’t fall for that guest service trap. One more time for the people in the back. Do not give away free money.

It’s important to note that it’s possible that some casinos, or even specific managers, may tell you to handle things in a way that differs from this. We’d never tell you to go against what your managers tell you to do. We’re only teaching you what we know to be the correct way to do things.

Final Thoughts

We’ve talked at length now about what we need to do and how we need to do it. I want to give some final notes of reminders of why, so you’re prepared to be the best floor you can be.

Remember that having solid game knowledge keeps you in a position to catch mistakes and dealing breakdowns, and prevents you from being put in a position where you can be taken advantage of.

Remember that optimizing game pace is a direct way to make the company more money. Opening tables efficiently, not ordering unnecessary fills and credits, and keeping the game moving whenever possible are some of the best things you can do for the bottom line.

Remember that one of your principal duties is tracking monetary transactions accurately.

Remember that excelling in personal skills will give you the tools to communicate effectively with coworkers, managers, and guests, and is the start of how you are perceived as a leader.

Remember to prioritize your workload so you can stay cool, calm, and collected and never be overwhelmed in the face of being jammed up busy.

You have the tools you need now to start as a floor supervisor. You may even be starting ahead of some people who are already in the position. That’s ok. Not everyone got the same advice you have gotten. Part of being a good floor is never flaunting knowledge you have that others do not, never belittling anyone, and keeping that calm and collected mindset always.

Being a floor supervisor is not an easy job to learn. There is a lot to it. The intricacies are endless, especially when you get into jurisdiction and property-specific procedures. Learning all of that inside and out will be your ticket to success as a supervisor.