A croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling

Gambling

Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...

 table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos

Casino

In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

.

Origin of the word

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

Rump (animal)

The rump or croup, in the external morphology of an animal, is the portion of the posterior dorsum that is posterior to the loins and anterior to the tail. Anatomically, the rump corresponds to the sacrum....

 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.

Training

Training methods to become a casino croupier are different 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

Roulette

Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....

 first. Complex, busy games such as craps, with complicated payout systems, etc., are usually reserved for the most competent, and/or ambitious dealers.

Licensing

American and Australian 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 with this license.

Tipping

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 gaming staff from being seen smoking or even being seen in uniform outside the casino. Some gaming 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.

Secondhand smoke exposure

Because casinos tend to allow smoking on the gambling floor, American croupiers are exposed to secondhand smoke. A health hazard evaluation

Health Hazard Evaluation Program

The Health Hazard Evaluation program is a workplace safety program administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health . It was developed by NIOSH to comply with a mandate included in the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to investigate occupational hazards reported...

 of several Las Vegas

Las Vegas Strip

The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...

 casinos showed that nonsmoker croupiers suffered from more respiratory ailments than their administrative counterparts at the casinos and had cotinine

Cotinine

Cotinine is an alkaloid found in tobacco and is also a metabolite of nicotine. The word "cotinine" is an anagram of "nicotine". Cotinine is used as a biomarker for exposure to tobacco smoke and has also been sold as an antidepressant under the brand name Scotine.Similarly to nicotine, cotinine...

 and NNAL (both components of secondhand smoke) in their urine samples. However, after the 2007 ban on smoking in public places in Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, secondhand smoke no longer poses a problem to casino staff in that country.

External links

• Card Player magazine Day in the life story