The magical world of easy money, or how I worked in a casino. main myths about working in a casino

This interesting story about how 80 millionaires appeared overnight in one village.

And this story began like this. Back in 1917, Antonio Fernandez was born in the Spanish village of Cerezales del Condado. His family lived very poorly, and his parents, who had 13 children, had to work to the limit of their strength in order to somehow feed themselves. Antonio Fernandez attended school until the age of 14, but never completed it. He was forced to quit his studies and go to work in the fields to help his parents. It would seem, what could be remarkable about this person? But an extraordinary fate awaited him.

In 1949, our hero, at the age of 32, went to Mexico to seek his fortune. His wife's uncle lived there. Having got a job at Grupo Modelo, the largest beer producer, he began to quickly move around career ladder. In 1971, he was already in top management, and all the founders of the corporation listened to his opinion.

Corona beer, under the leadership of Antonio Fernandez, has grown from a local producer into a recognizable global brand, and it has become general director. Managing the company until 2005, the billionaire retired from business only at the age of 88.

The main feature of Antonio Fernandez was that wealth did not eat him up from the inside. The fact is that he bequeathed 200 million euros to the residents of his Spanish village, where he was once born and raised. This one has wonderful person there were no children, so management of the company passed to his nephew. But he decided to give such an extraordinary gift to his former fellow villagers.

Villagers tell how shocked they were when they learned that they became millionaires overnight. Each of them received more than 2 million euros, which can provide them comfortable existence for life.

In general, it is known that Antonio Fernandez was very involved in charity work both in his native Spain and in Mexico, where he lived for more than half a century. Having died at the age of 99, he became a symbol of kindness and true nobility. Such life stories show that not all humanity is lost among extremely rich people.

When a real billionaire makes millionaires the entire village in which he was once born, it makes one admire the nobility and genuine kindness of a real benefactor.

The amazing fate of Violet Jessop

This is an interesting and amazing story about the life of a woman who came out unharmed from mortal danger three times; she survived sea accidents three times.

Violet was born into a family of Irish immigrants in Argentina. She was destined for an extraordinary fate, and this became clear even in childhood.

She was the first surviving child, as the three older children died very early. As a child, Violet Jessop was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and the doctor left no chance for life, since the situation was too serious. However, she survived, and after the death of her father, the whole family moved to the UK, where Violet began her career as an air hostess.

At the age of 23, a young and promising girl worked on board the famous giant ship Olympic, which was practically a copy of the Titanic. But in 1911, the Olympic collided with another ship at sea. Having received a 14-meter hole, the ship miraculously survived, and Violet Jessop successfully survived the first disaster in her life.

A year later, our heroine goes to work on the Titanic. Her friends said that she did not want to go there, but she was convinced that it was very promising for further career. On the night of April 15, the liner suffered a shipwreck, which became one of the most notorious disasters of the twentieth century. But flight attendant Violet Jessop, along with some other employees, again managed to escape. In boat No. 16 they waited for rescuers and saved their lives.

Violet herself writes in her memoirs that when she got into the boat, some officer handed her small child, with which she was saved. When they boarded the ship Carpathia, which came to the aid of the Titanic, a woman ran up to her and, without saying a word, snatched the child from her arms and disappeared with him into the crowd. It was probably his mother, who was scared to death. It would seem that the second warning should have made the girl think about changing jobs. But it was not there!

During the First World War, Violet Jessop became a nurse on the HMS Britannic. In 1916, the ship hit a German mine and began to sink. During the process of evacuating passengers, when the first two boats were launched and loaded with people, they suddenly fell into the whirlpool of the Britannic sinking under the water.

Not thinking of giving up, Violet Jessop jumped out of the boat and was saved, although more than 20 people were pulled under the propeller of the sinking ship, where they died. In her memoirs she says that after this tragic story She developed severe headaches and was forced to see a doctor, who discovered a crack in her skull. +After these three maritime accidents, the thrice-surviving flight attendant worked on passenger airliners for more than 40 years and even traveled around the world twice.

Interestingly, Violet Jessop was one of the passengers on the Titanic who heard the hymn “Nearer My God to Thee” sung on the sinking ship.

Having lived for 83 years, she died peacefully in England.

Incredible luck in one person's life

This story is about an Australian man named Bill Morgan and the amazing events of luck that happened in his life.

In 1999, he was 37 years old and working as a driver for truck. Everything would have been fine if our hero had not gotten into a serious car accident. At the hospital, professional doctors fought for his life, but Bill's heart stopped. It would seem that the story has come to an end, and there is nothing more to talk about. But it was not there!

After 14 minutes, Bill Morgan began to respond to the actions of the resuscitators and came to his senses. In fact, similar clinical death, as a rule, cannot last more than 15 minutes. In a word, just a little more, and Bill would have left our world forever.

So, the heart began to beat, but Morgan ended up in a coma. This went on for 12 whole days. Then he came to his senses and recovered very quickly, which was an extreme surprise for the medical staff of the hospital, who had seen everything.

Of course, after such a story, Bill decided to “give up” with cargo transportation, and in general, quit his job as a driver. Finding something else to do, he proposed to his beloved woman, who gave him a positive answer.

Everything happened as if in a dream. At first terrible accident, then clinical death, then coma and finally recovery. Now Australian Bill Morgan is starting a family and looks incredibly happy. Indeed, luck is evident!

In honor of the upcoming celebration, our lucky guy decides to buy himself lottery ticket. And what? He wins a car, which costs about 18 thousand dollars. And this, in the late 90s, was enough large sum for Australia.

Knowing about the events that Bill had to endure in the recent past, journalists decide to interview someone who is incredibly lucky in life. Before filming, the reporter asks Morgan to buy a lottery ticket on camera and exclaim that he won a car. They say this will be an interesting report. No sooner said than done!

The cameramen begin filming, and Australian Bill Morgan comes to the window and buys a real lottery ticket. A journalist is standing right there, waiting for the agreed upon phrase, but instead he sees Bill’s changed face, who quietly says: “I won 250 thousand dollars”! Not understanding what’s going on, the journalist clarifies what happened, and Morgan repeats: “I’m not joking at all and I really won this amount of money.”

Of course, the filmers were in real shock, but the material for the report was truly sensational. Just think, such incredible luck in a short period of time! Mr. Morgan immediately called his fiancee and told her that they would now buy the house they had long dreamed of. The future wife, when interviewed, said: “I hope that my dear husband did not squander all his luck in these lotteries, and we will live happily ever after.”

Like these ones incredible stories amazing luck happens in life.

17th century French document

This story could be classified as an anecdote. However, documents are a harsh thing.

And this document has survived to this day, although it dates back to the 17th century. It tells about an incident that happened to the French Cardinal d'Armagnac in 1654.

And this is what happened: one day the cardinal, walking down the street, noticed an 80-year-old man who was crying. Approaching him, he asked what was the matter. In response, the 80-year-old old man told amazing story. It turns out that he was crying because his 113-year-old father beat him for disrespecting his 143-year-old grandfather. Can you imagine?

This document and this incident are repeatedly described in different research work by genetics.

When it comes to strange, seemingly inexplicable things, ghostly anomalies that have no scientific or other sound explanation, we attribute mysterious and even magical qualities to these things. I want to present you a list of 10 strange, unsolved cases from life, for which no one has ever found an explanation.

10th place. Coal poltergeist

January 1921

When purchasing coal for his fireplace in winter, Mr. Frost from Hornsey (London) had no idea how dangerous this purchase was and how much trouble coal, which seemed ordinary at first glance, could bring. After the first portion of solid fuel was sent into the fireplace, it immediately became obvious that it was somehow “wrong”. Hot coal pebbles exploded in the furnace, thereby destroying the protective grate and rolling out onto the floor, after which they disappeared from sight and appeared only in the form of bright sparks in another room. The matter did not end there. The Frost family began to notice strange things in their house, knives and forks were floating in the air, as if they were in open space. The unusual and frightening phenomenon was witnessed by Reverend Al Gardiner and Dr. Herbert Lemerle.

There were several versions regarding the devilry happening in the Frost house. Skeptics attributed all the blame to the sons, who allegedly decided to play a prank on their parents. Others were sure that these were the tricks of miners who mixed dynamite with coal (this version was later verified and refuted). Still others believed that the raging spirit of the dead miners, resting in the coal and disturbed by the Frosts.

The latest news available about the Frosts is disappointing. On April 1 of the same year, five-year-old Muriel Frost died, allegedly from fright at seeing a poltergeist. Her brother Gordon was so shocked by his sister's death that he was hospitalized with nervous breakdown in hospital. Further fate family is shrouded in mystery...

9th place. Rain of seeds

February 1979

The coal incident is not the only curiosity in England. For example, in 1979 it rained seeds in Southampton. Seeds of watercress, mustard, corn, peas and beans fell straight from the sky, covered with an incomprehensible jelly-like shell. Amazed by what he saw, Roland Moody, who was in his home mini-conservatory with a glass roof, ran out into the street to get a better look at what was happening. There he met his neighbor Mrs. Stockley, who said that this was not the first time that something like this had happened last year. As a result of the seed rain, Moody's entire garden, as well as the gardens of his three neighbors, were covered with seeds. What was causing the strange atmospheric phenomenon, the police were unable to find out.

The unusual rain repeated several more times, after which it did not occur again. Mr. Moody alone collected 8 buckets of watercress on his property, not counting the seeds of other plants. He later grew them into watercress and claimed that it tasted excellent.

One of the episodes of the series "is dedicated to this incident. Mysterious world" by Arthur C. Clarke, aired in 1980. There is still no adequate opinion regarding the strange rain.

8th place. Mysterious death Netta Fornario

November 1929

The main character of the next strange story– Nora Emily Edita "Netta" Fornario, writer and self-described healer, London resident. In August or September 1929 she left London and went to Iona, an island off west coast Scotland, where she died under unknown circumstances. Among the versions of her death are mental murder, heart failure, and the action of hostile spirits.

Arriving on Iona, Netta began exploring the island. She traveled during the day, and at night she looked for traces of the spirits of the island, with whom she tried in every possible way to contact. Her search lasted for several weeks, after which, from November 17, her behavior changed dramatically. Netta hastily packed her things and intended to head back to London. She told her friend, Mrs. McRae, that she had been telepathically wounded after receiving messages from other worlds. It happened at night, because Mrs. McRae, apparently looking at the gorgeous silver jewelry The healer and fearing for her health, persuaded her to go on the road in the morning.

The next day Netta went missing. Her body was later found on a “fairy mound” near Loch Staonaig. The corpse lay on a cross made of turf, was completely naked under a black cloak, covered with scratches and abrasions. There was a knife nearby. The legs were beaten and bloody as a result of running over rough terrain. It is unknown whether Netta was killed by a maniac, died from hypothermia or by an absurd accident. Discussions on this matter have not yet ended.

7th place. Fireman poltergeist

April 1941

After finishing breakfast, farmer William Hackler, a resident of Indiana (USA), went outside to breathe fresh air. After leaving the house, he felt that his clothes smelled of smoke. Without paying attention to it special attention, he went to the barn. A few minutes later he returned back to the house, where we discovered a fire in the bedroom (the house was without electricity) - the walls were burning. The local fire brigade quickly arrived on the scene and put out the fire. But that was only the beginning have a hard day for Hacklers...

Immediately after departure fire truck A mattress in the guest room caught fire. The source of the fire was located directly inside the mattress. Fires occurred in different places(including under the cover of a book) and rooms all day. By evening, the number of fires extinguished reached 28. Having played enough, the fiery poltergeist no longer bothered Mr. Hackler and his family. They, in turn, demolished the old wooden house and built a new one in its place, made of non-combustible lumber.

6th place. Third Eye

November 1949

Students from one of the universities of South Carolina in the city of Columbia (USA) were returning from the theater on Longstreet late at night. At one point they froze in place, faced with strange man in a silver suit, who then moved the cover of a nearby manhole and disappeared into the sewer. From that moment on, the strange man received the nickname “sewer man.” A little later, this “character” again made his existence known, but more terrible incident. In April 1950, in one of the alleys, a policeman noticed a man near a pile of mutilated chicken carcasses. It happened in dark time day, the policeman pointed a flashlight in the direction of an incomprehensible object, and was stunned when he saw a man with three eyes. The third eye was located right in the center of the forehead. While the policeman came to his senses and radioed for reinforcements, mysterious creature disappeared from view.

The third meeting with the “sewer man” took place in the 60s in the tunnels under one of the universities. Afterwards, the tunnels were carefully examined, but no clear evidence of the existence of a three-eyed man was found. Who or what is he? Human? Ghost? Alien? Nobody knows, but random encounters continued until the early 90s.

5th place. Connecticut stiletto

February 1925

For months, women in Bridgeport, Connecticut, have been terrorized by a "phantom stiletto" that strikes the chest and buttocks before disappearing in an unknown direction. The victims of an unknown, but very real criminal, were 26 individuals, whose bodies felt all the pain and torment from the powerful blows of a sharp weapon.

The attacker did not adhere to a specific type of victim; women were chosen spontaneously and by chance. While the victim screamed in pain and came to, the criminal quickly ran away, not allowing himself to be identified. Police investigations led nowhere; the identity of the “stiletto torturer” was never identified. In the summer of 1928, the attacks changed dramatically and were never repeated. Who knows, maybe the maniac got old and began to suffer from artosis...

4th place. Electric girl

January 1846

Do you think people "X" are a fiction? You're wrong, some of the characters are very real. At least one. A fourteen-year-old resident of La Perriere in Normandy began to frighten her comrades with unusual abilities: when people approached her, they received an electric shock, chairs moved away when she tried to sit down, some objects flew into the air as if they were light and weightless floats. Angelina later received the nickname "electric girl."

From unusual abilities Not only those around her suffered, but also the girl herself. She was often tormented by convulsions. Moreover, by attracting various items, Angelina suffered painful injuries. The parents considered their daughter possessed by the devil and took her to church, but the priest convinced the unfortunate people that the reason for their child’s abnormality lay not in spirituality, but in physical characteristics.

After listening to the abbot, the parents took their daughter to the scientists in Paris. After inspection famous physicist Francois Arago concluded that the girl’s unusual qualities are associated with electromagnetism. Scientists offered Angie participation in research and tests that were supposed to make her normal. In April 1846, a few months after the start of the program, the “electric girl” said goodbye to her amazing abilities forever.

3rd place. Another fire poltergeist

January 1932

Housewife Mrs. Charlie Williamson from Blandenboro (North Carolina, USA) was terrified when her calico dress burst into flames for inexplicable reasons. At this point, she was not standing near a fireplace, stove or other heat source, and she was not smoking or using any flammable substances. Luckily, her husband and teenage daughter were at home and ripped off her flaming dress before it caused burns to the unfortunate woman.

Mrs. Williamson's adventures did not end there. That same day, the trousers in her closet burned to the ground. The ordeal by fire continued the next day, when in the presence of witnesses, for unknown reasons, the bed and curtains in another room caught fire. The spontaneous combustion continued for three days, after which the Williamsons surrendered to the unknown elements and left the house. The home was inspected by firefighters and police, but no cause was identified. On the fifth day, the fires stopped on their own and no longer disturbed the owners of the house. Fortunately, no one was hurt by the fire.

2nd place. Blind reading

January 1960

Let us immediately note that we are not talking about blind people who learned to read special books by moving their fingers along the bulges on paper, but about completely to an ordinary girl, sighted and healthy. Margaret Fus's uniqueness was that she could read ordinary books blindfolded. Her father called this phenomenon psychic vision through the skin. He himself taught his daughter this incredible skill and hastened to prove the uniqueness of the method to scientists.

In 1960, Mr. Foos arrived with his daughter in Washington DC to participate in scientific research. During the experiment, psychiatrists put “foolproof protection” over Margaret’s eyes—a tight bandage. For the purity of the experience, the father was taken to the next room. Blindfolded, using only her fingers, the girl was able to read the pages of the Bible, kindly provided by scientists. After that, she was asked to play checkers, recognize different pictures, which Margaret dealt with successfully.

Despite the fact that the girl managed to pass all the tests, psychiatrists could not explain how she managed to do this. They insisted on their own, arguing that it was impossible to see without eyes, that what was happening was a deception.

1st place. Ghost Sniper

1927-1928

For two years, a mysterious "ghost sniper" terrorized the residents of Camden, New Jersey. The first incident occurred in November 1927, when Albert Woodruff's car was fired upon. The car windows were riddled with bullets, but the investigation did not yield any results - not a single cartridge case was found at the scene. Later, two city buses, house windows and storefronts were damaged by mysterious shelling. As in the first case, the perpetrators and the shell casings were not found. The good news is that no one was harmed by the actions of a ghost or a real criminal.

The mysterious sniper was active not only in Camden; residents of the cities of Lindenwood and Collingswood in New Jersey, as well as Philadelphia and Pennsylvania suffered from his tricks. Most often, the victims were private cars and urban transport (buses, trolleybuses), and residential buildings. In only one of many cases, the witness heard shots, but saw nothing and no one.

The attacks stopped abruptly in 1928. Later people suffered only from abnormal imitators who wanted to play the role of the famous “ghost sniper”.

Let’s immediately make a reservation that there are no specialized institutions where you can get the profession of a croupier. Therefore, the gambling houses themselves are directly involved in training future dealers. As staffing needs to be updated, each gambling club announces its opening additional set personnel. By the way, newcomers undergo training within the walls of the gambling house where they plan to work. As a rule, after completing croupier courses, the most successful “students” are accepted into the staff.

Learning process

Future dealers are trained by their highly experienced colleagues. Therefore, you have no reason to worry about the fact that you don’t know or know anything yet, because each casino has its own regulations and rules. So, even if you change your job in one gambling house to another, you will still have to retrain. New employees are often intimidated that they may not even try to work at another gambling club, since “outsiders” are unwelcome in such places, but as practice shows, everything is different, and the reason for this is the crazy turnover of personnel.

Students learn immediately at the gaming tables. Future employees are trained for absolutely everything gambling offered in this gambling establishment: all variations of poker, blackjack, other options card games, roulette, dice and so on.

Croupier is not an easy profession

I would also like to note that only 10% of applicants reach the end of the training courses. “Students” are eliminated for a variety of reasons, for example, someone is very absent-minded, someone lacks a mathematical mind or a good memory. Beginner dealers have a very difficult time, because for them there are no discounts for lack of experience. This is explained by the fact that the establishment’s clients are different, so no one can guarantee that the player will not cheat. In addition, the dealer needs to be able to identify cheaters and have a perfect knowledge of the rules and pitfalls of the game.

It is known that there are an incredible number of nuances in card gambling. For example, the dealer must deal a card if the player so wishes, and the latter can say this request out loud or use special sign language (in in this case, hitting the box). However, when the client requests the card in other ways, his request will be regarded as invalid. And if the dealer fulfills the player’s request to deal a card that was not “spoken” properly, then in this way it will break the game.

Naturally, it will not be difficult for a professional gambler to figure out an inexperienced dealer, so they often take advantage of this for personal gain, for example, cunning gamblers can silently hit the box and then completely deny that they need the card. To prevent such incidents, there is a special position - pit boss. This is the person who monitors the situation at the gaming table and resolves any disputes that arise.

If we compare roulette with various gambling card games, then it can perhaps be positioned as a game that does not require special mental abilities, because the main thing here is only to choose a number. However, even in this seemingly elementary game, the dealer requires certain skills and knowledge. First of all, the dealer needs to be able to quickly make mental calculations; secondly, knowledge of physics will not be superfluous, since he needs to throw the ball in such a way that each throw is not similar to the others, otherwise observant players will be able to predict the result of the rotation even by movements . There are rumors that in one of the gambling houses in Kazan, a lady croupier works at the roulette table, the most senior of all employees. She has a specific way of throwing the ball, sometimes it may seem that she is lazy to throw the ball quickly, but at the same time, each of her throws is unique. Players need to place bets while the ball is in motion, but there simply cannot be any mistakes at the roulette wheel, which is “managed” by this woman.

You should remember that the main task of each croupier is, depending on the circumstances, to force the client to leave the maximum amount of money in the establishment. Both the gambling house staff and its visitors know this point. However, it is precisely this moment that further inflames the excitement in the souls of clients, because they want to destroy this stereotype at all costs. Well, the dealer, in turn, is also ready to take all measures to ensure that the player wins as little as possible, because the croupier’s salary directly depends on the profitability of the gambling establishment. But the dealer must strictly follow the prescribed rules.

Naturally, during the game there may arise different situations. Often, a losing client throws obscene insults at the dealer or throws dishes at him. Of course, every gambling hall has security, but sometimes its employees simply do not have time to help the croupier. As a rule, gamblers are temperamental and hot-tempered people, so they can react completely inappropriately to a loss. But if you win, they will definitely order chocolate, champagne for the dealer, or leave a generous tip.

Hello to you. My name is Denis and I am 31. What I want to tell you about has nothing to do with what I am doing now and will do in the future. But that hot summer I decided to go to a casino and work as a croupier. If you don’t know what a croupier does, then this is the place for you. I will tell.

In Moscow at that time there was a small selection of casinos, and with the exception of Crystal and Golden Palace, all the largest and most famous ones were located on New Arbat (Crown, Metelitsa, Arbat, Mirage). The Metelitsa casino was the very first to open in Moscow, and it was also the most popular. But I know this now, but then I knew nothing except Metelitsa. When we went to the dacha, we drove along Arbat and I saw thousands of lights shining, a man in a tailcoat opened the door for the guests, music was playing and the casino emblem in the form of three cherries on a branch shimmered.

It was these childhood memories that floated through my mind in the summer after finishing my 4th year at the institute, when an acquaintance of mine, with whom we lived in the same house, found somewhere an advertisement about recruiting applicants for a croupier school at Metelitsa. It must be said that besides Metelitsa, only Crystal and Golden Palace had their own school, one for two, because they had one owner. I didn’t have any special plans for that summer and I decided to go with Igor for company. I didn’t seriously expect to get there because my parents didn’t believe it was free, I didn’t communicate well with strangers, and I didn’t want to work in a casino. But we went for an interview...

We arrived at Arbat, a small group of accomplices had already gathered there. We entered through the service entrance and were taken to night club, in which Natasha Korolyov, Natalya Vetlitsky and the Ivanushka group perform at night, and during the day they talk with various brats who look and listen with one eye and ear to what they are told, and with the other they shoot everything around... it’s interesting. While I was turning my head, they gave me a math test on adding two-digit numbers and multiplying two-digit numbers by one-digit number. Don’t feed me bread, let me matatize at your leisure. Kidding. But I was okay with math. 20 examples, pencil, head and stopwatch. Two mistakes and the phrase “We’ll hire you, come on Monday at 9:00” forced me to sharpen my focus on the current situation. On the way home, Igor also helped me sharpen, who was also hired and who showered me with arguments for and put all my “against” on my shoulder blades. And we went...

The training period was announced as 10 weeks, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, including breaks and lunch. The training was conducted in a specially equipped room in the casino itself. The room had 4 roulette tables and 8-10 card tables (poker, Texas, blackjack and switch). We had 3 coaches - two Russians Max, Olya and Stuart - an Englishman. In general, in Metelitsa all the top managers were from Europe and the fact that one of our teachers was English did not surprise us, and besides, he spoke Russian very well.

The selection for the group was gentle and, as we realized later, this had its own meaning. The group consisted of about 40 people, so it was a bit crowded. The course program was not announced to us, and we did not ask. Everyone's eyes were sparkling with anticipation of something magical and interesting. To begin with, we were forced into a dress code. We definitely had to have them classic pants, shirt with any sleeve and tie. Girls wear a skirt (no pants), a dress shirt and heels. All this was monitored very strictly. I once forgot to take a shirt with me and they sent me home to get it. Plus, the guys had to have a clean-shaven face, no mustaches, everyone had to have no piercings (girls were allowed a pair of earrings in their ears), tattoos in visible places and a ridiculous haircut on the head.

The first 3 days there is no theory. We were immediately given a stack of chips (20 chips of the same color) and we performed the same exercise. It was necessary to spread this stack across the table so that the chips were close to each other and collect them for a while. This process of collecting chips was called chipping (from the word chip - chip). The first day we raced one stack, the second and third days - two stacks. A little later we finally reached the goal - two stacks of one color and two stacks of another color. It was necessary to first collect one color, then another. At this moment, many of the burning eyes dimmed a little. Someone left the group. As the coaches later told us, in these 3 days 50% of all those who leave in one way or another leave. Plus, chipping is the main exercise for developing finger motor skills for this work and it is a conscious learning step to weed out the weak ones. The fourth day was diversified with new exercises with tricks - cutting in and cutting down. These are two ways to divide the stack into parts. You need to take the stack with one hand and, with cunning finger movements, divide it into parts of 5 chips, collect, then 4 chips, collect, 3 (with a tail), 2 and 1 each. Then do the same with the other hand. At this stage, the remaining 50% of those who left in the end disappeared, because doing this exercise working hand It’s not easy, and what can we say about non-working. One girl had a miniature hand and her entire stack could barely fit in her hand. But she finished her studies and either her fingers stretched out, or her hand accepted the required form, but she was already able to firmly hold 21 chips. In general, everyone was groaning and sniffling.

The video shows chipping of two stacks of the same color. Each casino has its own rules and training strategy, but by our standards, it’s lame in the video, because... The chips lie on top of each other and this greatly simplifies the process. I couldn't find another correct video.

Starting from the second week, we began to be raced against time. It looked like this. One of the coaches walks between the tables with a stopwatch and commands: “Mixed”... “To the start. Attention. March”... “10 seconds”... “15”... “20”... " 25"... "Stop"... "Mixed." Whoever did it raises his hand. At first, the results were at the level of 26-28 seconds for the best and we did not understand how we should reach the credit 18 seconds by the end of training. We were encouraged by the fact that the trainers themselves collected 10 times out of 10 in 16-18 seconds. I, as a sporty and passionate person, was fired up by this process and distillations with a stopwatch were my favorite. As a result, I was the first of the group to chip in 16 seconds two times in a row, which was quite surprising, because... Before that, I only chipped in 20 seconds 3 times out of 5.

From the very first day they started asking us about mathematics. We were given special multiplication tables. They are special because they show the multiplication of numbers 5, 8, 11, 17, 35 by numbers from 1 to 20. On roulette, these numbers correspond to winning odds depending on the bets. When playing roulette, there can be a lot of bets from different players. With such active game a number that is lucky for the players may appear and its winning coefficient may be as follows: 5x9 + 8x5 + 11x18 + 17x3 + 35x5. The client scattered around winning number 40 chips and they are all winning, you need to calculate the total number of chips won. There is no calculator in the game, no paper and pencil, all this is calculated in your head and very quickly, because... you think faster more games, more bets, more profits, more salaries. And this is what the entire learning process is designed for. Everything should be done quickly, efficiently and with a smile. To do this, you had to learn this special table. And according to this table, we were given daily tests for 20-25 examples per
time.

In the third week, the game itself was finally added to the math and chips. Roulette has begun. They explained to us the rules, betting options, each field, introduced us to cash chips, showed the sequence of actions of the dealer (namely the dealer, not the dealer, since the dealer is the one who plays the game, and the dealer is collective image: dealer or chipper or inspector), etc.

We taught where what number is on the field, which one is red or black (because if the table is filled with chips and a number comes up, then you can’t find it with your eyes, you need to know where it is and what color it is), the sequence of numbers on the roulette wheel according to clockwise and counterclockwise, special combinations of French bets, which hand you should give your winnings to and how to take 10 stacks with one hand to the other edge of the table. One of the main rules in a casino is the rule " clean hands" (Clean Hands). Before touching the player's pieces and after that, you need to carry out the "clean hands" operation. This is similar to the movement of your hands when you get your palms dirty and try to shake them off. We learned all this in games with each other. We 4-5 people stood up at the roulette table. One driver is the dealer and makes 3 spins (spin is the rotation of the ball on the roulette wheel), and the rest are scheming, playing the role of the player and making all sorts of bets. Basically, everyone tried to knock down the dealer, like a teacher knocks down in an exam or came up with and immediately tested their strategy to win their million at roulette. No one has ever found such a method, because it doesn’t exist in principle, and the competitive environment was the best incentive for our growth. And we understood this perfectly well.

Roulette was good for me. I counted better than anyone else in the tests, chipped well, visual memory didn’t let me down, attentiveness often helped me out, because... The “players” tried to slip chips onto the field after the number came up, which is prohibited by the rules. For some time, spin became a turning point for me. A spin for a good roulette dealer is the basis. The harder you launch the ball, the longer it will spin and the more chances you will have to fix the mess on the field, and there is always a mess. Plus, a long spin allows players to bet more chips. Well, I couldn’t spin, especially with my left non-working hand. He spun, but not for long. I had to devote extra-curricular time to this element.

In this place there should be a paragraph about cheating and various magnets on the roulette, but there is nothing to please me here, there is nothing like that in Metelitsa. Yes, and this is not necessary. All casino games are designed so that the casino wins 51% of the time and the player wins 49% of the time. A player can win big on his first visit to the casino, but if he doesn’t take them and leave... =)) then he can lose them and even more. And in general, someone wins, someone loses, for roulette it doesn’t matter who makes the bets, its mathematical model for 1000 spins will divide the money in the ratio 51 to 49. On blackjack, instead of manually mixing cards, which took a lot of time, they bet a shuffle machine that itself mixed 6-8 decks (blackjack is played with more than one deck). So here, too, the players managed to come up with the name “sharp machine” for it, hinting at its intelligence. I declare with authority that this is not true, it is as stupid as a shoe. By the way, a shoe was the name given to the device where the blackjack cards were located before the introduction of the shuffle machine.

Shuffle machine

At week 6 we were already starting to worry. Half of the training passed, and we didn’t touch the cards. It turns out it's much easier with cards. The rules are simple, there are no colored chips, only a cache, minimal work with the cards - lay out, stir, deal. We were given poker hands and rules. We started with oasis stud poker, then Texas, blackjack and at the very end, in week 10 there was a switch. Cards is a less dynamic and more predictable game. You can take a break after roulette, but this is where many mistakes arise. In cards at a lower threshold of attentiveness, when determining winning combination at the casino or the player, errors appear more often than counting chips won on roulette. Although it seems that this is much easier than adding three three-digit numbers in your head.

As a result, in the last 2-3 weeks, when there were no plans to explain anything to us, our school day looked something like this: roulette, break, math test, poker, break, blackjack, lunch, test (for poker combinations, converting the cache to chips, standard betting combinations), roulette, break, Texas, break, working with chips (everyone decides for themselves what to improve), announcement of the results of daily tests and homework. Home.

We were fed lunch in the common canteen, and there was an assortment of soda for free. During the break you could go smoke, drink something or hang out in the relaxation room. It was common and there were already existing dealers hanging out there, who looked at us like animals in a zoo. With our questions we tried to get an answer to the question that interested us all: “Well?! How is it up there?” They tried to create a casino atmosphere for us in our enclosure, we tried to imagine something ourselves, but still we had complete ignorance of how we would work, where we would work. One thing was firmly drilled into our heads, that it would be very difficult and uncomfortable for us. Actually, this is “hard and uncomfortable” that we tried to recreate in the training room. We, as I already wrote, were given a dress code, the girls were put on heels, the guys were forced to shave every day. I was once sent to the store to get a machine and foam so that I could trim poorly shaved areas in the toilet. All day long, loud music was played in the room, the repertoire of which was rather flimsy. I’ll remember Palast Orchester’s covers and Mumiy-Troll’s album for the rest of my life. We really asked them to bring something new, offered us our CDs, but they smiled and said that everything was according to plan and we should feel nauseous even from the sound of music. While playing cards or roulette, one of the coaches tried to talk to the dealer about what was for lunch, whether I had watched football, what my favorite movie was and what I thought about it now. It was necessary not only to remain calm, to play the game correctly, not to make mistakes, but also to keep up the conversation nicely. I think that this criterion was the main litmus test of a student’s readiness for full-time work.

By the end of the 8th week, I finally became the leader of the group both in test results and in working with chips (in 16 seconds no one chipped). It’s difficult for me to objectively judge the conduct of the game, since there were no tests on this matter, but I didn’t have any serious mistakes and there were no complaints from the coaches either. One day a certain man came to us, they freed one of the tape measures, gave him a chair and brought him coffee. My heart began to pound, my cauldron of adrenaline began to boil, because... I realized that this was the same terrible exam that we had heard about, but they didn’t tell us anything specific. As soon as I understood all this, I heard my name. Crap! I went first. I think each of you knows what it is to be the first to go where you don’t know how or what will happen. I was shaking, I felt 20 pairs of eyes on my back, which were approximately in my same position. I vaguely remember what was there. I made 3-4 spins and accepted various bets. On the last spin I fell over. They gave me a bet that we didn’t work out, but which theoretically could have happened. I paused for a while, made sure not to crash the game and made a bet after the spin (this can be done if the player throws the cash into last moment back). This was the end of my exam. I was sent to lunch, where Max (the coach) told me that everything was fine and these bets were also part of the plan (Damn their plan!). The fact is that the majority of the group already knows and can do everything, but the training is still designed for a week or two, and they decided to spur us on so that we would not relax, so that we would have something to do.

After two weeks, our training ended. Igor and I passed it successfully and practically with honors. Igor was the best at working with clients. He communicated easily and naturally during the game, and I have already written about my advantages. At the end of the training, we were unexpectedly paid a bonus of $150 each. We agreed that we would take 100 bucks each, and throw 50 into the dorm and arrange a graduation party, which we held at the B2 club. Separately, I would like to say about the team of coaches who were strict, tough, but always fair, cheerful, kind and cool guys, who were able to train discipline in us, strengthen our willpower, could support us when something didn’t work out and who didn’t disdained to drink beer with us in the Old Arbat courtyards on Fridays.

Even before the interview, I had no intention of going to training and generally doubted that I needed or was interested in it. Moreover, around the third week, both Igor and I received very tempting job offers. They basically offered me what I wanted and have been trying to achieve for the last 1.5 years. But we had already managed to get involved, we started to like it and really didn’t want to give up everything at the very beginning of the journey. I chose for a very long time and painfully, wrote out all the pros and cons. And ironically, it was all passion that decided it, I wanted to finish my studies and see what would happen next. As you already understand, I refused the offer. And even though I didn’t have a long-term relationship with working at the casino, I didn’t regret my decision one bit. I can say that I consider that very summer the best and interesting holidays. I have developed qualities in myself that are difficult to acquire in life just by looking around.

I will remember my first trip to the gaming hall for the rest of my life. My first shift was on the night from Friday to Saturday, and this is the trashiest. I was nervous all day, didn’t eat anything, arrived 2 hours before departure. The first shift was at blackjack. I got to the table in a fog, and then the old machine turned on: “Hello, I’m your new dealer... place your bets" and off we went. The table was all occupied and among the others sat two women who apparently guessed that I was new. They supported me in every possible way, called me by name and smiled sweetly. And I gave them back nice black- Jacks, one after another. They made a lot of money and tipped off 70-80 bucks for the tip. This very first table of mine became the highest tip ever during my entire time working in the casino. After that there were crazy brain-loading nights, wildly boring morning hours, dads playing in casinos while their children are in school, the smell of cigars hated since then, mistakes in games, perverted insults, expensive prostitutes near money bags, rich Indians, the size of the bonus for a royal flush is the size of a three-room apartment somewhere in a neighboring house on Arbate. I saw why we were driven to chipping, when you are one chipper on two tables and mountains of chips of eight colors. I saw how quickly you can spend a small fortune, literally in a couple of spins or in a couple of hands on blackjack. I appreciated the European approach to working with staff. I realized how psychologically difficult work can be.

I learned all this, I saw and learned all this when I became a croupier.