After watching a blackjack dealer on FanDuel insult a Twitch streamer, I have decided that every online casino with live dealers should designate tables where dealers can do this at any time. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Real people, real reactions
Online casinos have introduced live dealer tables for two main reasons: 1) to appease the “rigged” crowd by showing real cards dealt by a real person, and 2) to make the experience more like that of a real casino design. Recently, a clip from a Twitch livestream went viral of a blackjack dealer berating and insulting a player, which I found absolutely hilarious. We need more of this – online casinos should definitely have tables where the dealer can talk nonsense with the players to their heart’s content.
The clip was posted by Twitch streamer Capp, who apparently streams a lot of Grand Theft Auto V and other games. That evening he also jumped from table to table at FanDuel Casino.
tells him to hurry up
There isn’t much lead-up to the 46-second clip, but Capp does I meet the dealer briefly a few minutes earlier, as he moves to his table and sees the dealer manually shuffling all the decks in the shoe. In the text chat, Capp asks him how old he is and then tells him to hurry up – as his audience laughs with him – before moving to another table. At one point the dealer appears to take a quick look at the chat and shake his head slightly.
The dealer had enough
After losing money and patience at another table, Capp deposits and returns to the previous dealer at the exact moment he realized he had made a mistake setting up the shoe. He looked into the camera and then out of frame and said, “I screwed up,” before announcing that he had forgotten the mid-shoe cut card. He corrected his mistake, but Capp took advantage of the opportunity and told the dealer he was going to be fired, all the while laughing.
You’re up at four in the morning playing blackjack, damn loser.”
When the dealer had everything reset and looked to see what Capp had said, he answered right away. The two had a back and forth, Capp via text chat and the dealer responding verbally on camera. When Capp egged him on and repeated that he was going to be fired, the dealer replied, “You’re up at four in the morning playing blackjack, damn loser.”
The clip below is the main interaction between the two. WARNING: Language used, both verbal and in text chat, may be offensive to some viewers.
Not much happened after that, but about a minute and a half later, a message appeared on the screen asking players to be patient while the casino reviewed the video recordings. After a few minutes the game resumed, the dealer dealt a few more hands and then went on break.
Promote this man
I have no idea if this dealer has been or will be punished, but I really hope he is not punished. What he did was fantastic and we need more of it. Let’s set up some tables where the dealer has an open invitation to make the players shine. Of course a line would have to be drawn as we can’t have things like racism or sexism, but card dealers routinely tolerate abuse, so it’s time to dish it out.
And again, what this guy said was funny! The streamer made it difficult for him to entertain his own viewers and make money in the process. So why not let the dealer snap it right back? This is anything but unprecedented. Stand-up comedians fool their audience when they crowdwork; Don Rickles made a legendary career out of insult comedy.
Dick’s Last Resort is a restaurant chain whose staff is intentionally obnoxious and “deliberately provides poor service.” At the heart of the website is the slogan: “Putting the FU in fun.” And it’s been around since 1985, so there must be something going on over there.
I tried to get a reaction from the man, got one and obviously enjoyed it
While online casino games are of course entertaining in their own right, sitting at home and clicking buttons can get a little boring. Dealers can interact with players, but let’s take it a step further and set up a few tables with dealers like the one who attacked Capp. Capp tried to get a reaction from the man, got one and clearly enjoyed it. So did his viewers.
The purpose of the tables would not be to be mean, but to add some spice to the game. Just as the audience members near the stage know that they might be teased at a stand-up comedy show, the players at these tables know that some barbs might come their way. They are playable, and so is the dealer.
If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. But let’s try it, “damned losers.”
