Was I right in correcting the dealer on errors in my favor?

**LugiaLvl138** · 04-19-2025, 04:22 PM

I played for the first time in over 4 years this past Thursday and Friday. During that time, I corrected two different dealers when they attempted to pay me on hands that I actually lost. My reasoning was, I didn't want to get into a hassle with security or pit bosses over 10 or even 40 or 50 dollars. These are my closest casinos which are also pretty tolerant, at least of Red Chippers like me. I did also correct a dealer that took my bet on a hand that pushed. Was I right however, to alert both dealers that tried to pay me that I had actually lost the hand? The way I see it is, if I'm playing at a place I want to preserve then yes, but if I'm playing either at a place I won't visit often or a place that is known for being sweaty, then no.

**21forme** · 04-19-2025, 04:33 PM

NO! If surveillance catches it, they will ask for the money back. You can just shrug your shoulders and say you weren't paying attention. ALWAYS correct the dealer if the mistake is in the casino's favor.

The only time they would toss a player is if the player refuses to give the mispay back.

(edited for typo)

**DSchles** · 04-19-2025, 05:17 PM

What he said!! (Except I would have written ALWAYS!

)

Don

**21forme** · 04-19-2025, 06:09 PM

Don't know what you're talking about, Don

**Freightman** · 04-19-2025, 06:16 PM

The answer is - it depends. It’s not up to you to correct dealer error - however, the reasoning changes when it’s your home base and on that basis, as far as I’m concerned - you did the right thing. Away from home - who gives a shit.

The one time I wasn’t “paying attention” at home - I had been cheated by a low life scum bucket asshole which cost me a $600 swing. Not even a couple of weeks later, a Miss Goody Two Shoes very competent dealer really screwed up by paying all of my doubles and splits, roughly 2k+ on the table when I should have lost everything. The whole time, we were engaged in conversation. There were no comebacks.

**Freightman** · 04-19-2025, 10:45 PM

Oh! One last point I forgot about. Some stores penalize their dealers for mispays. I knew of 1 store where dealers would lose a shift - maybe more. Sometimes, the biggest kindness is dishonesty.

**LugiaLvl138** · 04-19-2025, 11:07 PM

Wouldn't it look better for the dealer if the error was immediately caught by the player rather than caught by surveillance 5 minutes or more after the fact? Of course there's also the chance that surveillance doesn't catch it. I've also read that it can be a red flag because it shows the pit that you were paying attention. Likely not an issue at a tolerant store, but could be at a sweatier place such as the casino that gave me my one backoff that I wrote about years ago.

**bjarg** · 04-20-2025, 04:05 AM

I agree 100% with your logic and I think you did the right thing. I dont think its a question of not getting into a hussle with the pit boss (if they reclaim their money you can just give it back and that would surely be the end of it), but more of a question of using the opportunity to show you are a nice, honest, respectful and enjoyable person to play with and get on their good side. Cultivating good relationships with casino personnel is key for longevity and you being honest with them about a mistake they made is a very good way to do that. The money you gave back surely was worth the points you scored in terms of tolerance.

I would do the exact same thing if it happened in a casino I play regularly.

**Sidecount** · 04-20-2025, 09:29 AM

I've had literally dozens of mispays in my favor. None of them were ever brought to my attention by the casino. I've never been asked to give it back. If survelliance actually did catch them then nothing was said to me about it. I would pay it back without protest and feign ignorance if they asked me about it.

The only time it's been caught was in the moment by the dealer himself when he's looking and pauses and recalculates quickly.

But for the mispays at the table that are not noticed when they happen, I believe it is very unlikely that they notice them on video either. Perhaps a bit more likely for a counter because they might do a video rundown skills check on you later. But, otherwise, I think this stuff can be viewed sort of like speeding. It's just impossible to catch them all. Most will go uncaught. You have 3 survelliance people in the room perhaps watching over the entire casino which includes slots and other security issues and drunk guys banging on the roulette table and they're also watching for dealer theft and also chip reloads in the tray and all of that stuff. They aren't watching every single hand to confirm and double-check that the push on the one dude's multicard 18 was actually supposed to be a loss.

Dealers aren't going to get fired over this stuff. If they did then there would be no dealers left. If this is the mistake that pushed the dealer past the brink of needing to be disciplined or let go then that means he was already so bad it has already happened many times before and it was going to happen to him again anyway.

I don't advocate for angle-shooting or trying to trick the dealer. I don't start talking about football scores with numbers to try to mess them up. I'm just playing and am willing to snag a little extra EV from sleepy dealers. But I don't insta-snap the chips back (looks obvious) and if they hesitate or ask about it then there is no protest and I just go "Wait, huh? You had 20? Oh, I see."

I've also caught mispays the other way. For me as well as for other players at the table. One incredibly drunk dude on a blackjack betting $1200 or something and the dealer shorted him by $200 on the payout and I happened to notice it. Good chance survelliance would not have caught that either.

I've also considered that pointing out the dealer errors could potentially stand a chance of getting them in MORE trouble. Maybe. Before it would have gone unnoticed. When we are swapping chips back and forth then that becomes more noticeable to the camera and/or the floor has to be notified sometimes. Not the end of the world to mention it and give it back if that's what you want to do. But I believe that it really isn't as risky or helpful to just keep the chips as many seem to think. They aren't going to track you down! Usually you will be the only one that knows it ever happened.

**Freightman** · 04-20-2025, 09:42 AM

@Sidecount
About 15 years ago, a dealer paid the entire full table when he had actually won. About 15 minutes later, some suit came to the table with knowledge of everyone’s wager and asked for the money back.

I once saw a (non blackjack) dealer get fired on the spot, in front if customers, for erroneously paying some guy $1500.00.

Cash cage receives the most scrutiny - was sidetracked in conversation and the cashier short paid me $100 - and on another occasion $10. Also, it just might have been me

**Sidecount** · 04-21-2025, 06:03 PM

Sure, there are exceptions to my own personal experience. On a whole table win it isn't too surprising that they would come back with the bet size for everyone after consulting the video.

But the situation of the guy getting fired is definitely the exception. I would also submit that it was likely not his first mistake in order to get fired on the spot like that. Is it possible that happens? Sure. But everyone trying to save the dealer's job by pointing out his error seems to forget that they are a really small part of that dealer's 40 hour week or 280 hour month. If you caught him making a mistake after sitting there for just 2 hours or less then that dealer is very likely making more errors. If a casino is going to nuke a guy after just one mistake then whether it happens while you are there or 4 days later really doesn't matter a whole lot.

If the cashier at a store gives me the wrong amount of change I will never keep it. But at the blackjack table I'm perfectly comfortable pretending like I didn't see it and accepting the EV. Whether or not that makes me a hypocrite or possibly even a total scumbag I'm not really sure. I'm not a thief in any other application in my life and I don't attempt to cheat at the table either (past posting or anything like that).

**bjarg** · 04-22-2025, 05:24 AM

In spanish there's a saying: "quien roba a un ladrón tiene 100 años de perdón".

**moo321** · 04-22-2025, 09:51 AM

Correcting a dealer error can get a dealer in trouble. I don't see how you have any moral obligation to protect the money of a giant multinational corporation, but you could see yourself as having a moral obligation not to get an honest working person in trouble with their employer over $10. That's up to you.

There is one exception. If you think a dealer is mispaying the whole table on purpose to dump to a confederate, you want to get out of there. Like, the dealer declares they busted on a 6 card 21 so they can pay a table max double down to their friend. That could get you dragged in as a potential accomplice, and criminals might lie about you to get out of jail time.

Payouts should be a part of all training programs. If you're going to bet $275, you need to know how much it pays on a blackjack. Watch dealer training videos, there are some easy ways to calculate it visually. Even more so on carny games or side bets with large payouts. You also need to be reviewing all check change, color ups, changing cash into chips, and payouts at the cage. I have seen mistakes on all of these.