Editorial

Thursday, 28 January 2010 23:39

Whichever side of the gambling table you sit, there are specialized schools to help you learn the ropes. So how do you choose which is best for you?

Gambling professionals originally had to learn their trade the hard way. Dealers had to spend a great deal of time practicing and honing their skills and dexterity, while gamblers had to do it the hard way by trial and error.

Things are different these days. Now it is possible to find all the information and game strategy for every game imaginable online at no cost to yourself apart from your time spent reading an learning. But even that is not enough, as there is more to becoming an experienced gambling professional than knowledge alone.

If you are aiming to work in a casino in a professional position, you will need certifiable proofs of your proficiency and skills to convince your future employer that you have attained the necessary level to be able to do the job. That means obtaining a diploma or certificate from an approved school of gambling. In fact, many major casinos in gambling resorts such as Las Vegas will only hire dealers that belong to the dealers unions. The only way of becoming accepted into a dealers union is by graduating from one of the approved schools of gambling.

If you want to be a professional gambler, you can still go about it the hard way, which can become a lengthy, expensive and unsatisfying process. Alternatively, you can join a gambling school, where you will learn all you need to know about your chosen game from real professionals. That will accelerate the learning process and set you on the road to professionalism in a fraction of the time.

There are two main forms of gambling school, which are online or live. For dealers and other live professionals, the obvious route is via a live school as there are skills that can only be learned in a real life environment. For gamblers, it depends upon the predominant medium you intend using, so online schools may be better for online players, whereas live schools may be more beneficial to live gambling situations.

Choosing the best school of gambling to suit your individual needs is the next important step in the process, as getting this part wrong may prove costly in terms of wasted time and money. So how do you go about choosing the right gambling school for your own needs? Let's break it down into the most important factors governing the criteria you will be facing.

First of all, you must be clear about your primary purpose for attending any school of gambling. Whether your purpose is to be a dealer or a gambler, you should ask questions such as:

- What level of skill are you pursuing?
- What level of tuition will you need; absolute beginner, intermediate or advanced?
- Do you need certification as a practitioner of any particular game?
- What level will you be graduating at?

Secondly, you must determine your budget for this education. Live schools catering for prospective casino employees can work out to be fairly expensive. The education required to become a qualified union dealer can cost in excess of $3000 plus future union dues. You also need to factor in travel expenses plus the cost of accommodation if your chosen school is far away from home.

With these two main factors decided upon, you can make up a short list of available schools that fit your criteria and are within your budget. Then you can narrow the field down according to their reputation, track record and availability of programs in your chosen field and value for money. Some pertinent questions you could ask would be:

For both online and brick and mortar gambling schools, you should ask:

- How long does their program last?
- How intensive is the course?
- How current is their curriculum?
- Is there a trial?
- What guarantees do they provide?

For gambling schools online, you should ask:

- Are their tutorials updated and how frequently?
- How expansive is the library of tutorials and other learning tools?

Try to obtain testimonials from past students who have experienced them first hand. Check online ratings to find out how satisfied former students are. You can ask schools specializing in training casino dealers, etc the number of professionals they have trained and what percentage of students progressed to obtain job placement. Ask professional gambling schools what number of their students posted tournament wins and get details you can cross reference.

Lastly, there is no financial aid available for attending gambling schools. Obtaining a bank loan to cover tuition costs would be almost impossible. If it is your aim to gamble professionally, you need to also factor your bankroll into any financial equation. Without a decent bankroll, you will struggle no matter how good you are if you don't possess the cash to back up your wagers.