As many poker fans know, many of today’s professional poker players began their love affair with the game by working out of the dealer’s box.  Scott Fischman, Mike Matusow, Cyndy Violette and former World Champion Scotty Nguyen are just a few of the great poker players that fall into this category.  It makes sense if you think about it; dealers spend their days watching players make correct and/or incorrect moves and would be excellent teachers to show people what NOT to do.  What if you could learn more about your poker game from such dealers and, in turn, improve your game?

That is the goal of “Play Like A Dealer” (www.playlikeadealer.com), a fascinating new website that is dedicated to making better players through contact with people who fill the dealer box in both poker and blackjack.  “Play Like A Dealer” is an interactive educational platform that anyone can take advantage of and, potentially, fill in the leaks in your game that you may have.  It was the brainchild of its owner, Catelyn Pacchioli, a former blackjack dealer at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

“When I was working, I would see people standing away from the tables, just watching the blackjack table,” Catelyn stated to me during a recent discussion.  “More often than not, it was the women who came with men to the casinos.  They always looked rather bored, so I would invite them over to teach them some of the intricacies of the game…I used to joke with them, ‘By the time I am done, you’ll play just as well as your husband or boyfriend!,” she laughed.

“After doing this for many years, one of my students told me that I should set something up to do this on the Internet and it was like a door opened up in my mind,” Pacchioli finished.  This was in 2005 and, approximately a year ago, Pacchioli was able to get “Play Like A Dealer” up and running on the Internet.  The website has many points that make it unique in the online poker world, although it isn’t an online poker site but a instructive platform for players to improve their game.

“I think most players are like me, they learn from actually seeing and hearing rather than reading,” Catelyn observed.  “There are some fantastic books out there for poker and blackjack, but people seem to have better learning abilities when they can actually see the ideas and situations displayed for them.  That is what we try to do with our site, educate the players to make them better at the game.”

It is an important note to make that this isn’t a online poker site, but an instructional forum.  “It was a little funny,” Pacchioli pointed out, “During one of our most recent classes, one of the students was wanting to hit the buttons and actually play during the class, but there isn’t any function of that sort.  The instructor took a moment to reaffirm that we weren’t there for him to play, but for him to IMPROVE his play.”

The dealers who teach at the site go through a rigorous interview and audition before they can even step into the virtual classroom to teach on “Play Like A Dealer”.  “All of our instructors are or have been professional dealers and have a minimum of five years of experience in the particular game they are instructing, so they are definitely qualified to speak on the game,” Catelyn promised.  “I have a very high standard when it comes to the ability to teach the game and also to be able to teach it in the interactive environment of the online world.  Believe me, as a former dealer, if I don’t clear them, they unfortunately don’t teach our classes!”

At this moment, classes are offered for poker and blackjack.  In the future, Pacchioli stated, there will also be classes for craps (“we have several excellent dealers set to teach that”), roulette and other forms of poker that are dealt in the casinos (such as Omaha and Seven Card).  People who want to get in on the classes can choose what they feel is their appropriate level (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced) and participate in a one hour class for $25.  What happens after signing up for the classes makes “Play Like A Dealer” unique, as shown by the patent that the website has on their website.  While other websites may have videos that people can look at to learn from, “Play Like A Dealer” is one of a kind as it actually teaches in real time.  It also allows for the students to interact with the instructor, ask questions and be fully involved in the learning experience. 

Students are advised to be online and hooked up to the class approximately fifteen minutes before the class begins.  This allows the instructor to ensure that every piece of the innovative “Play Like A Dealer” software is working properly between both the student and the instructor.  The instructor also finds out whether the student has to use a “chat feature” to talk to him (or her) or if the student has a microphone on their computer to be able to talk in real time.  After the highly intensive hour of instruction, there is about a five minute “wind down” period where the students enjoy learning more about Las Vegas, stated Pacchioli.

“Our students are very important to us,” she said as we finished our conversation.  “During the end of the class, sometimes students will ask questions regarding where to go in Las Vegas to play or about particular shows that they should see around town.  Our instructors are happy to talk about this as we wind down, because we want the students to have a great time learning about the game.  It seems to work…we have had many people who come back for more advanced lessons after taking their first class!”

For those that want to learn from those that are “in the know”, “Play Like A Dealer” could be the answer for you.  For a small price (about that of a book or DVD), you can get hands on, real time instruction that would be hard to obtain without actually going through it the hard way…losing your money in the casinos!  For more information on the interactive instructional opportunities they present, be sure to check out www.playlikeadealer.com and learn more.