I went to the Bike on Monday for my first day as a prop, and they switched up the schedule on me. I'll be working 1-9 pm Thursday-Monday, which I actually like quite a bit better than 3-11 pm. I figure I can get lunch when I first get there, and then dinner before I go (meals are free). On Monday I played 20-40 limit from 2-9 pm. I lost more in the game than I made in salary, but I found it relatively easy to sit and play that long. I didn't get tired until about 8. However, by the time I left at 9 I was rather tired, and in my diminished mental state I forgot to bring home my employee handbook (I did remember to sign out at least). This means I still don't really know what my health benefits and vacation time are like or anything like that. Hopefully, I'll be able to find the employee parking lot tomorrow.
Supposedly there is usually a lot of downtime as a prop player, and I was warned that I should bring a book. I'm not accustomed to bringing things with me to the casino (hence my forgetting my handbook on Monday). Also, I don't understand when this downtime would happen. On Monday I was put in a game almost immediately when I arrived, and unless the game breaks I'm not really sure how I could have any downtime whatsoever. I was a little unsure of whether I was supposed to keep playing after the game filled up, but there were some other props playing the same game at another table, and they didn't leave, so I figured I probably shouldn't either. (Actually, one moved from my table to the other 20-40 limit game, but I have no idea why.) I guess tomorrow I'll need to ask the floorman to clarify the protocol a little more for me.
8 comments:
You get free meals on top of getting paid for something you do anyway? Holy smokes! That's pretty amazing. Good luck figuring out the details (and making some money).
this sounds like a pretty sweet deal, Max is right. Do the prop players need to stay "hidden," or is it OK to tell the other players that you are getting paid by the casino?
Well, we are required to inform anyone who asks, but I've never heard this question posed in any poker room anywhere. They do tell us not to wear our badges, and the methods for moving us around are rather surreptitious. So I guess the answer is no, we don't "need" to stay hidden, but I've certainly gotten the impression that it's preferred if we don't draw any undue attention to ourselves.
You don't need to keep your prop status a secret. I frequently play in the Omaha 8 6/12 game at the Bike which they have a hard time keeping full. Once I sat down at the must move table and as soon as a seat opened at the main game I was called. I was confused because its usually the newest player to the must move is the last to be called. The player to my left explained to me "everyone else at this table is working for the casino."
Haha, they really do have a lot of props there at the Bike! Frankly I still don't know when I'm playing with other props most of the time.
I guess once you became confused about the must-move situation it was necessary to let you know what was going on - it would have been pretty shady not to tell you at that point.
There's a couple questions I have. One, why do they have you work on the weekends and off on weekdays? Id think weekends would be their busiest time. Two, do they check your finances before they hire you? I mean, what would happen if you ran out of available cash before your shift was over. Would they fire you on the spot?
Good to see you at the poker table today, Craig! (That was you, right?)
You know, I'm as perplexed by the prop system as you are. Some props do get the weekends off, but those are the most popular off-days among the prop players, so a new prop like me is unlikely to get those days off. I suppose you could argue that with twenty tables running on the weekend, it may require more props to keep all the games full than it does during the week when only ten games are going, or however many they have in the top section.
No, they didn't check my finances. Not even a credit check. All they did was verify my former employment, which I haven't had for over almost three years anyway. I was thinking a few days ago about what would happen if I ran out of cash during my shift, and I imagine I could just get casino credit if it came to that. If I were unwilling to do that, I suppose I could just leave early and bring more cash the next day if I were able to cobble together another bankroll in time. If I couldn't, I don't see how they could have any choice but to fire me. My supervisor told me on the day I applied "Your bankroll is like your tools - without it you can't do your job."
That was me at the poker table, and I'm still wondering why I didn't check fold my 9s and 8s when that straight card came on the turn ;)
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