WSOP Dealer Ratings Spark Debate: Three Writers, Three Different Views

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) announced on May 7 that players would be able to rate dealers through the WSOP Live app starting this summer. The reaction to this news has been far from unanimous, with some praising the move and others deeming it cruel or annoying.

Anuj, one of the writers, supports the rating system, comparing it to other modern rating systems like Google Maps, Uber, and Urban Company. He believes that ratings are a way to separate competence from coasting in any service economy, and that poker dealing shouldn't be exempt. He also suggests that extreme outlier ratings should carry less weight to prevent a single tilted player from torpedoing a dealer's livelihood.

Sam, on the other hand, opposes the rating system, citing concerns about personal attacks and the potential for unfair ratings. She believes that dealing is a hard job at the best of times, and that the added pressure of being rated must be awful. She also points to a darker undertone, comparing the system to a Black Mirror episode where every interaction is rated on a five-star basis.

Ivan shares Sam's concerns and also questions the WSOP's motives, suggesting the system is a way to avoid paying dealers more. He believes that the end goal of any big corporation is usually to spend less on the people who make things happen. He also proposes a fix: push notifications during tournament breaks asking players to rate the dealers from the last couple of rounds.