Standing in the center of a crowded casino, effortlessly shuffling cards and calculating complex payouts, is a highly skilled profession.

If you have excellent manual dexterity and can handle high-pressure social situations, it can be an incredibly lucrative career path.

Learning the Trade: Casino Academies

You cannot simply walk into a casino and ask for a job dealing blackjack; you must be professionally trained first.

A standard dealing course usually takes between four to eight weeks to complete, depending on the complexity of the game.

• Some massive casino resorts offer free, in-house dealing schools, but you must pass an intense audition to be hired afterward
• Tuition for an independent dealing school can range from $500 to $2,000, depending on how many games you want to learn
• Craps is universally considered the hardest game to learn, but Craps dealers are always in high demand and make the best tips

Surviving the Grind: The Dealer's Life

Once hired, new dealers usually start on the 'graveyard shift' (2 AM to 10 AM) or are placed in the lowest-limit pit areas.

While the base salary is often just minimum wage, a good dealer at a busy, high-end casino can make $70,000 to $100,000 a year in tips.

Becoming a professional dealer is a fantastic, non-traditional career that offers excellent benefits and incredible people-watching opportunities.