I don't know if anybody has thought about this, but
Is there a "standard protocol" for communicating with the dealer?
A single most important thing in blackjack games for me is Penetration, and I usually try to "shop around" for better dealers. But, there are also other constraints (like number of players at tables, etc) and it's not always easy to find and play with dealers with the best penetration. The next thing I do (while playing with a particular dealer) is to see if I can "tell" the dealer *in an extremely subtle way* that I would like deeper penetration. Of course, I don't want to give away my "identity", and I usually start to find out whether he or she will understand my "hint".
I ask questions like
"Do you play blackjack yourself?" (Under the assumption that if the dealer plays blackjack then it's more likely that he/she will know the importance of penetration.)
"Hey, we are spending way too much time shuffling." (I can go a little further as to suggest more rounds between shuffles depending on the dealer's reaction.)
I also test the dealer's knowledge of blackjack. For example,
"I hear that single deck games are better for players.", "The reason for this is that we get more blackjacks in SD games (which is btw not entirely true).", etc. etc...
in the hope that at some point I can convey "my wish" regarding penetration in an ever so subtle way.
The problem with this approach is that it takes toooooo long and I've *never* successfully "communicated" with dealers within 40 min or 1 hour timeframe.
(BTW, I also amply reward the dealer if he/she gives me good penetration. (Not necessarily as a bribe... I simply tip more when I win, and I win more when I get better penetration.))
Is there a "standard" way to achive this within a reasonably short time? Or, if there are any dealers on this board, do you guys have any suggestions?
~Black Jack in the Box.