Short answer, no. Laravel doesn't really even ship with a built-in concept of admin users, and the examples about guards are labelled in a confusing way. Read the section on ['authorization'](

Long answer: when the docs talk about "authentication", they're referring to the tasks of logging in & out, creating & registering users, and distinguishing between authenticated (logged-in, account-having) users and guests. User roles, permissions, groups, and access controls are discussed under "authorization". Moving forward, the Gates & Policies described there are probably the best way to go, and that part of the docs introduce them fairly well.

However note that these are new to Laravel 5.1/5.2, so in older apps you're going to see a lot more hands on approaches. These can range from simply checking entries in the user table, to complicated DB relationships defining user groups and permissions sets, or perhaps whole role-management packages like Entrust.

You're still welcome to check your users table in the same way you did before.

if ($request->user()->jedirank === 9)

However I'd take the opportunity to explore the gates and policies because they are a much safer and more understandable way to approach permissions.