About Tipping Casino/cardroom Dealers

[AcesUp46 0]

First of all, I decided to start this new thread instead of replying to the "Why You Should Never Tip Poker Dealers" thread since I know that we SHOULD tip poker dealers.Anyway, my rationale for tipping is that you should tip dealers for running a smooth game, not for giving you good hands. Hence, for the past 2 weeks, what I've been doing is tipping the dealer $1 just as he/she's being tapped out by another dealer at the end of their usual 1/2 hour. I do this regardless of whether I'm up or down for that dealer's 1/2 hour. Since almost all of the dealers are reasonable in my cardroom, I've only not tipped twice at the end of the 1/2 hour period in the past 2 weeks (both times, it was the same dealer that was really slow, had a really unfriendly disposition and misapplied the rules). So for all intents and purposes, I am tipping the dealers $2/hr, even if I did not win a hand at all during that hour.What do you guys think about this tipping policy? The first few times I did it, I got questions from the players (not the dealers) and I was more than happy to explain my position, ie that you tip for the good game, dealer is just a messenger of the cards/bad beats/monster hands, blah blah. Most of them seem to agree with my position though none of them started doing it. My sense is that the dealers are ok with it since it means that their tips (at least from me) is not affected by the luck of the cards, but instead by the quality of their dealing.Also, fyi, my regular game is 10/20 with an occasional 20/40.

[eYank 0]

i kind of like what u doim too young right now to play in a casino, but i never liked that when u win a pot u tip, especially if they are already raking you potidk just my opinion

[Willenation 0]

I've only been to a casino 3 or 4 times, and this is what I've done. If everybody did it, dealers would be making $20 an hour in tips, and that sounds pretty solid to me.

[king_tanner 84]

I was playing at Bay 101 today in San Jose, and I noticed when I tipped the dealer the kept putting the chips back in the chip tray, and obviously wasn't taking the chips for themselves. I stopped tipping after I noticed that. I don't know if Bay 101 has a rule that other cardrooms or casinos have, but it looked like they were not accepting tips. Usually I'm a generous tipper.

[AcesUp46 0]

I've only been to a casino 3 or 4 times, and this is what I've done. If everybody did it, dealers would be making $20 an hour in tips, and that sounds pretty solid to me.

Yeah, sometimes, I figure that I might be "overtipping" by tipping $1 on the 1/2 hour. I say "overtipping" because previously, I used to tip once every other pot (or every third pot if the 2 preceeding pots were tiny). So I reckon that since I'm a tight player, I'd win about 2.5 pots an hour on avg (assume 30hands per hour live, thus avg player wins 3 hands an hour, and since I'm tighter than avg, I win less). And so, previously, I would be tipping $1.25/hr on avg.So perhaps, I should tip every 40mins or so?

I was playing at Bay 101 today in San Jose, and I noticed when I tipped the dealer the kept putting the chips back in the chip tray, and obviously wasn't taking the chips for themselves. I stopped tipping after I noticed that. I don't know if Bay 101 has a rule that other cardrooms or casinos have, but it looked like they were not accepting tips. Usually I'm a generous tipper.

My guess is that Bay 101 makes its dealers share their tokes. So perhaps what the dealer was doing, was just putting the toke in the "Tip Section" of the chip tray.

[nutzbuster 7]

I always tip no matter what. It's just the right thing to do, especially if I am running hot and if I like that dealer. We have some beautiful Asian dealers here in AZ and most are very sweet. Don't get me wrong, Im very happily married, but this is still a bonus to me, lol.Even if I don't like the dealer I will still tip, just not as much.I always tip the little Asian guy in the bathroom too.There he is all day long, sloggin up our misses and crap, and this one guy is CONSTANTLY smiling the whole time, everytime I see him it's just two little slits for eyes and a ginormous grin as wide as the grill on a 57 Chevy.I always tip the chip runners and the little clean up ladies that run around the tables all day pushing away the food carts and crap.Ya know...come to think of it.... this Casino is really costing me some serious cash!!!!jk. Tipping is good Karma.

[AcesUp46 0]

I always tip no matter what. It's just the right thing to do, especially if I am running hot and if I like that dealer. We have some beautiful Asian dealers here in AZ and most are very sweet. Don't get me wrong, Im very happily married, but this is still a bonus to me, lol.Even if I don't like the dealer I will still tip, just not as much.I always tip the little Asian guy in the bathroom too.There he is all day long, sloggin up our misses and crap, and this one guy is CONSTANTLY smiling the whole time, everytime I see him it's just two little slits for eyes and a ginormous grin as wide as the grill on a 57 Chevy.I always tip the chip runners and the little clean up ladies that run around the tables all day pushing away the food carts and crap.Ya know...come to think of it.... this Casino is really costing me some serious cash!!!!jk. Tipping is good Karma.

Yeah, always tip the "little guys", who don't get to be in the limelight. ie toilet person, chip runner and cashier/cage ppl

[Loismustdie 0]

I always tip no matter what. It's just the right thing to do, especially if I am running hot and if I like that dealer. We have some beautiful Asian dealers here in AZ and most are very sweet. Don't get me wrong, Im very happily married, but this is still a bonus to me, lol.Even if I don't like the dealer I will still tip, just not as much.I always tip the little Asian guy in the bathroom too.There he is all day long, sloggin up our misses and crap, and this one guy is CONSTANTLY smiling the whole time, everytime I see him it's just two little slits for eyes and a ginormous grin as wide as the grill on a 57 Chevy.I always tip the chip runners and the little clean up ladies that run around the tables all day pushing away the food carts and crap.Ya know...come to think of it.... this Casino is really costing me some serious cash!!!!jk. Tipping is good Karma.

Nutz is a good dude.

[mcsoupman 0]

Tipping is good. If they are working hard for it, it is a pleasure to show my appreciation to them.

[chgocubs99 0]

I tip because it's socially correct to do so, but I think tipping in general should be done away with.

[surfingpro04 0]

First of all, I decided to start this new thread instead of replying to the "Why You Should Never Tip Poker Dealers" thread since I know that we SHOULD tip poker dealers.Anyway, my rationale for tipping is that you should tip dealers for running a smooth game, not for giving you good hands. Hence, for the past 2 weeks, what I've been doing is tipping the dealer $1 just as he/she's being tapped out by another dealer at the end of their usual 1/2 hour. I do this regardless of whether I'm up or down for that dealer's 1/2 hour. Since almost all of the dealers are reasonable in my cardroom, I've only not tipped twice at the end of the 1/2 hour period in the past 2 weeks (both times, it was the same dealer that was really slow, had a really unfriendly disposition and misapplied the rules). So for all intents and purposes, I am tipping the dealers $2/hr, even if I did not win a hand at all during that hour.What do you guys think about this tipping policy? The first few times I did it, I got questions from the players (not the dealers) and I was more than happy to explain my position, ie that you tip for the good game, dealer is just a messenger of the cards/bad beats/monster hands, blah blah. Most of them seem to agree with my position though none of them started doing it. My sense is that the dealers are ok with it since it means that their tips (at least from me) is not affected by the luck of the cards, but instead by the quality of their dealing.Also, fyi, my regular game is 10/20 with an occasional 20/40.

Here's the problem with your rationale. If every country in the middle east would just stop fighting, we would achieve world peace. The fact of the matter is that it's pretty tough to get everyone to tip, so some of us have to be a lil bit more generous than others to make up for the stiffers. Besides tipping on evey one pot is good karma, i've tipped $50 on a $1600 pot before. However, only tip good dealers who entertain and run a smooth game. Additionally, on Jackpots, it's always polite to tip 10%, hey this is bonus money and u tip a waiter 15-20% on average, so 10% is a conservative number.

[Willenation 0]

Here's the problem with your rationale. If every country in the middle east would just stop fighting, we would achieve world peace. The fact of the matter is that it's pretty tough to get everyone to tip, so some of us have to be a lil bit more generous than others to make up for the stiffers. Besides tipping on evey one pot is good karma, i've tipped $50 on a $1600 pot before. However, only tip good dealers who entertain and run a smooth game. Additionally, on Jackpots, it's always polite to tip 10%, hey this is bonus money and u tip a waiter 15-20% on average, so 10% is a conservative number.

I disagree wholeheartedly. Just because other people don't tip doesn't make it my problem. If we used that kind of logic everywhere, those of us who are generous would be pretty poor. I'll do my share, but I'll also only sacrifice so much of my own welfare for someone else.

[AcesUp46 0]

Here's the problem with your rationale. If every country in the middle east would just stop fighting, we would achieve world peace. The fact of the matter is that it's pretty tough to get everyone to tip, so some of us have to be a lil bit more generous than others to make up for the stiffers. Besides tipping on evey one pot is good karma, i've tipped $50 on a $1600 pot before. However, only tip good dealers who entertain and run a smooth game.

I disagree. If you're a serious player (ie 15-20hrs/week for live play), then making up for the stiffers is going to dent your profits significantly. You do what you can to be fair to the dealers but it's not incumbent on you (financially at least) to help the dealers out when others are being stingy.Dealers, I'd really appreciate your point of view regarding my tipping policy.

[mrdannyg 274]

Here's the problem with your rationale. If every country in the middle east would just stop fighting, we would achieve world peace. The fact of the matter is that it's pretty tough to get everyone to tip, so some of us have to be a lil bit more generous than others to make up for the stiffers. Besides tipping on evey one pot is good karma, i've tipped $50 on a $1600 pot before. However, only tip good dealers who entertain and run a smooth game. Additionally, on Jackpots, it's always polite to tip 10%, hey this is bonus money and u tip a waiter 15-20% on average, so 10% is a conservative number.

I agree with tipping on pots, or as acesup said, for a well run game. i think tipping 10% on jackpots is ludicrous though. we all pay through the nose for those jackpots, so to give away $5-10K to a dealer, who has not spent years paying into jackpots, seems ridiculous.rather than give the one dealer who coincidentally dealt the hand some huge amount of money, give him a few hundred, and give every dealer $5 a shift for the next year or so.

[ford0067 0]

I've only been to a casino 3 or 4 times, and this is what I've done. If everybody did it, dealers would be making $20 an hour in tips, and that sounds pretty solid to me.

I was in Vegas in late July and played primarily 2-4 at the Imperial Palace. Alomost everyone tipped a $1 a pot ... Somtimes more Somtimes less. They were dealling probably 30 hands/hr ... Do the math they prefer the current way to your model of tipping once at the end of the shift.I watch a guy throw a dealer .25 cents on about a $60 pot ... surprising he smiled said thanks and kept going ... He was slighltly miffed you could see it on his face, but he was very professional. The dealers at the IP were very appreciativ of the tips and ran a smooth game so I saw tipping when you won just an easy way to show my thanks. Playing for entertainment basically I really didn't see this as a big deal. As someone playing professionally I could see where this could really drag down your hourly rate.In the end tip the dealers if you get a bad one don't ( and not just giving you bad cards), but generally tip them. They really do only get minimum wage. I spent almost 60 hours with those guys that week ... I almost think of some of them as friends now

[Mrjones_76 0]

How come we dont tip the burgerking worker or the cashier at the super market ..who decides what jobs get tipped. School teahers dont get tipped by parents and they teach their kids all year round for a small salary. Cops risk their lives for a small salary ...Just drives me crazy that some of the "service industry" workers are expected and expecting to make tips no matter how well they do their job.

[AcesUp46 0]

I was in Vegas in late July and played primarily 2-4 at the Imperial Palace. Alomost everyone tipped a $1 a pot ... Somtimes more Somtimes less. They were dealling probably 30 hands/hr ... Do the math they prefer the current way to your model of tipping once at the end of the shift.

That's definitely tipping too much in my opinion. Almost all players who have had any amount of experience playing various limits will tell you that the low limit 2/4, 3/6, 4/8 and 6/12 players are the ones that tip the most. As a serious player, if you adopt these tipping habits, you'd be eating up a major chunk of your hourly earn rate.

How come we dont tip the burgerking worker or the cashier at the super market ..who decides what jobs get tipped. School teahers dont get tipped by parents and they teach their kids all year round for a small salary. Cops risk their lives for a small salary ...Just drives me crazy that some of the "service industry" workers are expected and expecting to make tips no matter how well they do their job.

The reason you don't tip cashiers/cops/teachers is their remuneration package adequately compensates them. However, for service industry workers, their remuneration package takes into account tip, hence their fixed hourly rate is very low (often less than the minimum wage). Hope that answers your question.

[Gooser 0]

i tip when i win a hand and then at the end of their shift if i had a nice run...

[Sunny 0]

I never play at casinos that require tips, I don't agree with it.

[loopie 0]

I think tipping every dealer at the end of their shift is not the thing to do.For starters, it makes everyone else at your table look bad. Extra tipping is great but I would reserve it for only the top dealers or one who pushed u pot after pot. And then I would throw them at least a red bird at the end of his/her shift. This would be on top of a dollar or two tipped after a winning hand.Tipping each dealer after their shift rocks the boat and shows up the rest of the table. Reserve it for the very best, over tip, and it will make more of an impact.

I was playing at Bay 101 today in San Jose, and I noticed when I tipped the dealer the kept putting the chips back in the chip tray, and obviously wasn't taking the chips for themselves. I stopped tipping after I noticed that. I don't know if Bay 101 has a rule that other cardrooms or casinos have, but it looked like they were not accepting tips. Usually I'm a generous tipper.

In some casinos, before a dealer starts his 8 hour shift or whatever, he gets a bank. The bank will be usually around 300 dollars of chips that are used to make change during hands or buy people in. Your tokes were going into his tray, but when he cashes out his bank whatever is beyond the original 300 is his toke wages. Not sure, but I bet Bay 101 dealers don't carry around toke boxes. They just have a different way of doing things.But don't be afraid to ask"Excuse me, do you accept tips??" I'm sure u will get the right answer.

I never play at casinos that require tips, I don't agree with it.

So I guess you don't play in any cainos? Tipping dealers is almost universally encouraged, not required. You don't have to tip, but be prepared for nasty glares and some whispers if u choose never to do so. Tipping is part of playing in a casino, which that and rake make internet poker seem like heaven.

[ogmaster 0]

For me, it's about how much I win. If I steal the blinds, I'm not going to tip and I dont see a problem with that.Now it's funny how you mentioned that we should tip the dealer for running the game smoothly. One of my largest tips was when a dealer screwed up. I had KQ, there was J-9-x on the board. On the turn was an 8 and then for some reason, the dealer immediately burn and turned the river. We all in unison say "Whoa!" and he flipped over another 9. Floor was called over and said the 9 would be put back into the deck and the deck would be shuffled. The first thing on my my mind was "What if a 10 came up?" Sure enough, a 10 came up and everyone was bummed out. It was checked to me and I just had to bet. Everyone folds except for one chick who kept reraising me and finally she just called she had the Queen high straight while I had the King high straight. With that, I made sure to give a nice tip to the dealer.

[loopie 0]

For me, it's about how much I win. If I steal the blinds, I'm not going to tip and I dont see a problem with that.Now it's funny how you mentioned that we should tip the dealer for running the game smoothly. One of my largest tips was when a dealer screwed up. I had KQ, there was J-9-x on the board. On the turn was an 8 and then for some reason, the dealer immediately burn and turned the river. We all in unison say "Whoa!" and he flipped over another 9. Floor was called over and said the 9 would be put back into the deck and the deck would be shuffled. The first thing on my my mind was "What if a 10 came up?" Sure enough, a 10 came up and everyone was bummed out. It was checked to me and I just had to bet. Everyone folds except for one chick who kept reraising me and finally she just called she had the Queen high straight while I had the King high straight. With that, I made sure to give a nice tip to the dealer.

This thinking disgusts me and would give the impression of collusion to the rest of the table. I know it wasn't collusion but it gives the impression of it.

[yeffy 0]

If you want to see what the alternative to tipping is follow this link: Aviation ClubTipping is not customary in europe since the dealers are paid a full wage. If you played a 20-40 limit game you are charged 25 euros an hour. I would much rather pay the average $12 an hour here and tip $2 to $5 more per hour depending on how many pots you win. Even if you are crushing the game and win 10 real pots in an hour you're still spending less then the time charge at the Aviation.

[AcesUp46 0]

If you want to see what the alternative to tipping is follow this link: Aviation ClubTipping is not customary in europe since the dealers are paid a full wage. If you played a 20-40 limit game you are charged 25 euros an hour. I would much rather pay the average $12 an hour here and tip $2 to $5 more per hour depending on how many pots you win. Even if you are crushing the game and win 10 real pots in an hour you're still spending less then the time charge at the Aviation.

Holy cow. The time charge is ridiculous!! Does anyone actually make money at the Aviation Club through playing poker???

[hornsandspurs 0]

I little OT, but what are good tipping practices for tourneys? What if you win a large amount? If you win 100K, what is the expected tip. No freaking way I am tipping 10% (or 5%).