Tipping CONTAINMENT thread.

[xniNja]

I've been playing live for almost 8 years. I've tipped thousands and thousands of dollars. Some rooms, dealers, floors, think I'm a cheapskate. Some love me.

I used to tip about $1 a hand as standard. Not anymore.

Here's what I suggest:

$1/hand standard if dealer is standard or better.
$0/ no flop
$0/ very small pot
$0/hand for the hand if dealer does anything wrong during the hand.
$0/hand for any hand (FOREVER) if dealer does anything seriously wrong, argues with you, or is rude.

$2/hand dealers I like. For whatever reason. (usually going to be good dealers/better service, said right things or didn't say anything at all, etc.)

$5/hand dealer I like and BIG pot.


$5 to floor on a decent winning session if they made some sort of personal cordial contact or I know them, or they hooked me up with a seat.

$0 FOREVER if they make a wrong decision against me.

I understand the last point may be extreme, but since in CA the floors accept tips and make rulings, this is the only reasonable play for an expert winning player who never angleshoots and feels the rules are there to protect him.

Floors: Be well aware winning players expect the floors to protect them and if they don't they will be rightfully shafted forever.

Oh.. and on BBJs/Tournaments... I would never tip over 1% of a BIG win. Even that I would go to the dollar amount... $1000 is always going to be a GREAT tip. Even on a million win.

If I felt like I would be talked **** about for tipping a grand or $500 on any amount... I might just not tip at all... and say intercourse you back.

There are good dealers and I appreciate them. I try to show them. They usually are more appreciative of me... a good player... who keeps the game moving fast and is able to settle decisions that don't require floor or shift just by backing the dealer or confirming an obvious rule.

You guys sound like *******s.

Thanks to this thread, I'll have no problem stiffing the next ******* dealer.... even though I normally did.

The employee chat thread (which I've completely read) made me think a little differently...

I intend to reward the good dealers and punish the bad ones. I hope the rest of you winning players will do the same.

[bananapeel]

^^^

nice post, although 5 bucks per big pot/dealer you like must be denting your bottom line. Bad players, as well as floors and dealers who don't play alot will NEVER realise how generous you are actually being by tipping adequately.

Over this years sample I have tipped .50 GBP per HOUR, over alot of hours. Although dealers here are considerably worse

[bananapeel]

Originally Posted by IRAZERIVER

This has probably been answered already in this thread, but it's long and I'm not gonna read the whole thing. So if any dealers or players would give me a quick opinion I'd very much appreciate it.

If I were to just give every dealer $1 when they sat down(so tipping $2/hr) and only tip additionally on very large pots(200bb+), would that be frowned upon. I'm struggling to find a way to be fair to both dealers and myself. I think I'm tipping too much, but I feel kinda nitty if I don't toss $1 on every 20bb pot I win.

Nice touch, although a little blatant if your looking to fly under the radar. How about tipping the dealer the first 20bb pot, and then not until you scoop a big one. This is my method, and you don't draw attention to yourself every 30 mins

[xniNja]

Originally Posted by bananapeel

^^^

nice post, although 5 bucks per big pot/dealer you like must be denting your bottom line. Bad players, as well as floors and dealers who don't play alot will NEVER realise how generous you are actually being by tipping adequately.

Over this years sample I have tipped .50 GBP per HOUR, over alot of hours. Although dealers here are considerably worse

Agreed. My tipping suggestions are not only below "customary" or "what dealers expect," but actually very generous...

Any smart winning player will agree with that.

I am. That $5 on the $400-500 pot (average) to $1000 pot (less likely) matters. No doubt.

Overall I might be losing .50 cents an hour or something because of it. (total guess, no idea.)

It's still worth it for me to reward the dealers who I think do things right, because, when it comes down to it... I can be a serious bastard and think bad dealers should practically be fired on the spot if i have to complain.

[bananapeel]

you guys have it easy trust me

come and see the dealing standard in London you would have a meltdown!

[xniNja]

I don't know man.. out of about 100 dealers at the two casino/cardrooms next to me... I can only think of about 5 good dealers.

My standards aren't too high, imo, but, I am a winning player who treats poker as an income and not for fun.

I do notice everything and thousands of small strikes do add up to big strikes.

[xniNja]

I'd just like to add:

I think it's VERY important to tip the good dealers and good floors/etc. while NOT TIPPING the bad. Some people in this thread have taken a "never tip" attitude... which is understandable, but, not optimal.

Tip the good, that way when the bad dealers/floors talk **** about you (which they do) the managers and other employees will automatically think it is their bad service that is the culprit and not you being a cheapskate. They will be looked at differently. After all, the good floor and the good dealer, thinks you tip better than average. And believe me, they think they are a better dealer and better floor than average. (and the management know who is better than whom.) So It will make sense to them.

The environment in a room can change entirely if just the shift, lead floor, one floor, or your dealer think you are a standup guy and the rest think you're a cheapskate.

[MuckYaSelf]

Originally Posted by xniNja

I've been playing live for almost 8 years. I've tipped thousands and thousands of dollars. Some rooms, dealers, floors, think I'm a cheapskate. Some love me.

I used to tip about $1 a hand as standard. Not anymore.

Here's what I suggest:

$1/hand standard if dealer is standard or better.
$0/ no flop
$0/ very small pot
$0/hand for the hand if dealer does anything wrong during the hand.
$0/hand for any hand (FOREVER) if dealer does anything seriously wrong, argues with you, or is rude.

$2/hand dealers I like. For whatever reason. (usually going to be good dealers/better service, said right things or didn't say anything at all, etc.)

$5/hand dealer I like and BIG pot.

There are good dealers and I appreciate them. I try to show them. They usually are more appreciative of me... a good player... who keeps the game moving fast and is able to settle decisions that don't require floor or shift just by backing the dealer or confirming an obvious rule.

I intend to reward the good dealers and punish the bad ones. I hope the rest of you winning players will do the same.

As a dealer of four and a half years, who takes a lot of pride in his job, and loves the game. You would be my favorite kind of player. I love when I get a table full of regs who are expecting a good 30 minute performance from me. I know that if I do my job correctly and efficiently, I am easily looking at a $18-$25 down. I would consider myself to be a very solid dealer, and I have made very good under the table money working at private clubs. It is the $1-2/hand tipping regulars who contribute the most to my income. So that I'll thank you for.

As a player, I also do not tip poopy dealers. Yes that may sound bad coming from a dealer, but why should you be rewarded for performing poorly? Some dealers feel they are owed money for every pot they push, and that is the wrong attitude to have in this business. If somebody doesn't throw you a buck, just move on, deal a little quicker, and hope the next winner is a reg like this guy I quoted, and tips you $2. Regulars are who you make the most from in the long run, and as a dealer you must know that.

All dealers need to keep in mind, we go through variance just like players, and it has to be the long term result that we are concerned about. If you work hard, and perform well every day on the felt, the end of the year result can be the only thing that matters.

- Muck

[SomethingStickey]

What makes a dealer not worth a tip?

[Rapini]

Originally Posted by SomethingStickey

What makes a dealer not worth a tip?

I won't tip when...

--> the dealer does not acknowledge a tip I've given him/her;
--> the dealer screws up while chatting it up with regulars or otherwise not paying attention to the action; or
--> the dealer does something unprofessional that kills the mood/action at the table.

However, I'll tip even when I don't win a pot for...

--> going above and beyond the call of duty when handling difficult players who are fish; or
--> having a very strong down in which the dealer dealt quickly and accurately with no (or maybe one or two inconsequential) errors.

[xniNja]

Originally Posted by SomethingStickey

What makes a dealer not worth a tip?

Any sort of serious mistake or rudeness will make me stiff a dealer at least once or a few times (if given the opportunity) or their whole down, depending if they fix their mistake. I don't have to know them or have history.

There's only two dealers I can think of that I vowed to never tip again.

One made a small mistake in running the game and allowed a person who wasn't the straddler to raise... I was next in position and started to muck my hand... it left my fingers but didn't hit the muck... when I realize the guy can't raise. Anyway my hand was dead, but, instead of apologizing or taking any responsibility this dealer proceeds to blame me and I ask him, "Oh this is my fault? Am I running the game?" He doesn't say anything at first and then as I'm walking away from the table he said something stupid back to me about "Learning to play poker." I came back to the table and asked him "WHAT?" ........ silence..... looks like he's gonna **** his pants... Lifetime no tip... and I'll probably sit up a few orbits if I ever see him again. (he's not where I'm currently playing.)

Another dealer sat down in a GREAT game (drunks, $, action) with a bitch attitude and told the whales to shut up... and tried too hard to assert control over the game like she was the boss of some kids or something... it was weird... one of them left... then I told her off... and she called the floor manager ... who sided with her and asked if I wanted a table change. I said no, I'd been there 5 hours she'd been there 5 seconds and was potentially about to ruin the game. Table pretty much agreed with me. Floor asked if I could let it go. I said ok. Game went on a bit, but, the mood was killed. She's not where I'm currently playing either, but, I won't tip her again.

Every other dealer ... even when made mistakes that potentially cost me money has apologized and admitted their mistake and pledged not to do it again. Or I haven't seen/tipped them again. (coincidence??)

[IHeartEmoKids]

Interesting topic, I'd be curious to hear stories from others about dealers landing on their lifetime no-tip list. I have only one:

I was sitting in a 4-8 game when a middle-aged female dealer tapped into the game and started a casual conversation with a couple older regs. She said something about how she had been locked into a 15-30 game because of an error in the dealer rotation (15-30 is the biggest game in this limit-only room). The following conversation occurred:

Old lady: Well that wouldn't be so bad, you probably made bigger tips there, right?
Dealer: No, in fact I make less on that game than I do on a 3-6 or 4-8 game! I pushed a $1000 pot to that guy sitting over in seat 8 (points). Guess how much he tipped me?
Old lady: I would hope twenty dollars, at least!
Dealer (in dramatic tone): One measly buck.

Old lady is shocked at this of course, and says something to the effect of how she would have tossed it back and said "you obv need this more than me," and the dealer says she would have done this if she could. It also should be noted that this was a quiet table, and this conversation could be heard clearly by everyone there. I said nothing, but silently vowed to never tip this woman again.

She worked mostly day shifts, and I mostly came in at night, so my moment of glory didn't happen until nearly a year later. The deck hit me in the face and I won three racks in her down in an 8-16 game, and I saw her whispering to the next dealer with a disgusted look on her face as she got tapped out. I made sure to overtip the next dealer.

[LVpokerPRO]

Originally Posted by IHeartEmoKids

and I saw her whispering to the next dealer with a disgusted look on her face as she got tapped out. I made sure to overtip the next dealer.

Well played! I would've done the same!

[2OutsNoProb]

I wouldn't have. You punish people for 30 seconds worth of venting? Most dealers would be irked if they received $1 on $1000, whether they say it or not. What's the big deal if someone fired off two sentences in a conversation started by someone else? Sounds like you're just looking for an excuse not to tip, which is your right, but it'd be easier to just do that from the get go instead of searching for a reason to.

I enjoy dealers who add amusement and some emotion in the box, enhances the experience.

[goofball]

Originally Posted by 2OutsNoProb

I wouldn't have. You punish people for 30 seconds worth of venting? Most dealers would be irked if they received $1 on $1000, whether they say it or not. What's the big deal if someone fired off two sentences in a conversation started by someone else? Sounds like you're just looking for an excuse not to tip, which is your right, but it'd be easier to just do that from the get go instead of searching for a reason to.

I enjoy dealers who add amusement and some emotion in the box, enhances the experience.

They would??? Did they do any more work in a $1000 pot at 15/30 than a $250 pot at 4/8?