They should tip based on service. Perhaps then terrible servers will be forced to get different jobs, like become poker dealers

I thought it was clear that you tip a server based on his or her service, not based on how good/terrible the food is, or how slow/fast the food came, or a slew of other things that the server has no control over?

That kind of reminds me of... poker. One should tip based on a dealer's competency and not how big/small the pot is. Same goes for kooks that stiff a stellar dealer because they're "bad luck" or think they're ugly or whatever irrelevant reason compels them to not tip.

When I have a stellar or world-class dealer in the box, particularly when it's HU or short (especially with sourpusses in mixed TD games), I ask myself what tips would I want to receive during this down if I were in that dealer's spot that would make me want to look forward to coming back tomorrow, and I tip that amount because I want him or her to come back.

The more abuse a stellar or better dealer takes from my opponent, the more that dealer gets from me. But if that dealer is a shiitty dealer... well, they're on their own.

Viewing this large pot where Alex wins a $700k pot at the Lodge and he tips $500:

. (At 24:10.)

As a % of the pot it's less than 0.007. Put that into perspective, at lower levels a $1 tip is normal for smaller pots as small as $10-$30. Larger % but smaller amount.

What are appropriate tips as you move up in stakes?

One time a dealer friend shipped me a good pot, I tipped him $15 and he asked "I wonder when you'll tip me a green bird?" A few weeks later I won a very, very big pot at big o and I said "remember that time you asked about tipping a green bird? This is not that time." (I then gave him the green bird. Lol.)

In my experience, once you get above 2/5 or 5/10 the bigger the game the less they tip. I'm not talking lower percentage, I'm talking per hand and per down. Bigger time rake games often do a standard pre-tip to make up for it.

In that video I didn't see anyone tip in any other hand. The $500 might be cumulative for the roller coaster he went through, from busting back up to 700k. And the dealer is hot. If I were in the box it might have been $100.

Whales are the exception to the rule. Some of them really like tipping in the big games. Even those guys usually won't go above $100 a hand no matter the stakes.

That's 0.07% and not 0.007%, but it doesn't matter. Either figure illustrates why tipping based on pot size is nonsensical. You should tip based on dealer performance. That means that if you get your nuts kicked in and dragged $0 during the down and there is a stellar dealer in the box, you should give that dealer as much of a toke at the end of his or her down that you think would make the dealer look forward to coming back to work tomorrow.

Should be noted that Alex used to deal poker in Florida, that could influence how much he tips. I’d be ecstatic if someone tipped me $500, I don’t care how much they won or what % of their win they tipped.

I don't see any good argument for why it should be more than the standard $1-$5.

Most of the stream games will do something before the first hand for the Dealers. I've seen quite a few different approaches. I saw one where the Dealer got the Bomb Pot Antes and the rest of the pot was split normally.

On HSP they show Robl stating "$500 for an Ace" in one spot .. he didn't get the Ace, but he chopped the pot.

It would be interesting to see if the Dealers get to keep all of the tips or if there's a split for the 'privilege' of Dealing that game.

Yes, plenty of talk about how cheap the Players are in the HS rooms in this thread and other places. A Pro could easily tip $20K over the course of a year ($400/week) if you consider the 'normal' $1 standard, $5 'bonus' tipping methods.

Talk also that Sammy Farha would berate and even get Dealers fired for various spots .. so do you really want to deal high stakes? GL


PS .. While I think Alex does a good job of holding it together, I think he also realized the significance of the pot .. And there's nothing like your first!!

I'm sure that it varies from room to room and depends on the lineup of players. A room where I used to work had a streaming high limit game every few months. Two dealers selected for each game. They tried to choose dealers who hadn't already dealt the strraming game before.

On a normal night a dealer will typically deal between 3 and 5 tables (30 minutes per table) followed by a 30 minute break. The streaming game had 2 dealers, so it would be 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off.

Additionally, a regular shift would be 8 hours where the stream might be 6 hours.

At the end of the day the streaming dealers usually made between 2 and 3 times more tips than they would on a typical night.

I can't say how well those players tipped in their usual games but they tipped very well when they knew they were on tv.

$1k tip on HSP tonight.. 373k pot . RIT scoop .. 27:20 mark

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I've thought about this idea for a while - and I don't think I (or anyone else) has ever asked it.

If a player only plays on the weekend at a casino and the casino collects player pool funds every hand of every day, but they pay ~90% of promo funds in hands dealt during the week should that effect a player's tipping amount on player pool payouts?

I have kicked around the idea that since player pools are designed to be =EV for the whole of players in the player pool that players who are +EV (weekday-ers) in player pool promotions should tip more than players who are -EV (weekenders).

In essence casinos like my local casino use the player pool fund's as a way for weekend players to pay a small amount to lure weekday players to play during the week. So part of me just sees weekend players -EV in the player pool as just the price of doing business making this whole thought a bunch of nonsense.

I’m thinking about using those $1 coins as chip protectors and tipping. Anybody ever seen this?

And if I’m feeling cheap maybe I’ll use the half dollar coins instead. Or specially only use those in the smaller preflop type pots and sub 9 bb pots that I normally wouldn’t tip in. Thoughts?

In reverse order ..

1) Yes, we went through a period of time where Gaming wouldn't allow chips to be used at tips. So there were a lot of coins and $1 on the table (out of play).

2) No .. I don't think using EV as a measurement for Tipping has been discussed. I'm not sure how to quantify it immediately. I will say that I do tip based on 'profit' not 'per hand or session' so this line of thinking is on my radar.

So while two Players may 'pay' into the Promo Fund the same amount based on hands won you certainly can suggest that since one Player has a greater opportunity to gain a return that their EV is higher. I'm not really sure that 'any' Promo drop is +EV, but I will agree that playing during a Promo period is certainly a better EV than not!

But putting on my 'profit' hat I'm not so sure we tip more after contributing to the fund the same as a lot of other Players.

As another side thought, what you may also be (sideway) suggesting is that a Pro 'should' tip less than a Rec simply because they play so many more hands per period. I'm not suggesting that a Pro and Rec should be tipping the same $$, but since the opportunity for a Pro to tip is much greater, then they could consider tipping less per event overall. GL

They have $1 chips for a reason. Don't be weird.

I agree that some pots might be worth a 50 cent tip rather than $1, but a better way to accomplish this is to tip a dollar on one tiny pot and tip nothing on the next tiny pot. Dealers will not appreciate a 50 cent tip.

The only somewhat reasonable use I've seen for the $1 coins were when you could buy them in bulk from the treasury and get them shipped to you for free. Guys would buy them using a credit card for the points then use them up by tipping.

If you don't want to tip directly from your stack, keep a bunch of $1 chips in your shirt pocket.

Tipping 50 cents is going to get you remembered by the dealer and not in a good way. Just tip a dollar or don't tip.

Yeah but a fifty cent tip is better than no tip right? I almost 0% of the time tip when I take a pot down preflop and somewhere around 1-3% of the time if I take it down on the flop in a pot under 8 BB. But if I start throwing a half dollar in these spots then at least it’s better than nothing no?

No, it's not "better than nothing", because you're insulting the dealer that way.

I'll join in. If you feel like a $.50 tip is warranted but you also care about how you're perceived by the dealers, your best option is to just keep regular $1 chips in your pocket or in the cupholder and give no tip one hand and a $1 tip the next hand.

haha I may be weird but I always found it amusing when people tipped 50 cents. Especially the 1/2 stud high-low players.

On this we agree.

As for tipping $.50 per hand I think dealers will think it is strange but most would not complain.

In my humble opinion there are a few factors that come into play concerning tipping.

1. Amount. Obviously more is preferred by the dealer, but consistency can matter as well. A player who consistently tips may tip slightly less overall than someone who tips large but erratically, but there is something to be said for knowing what the minimum floor of a down is. Most dealers are ok with making a certain minimum per down. Obviously making more is better, but knowing the minimum is there is comforting.

2. Speed of play. Obviously players who play faster are preferred because the dealer can get more hands in per down and make more money. This doesn't require a player to play lightning fast and never tank. It just means never slowing the game down by being easily distracted, and only tank when it is truly a tankworthy decision. Most dealers play poker so they know there were be occasional hands that require deep thought. However if it is post flop and you hit top pair with a crappy kicker on a rainbow, no straight, flop and the 2nd tightest player bets and the 1st tightest player raises and action gets to you, do not Hollywood. You know you are folding. Don't pretend it is a thinking spot. Fold the obvious and move on.

3. Being a positive, helpful person. How do you interact with other players? Are you helpful and welcoming? Do you help keep the game moving by letting your neighbor know it is his turn? Are you understanding that new players will often make crazy mistakes that can be tough to officiate? Making dealers jobs easier goes a long way.

4. Understand that dealers are human and will occasionally make mistakes. Even terrible game affecting mistakes. Even the best in the world. It happens. I am not saying you should be happy about it, expect better, (and even say so) but also understand it happens. Dealers are not doing this on purpose and not castrating a dealer over a mistake goes a long way.

Play reasonably fast. Be nice and friendly, be understanding. Do all of those and dealers will be fine with you at the table even if you are not a big tipper.

god i miss those asian games where nobody tips