Yes. "Don't believe all the stories you read in online forums."

As a dealer, I think this is effing ridiculous, could you be more obvious? "hey guys hold on I'm gonna color up this pot (cause this guy tips good)."

Didn't say I believed it, just said there's a moral in there. That, and it puts a smile on my face


q/q

The moral is, that the Floor was called, and then the Manager. The old guy was told that he could put $500 more into the pot from his wallet or wherever, or his hand would be declared dead and the youngster would win the pot without showing.

GL with that.

I always run my lists cleanly, but I can also tell you that I've never once seen a floorperson (or board-person or chip-runner) disciplined for giving extra consideration to a VIP customer.

Just saying.


q/q

Great point, Q/Q. Same as I said previously: where floors are allowed to receive tips, corruption is rampant. The best analogy I can think of is if judges were allowed to accept bribes. Just think of what would happen in a close floor decision when two players' (one a cheapskate and the other a consistent floor briber) money is at issue.

Based on which rule?


q/q

Then we agree here. I do not believe floors should ever be allowed to accept tips, for precisely this reason.

I can also tell you that in the real world, floors do accept tips, and VIP players do get taken care of. And behind the scenes, most casino managers have absolutely no problem with this.

I do not personally like it, but that's the way it actually works.


q/q

That just good business taking care of your best customers

It's sad that the world works this way, where bribery gets rewarded (yes in this context it's a bribe not a tip). But it does, and always will. "Don't hate the player, hate the game" and all that.

And that's exactly how most managers see it.

People like Angus can argue forever that there should be rules in place to straightjacket the staff into giving every low-rolling anti-tipping poker nit the same service as a $1000-per-hand blackjack player who tips in green chips. But the truth is, that's not the way the world works, that's not how casinos stay in business, and that's not how casino staff come home with money in their pockets at the end of the night.


q/q

I see people jump ahead of me on the list all the time. At a Harrah's property it isn't even worth mentioning because 90% of the time you'll be told it was a 7 Star, or elsewhere they'll say something about the dinner list or someone that was a misplaced call ahead.

The last time I went to the Taj, I waited forever for a 5-10 O8 seat and hadn't moved from 2nd on the list, hadn't noticed any open seats, and then fell to 5th on the list. Complained to several people and was told nonsense about the dinner list. Eventually someone told me they'd screwed up and didn't even have the must move game on the board, so they weren't replacing the people that left the must move, and the 3 that jumped ahead of me were from the broken game. So I'd waited for 90 minutes at that point when I could have been playing and was unlikely to get into the main game anytime soon. No one did a thing for me as an apology and I'm sure no one was disciplined for screwing up and not even having a game on the board for two hours. So I'm sure there wouldn't be any way to tell if they jumped someone on the list because he's a good tipper, at least not at the Taj.

I think you're mixing apples and oranges a bit here. While I'd still prefer that VIPs who play $1k/hand blackjack be held to the same rules re lists and seating as other poker players, I can understand completely why Harrah's Seven Star players move to the top of the list or are seated immediately.

A separate and more important issue is that of allowing floors to accept tips. Once you allow floors to accept tips, you've put the judge, jury, and executioner of the room up for sale to the highest bidder. How could a room expect, or be expected, to run games with integrity when the people making decisions are allowed to accept bribes?

In Tunica floors can't accept tips, floors have been fired when caught taking tips.

Ditto at Foxwoods. Like Rapini said it's more a west coast thing than east coast.

I am going to stick my neck out there and post a reply, with the caveats that (a) I am new to twoplustwo and (b) I only read about 50% of the thread.

People may tip (or may not tip) for many reasons, but one very likely reason TO tip for many people is because it is customary. Society is made up of many customs and guidelines, etiquette, whathaveyou that dictates interactions between people. It's not at all a bad thing to do things simply because it's customary nor is it bad to question those norms. Different strokes for different folks, as they say and differing opinions, to me, makes life more interesting.

I play either 2/2 or 2/5 NL. I normally tip at least $1 per hand, even if there is no flop. I guess I've probably tipped up to $25 in a single hand. A dealer's conduct/performance would have to be really awful for me to consider not tipping or reducing their tip. I suppose I probably tip on the higher end in eating establishments, for cab fares, spa services, etc, as well.

Yes, I do these things because it's customary but because I truly appreciate the service I'm being given. I agree that in a perfect world their employer would be 100% responsible for paying them a reasonable rate. But that's not the case at this time.

I will also say that I often increase the tips I give by $1 or so based on the thinking that that $1 would mean a great deal more to them than it does to me. Imagine if everyone did that! And it's not that I'm independently weathly (not even close!). But I believe in doing my part in helping people. I also believe in good karma

Here's what I don't understand: I do not understand all the vitirol for and by people on either side of the issue. But I really, REALLY do not understand the posts by people who say tipping MORE than a certain amount is stupid or ridiculous or [insert insult here]. As long as the person doing it isn't insulting people who don't or calling attention to other people's tipping habits or being rude about it, why does it matter?

~Jen

The above is an excellent post.

Thanks, 2OutsNoProb. But I apologize for beating a dead horse. I didn't notice that this was an old thread.

~Jen

I was rather surprised you stated that you'd read "50%" of the thread, since it's 2200 posts deep. Also, you're fine posting here, it's not an old thread, it's continuous, has been going for awhile.

That post by _binglebug_ is so good that it could probably CLOSE this thread!!! One of the best posts IN this thread!

Wow, thanks, Shwetty Bawlz (hee, funny nic ). I appreciate that. And I also appreciate those who think I'm just a silly, naive, GIRL (said with that derogatory tone people can sometimes get lol) who likes to give money away for no reason for not saying so!

Maybe saying I read 50% is kind of a stretch but I did read a whole bunch of it. Sometimes I'm really, really bored at work. And, like I said, I'm interested in people's point of view about this. I actually chopped a tournament a couple of weeks ago and was worried about my tip so that's why I read this thread. I wanted to hear what the dealers thought about tipping.

~Jen

Generally, we like it.

Seriously though, as for a tournament tip, first you want to find out whether the room holds out some of the prize pool for staff and then how much the dealers actually recieve from that.

Don't be afraid to ask this. You should get an honest reply from the tournament director.

Tipping up to 5% is "standard"... Doing so less whatever percentage the dealers already made is also fine... Doing so less your entry fee is fine as well.

Again, these are "standard" as much as they can be. Tipping is a personal thing. If you want to tip more, we appreciate it. If you want to tip less, nobody will stop you.

Congrats on your tournament cash!

So out of the 2200 posts I have read 4 pages so I may repeat things.

1. I hate when someone whines and the dealer responds by saying, "All I do is deal, I don't dictate how the cards come." If they don't dictate how the cards come then why am I tipping them?

2. If I am in the small blind and are deal 2-9 off suit and at the river I am playing the board. If I can bluff my opponent into a fold why is the dealer getting tipped. I understand its for the service but didnt they provide me a ****ty service when they gave me a ****ty hand. I don't think they deserve a tip when I had to make a great move to get paid.

otoh, I am dealt KK and the board reads AK588 and my opp. has A8 I am shipping the dealer and least 3 bucks all day long.

Players who suggest that I can dictate how the cards come get the same stock answer from me the majority of the time. "If I could control the cards like that, don't you think I'd have all of my relatives and close friends positioned around the room?"

Here are some reasons why you might consider tipping a dealer:

1. It's customary to do so (at least in the US). So much, in fact, that dealers make minimum wage or less in most states.

2. Dealers provide customer service.

3. Dealers keep the game running smoothly.

4. Dealers keep the problem players in line.

5. Dealers make sure that it's a fair game.

6. Dealers entertain you.

I don't guarantee that you'll feel that way about every dealer every time, but those are some possible reasons that you might consider tossing a buck to the dealer the next time you win a pot.

You can only bluff your opponent if your opponent has a ***ty hand too the majority of the time. The dealer could have given your opponent the nuts, but didn't. Maybe throw the dealer a buck for the assist.

I'm sure the dealer will appreciate the 3 bucks. Just as you appreciate the randomness of being dealt the winning side of a cooler.

I am trying to decide if this post is real. Just in case it is, I have to say that I do not understand this AT ALL. Keep in mind, I am not a dealer. I don't even play one on TV I just believe in logic and fairness. So, how on earth can dealers (mere mortal men/women like you and me) have anything at all to do with what cards are dealt to you, your opponent, or on the board? Huh??? If they had that much power, I truly believe they would be doing something much, much more lucrative with their lives. But also, if you believed they held that much power, wouldn't it be more intelligent by far to encourage them to use it in your favor instead of insulting them, alienating them, and affecting their livelihoods?

You are not tipping for specific cards. You're tipping for the service of getting the cards and the other services bolt2112 mentioned. Seems to me that if tipping has to be, the convention that the winner of the hand tips seems to be the best way to go (if that makes sense).

I mean no disrespect, I just don't get it!

~Jen