This custom was created by degenerate gamblers - people who throw their money away on long shots. Why again should smart people throw a ton of money away to workers who performed no additional/different services?

I used to deal poker at Casino Rama and I have a quick fun tipping story. I had a guy at my table that I had seen a few times before and he was friendly enough but not super talkative. One day he leaves between hands for a couple minutes and comes back smiling like hell. He grabs a rack and stacks up most of his chips but tosses me a black ($100) chip. The look on my face must have been pretty "What the hell?" but he just said "I just won $25,000 on a scratch ticket, have a good night" and left. Easiest tip I ever made.

You have any evidence on how table game tipping became "customary" to support this theory? Or even why it matters since it is now customary regardless of how it originated?

Sorry. We are talking about POKER, not craps or blackjack or keno.


Again, if they want to tip more, fine. That is up to them.
Just don't tell people how much more they should tip. $500 is more than $1. But on a $50K payout, most dealers would consider that "cheap".

Wha, you think Ed Thorpe was tipping huge at the bottom of the deck? From what I've read, he didn't really tip a whole lot at all. All the other games have absolutely no way to beat them; ergo, this "custom" you say exists must have been created by degens.

And LOL that we should throw logic out the window to blindly support what is customary.

Which is why waiters came up earlier?

And where is poker played?

A) A church
B) Your Mom's house
C) A casino

And finally, read for comprehension the following sentence:

Note the bolded part. Maybe you're not one of the many - but speaking as someone who has dealt a Bad Beat hand and knowing many others who have, I can say that your view is the minority. Most people who win even table shares in my room and dealers who dealt it in other rooms will tell you that most people tip using casino standards rather than poker standards because the reward (and the risk) much more closely approximates table games.

Feel free to disagree with the logic, feel free to tip whatever you want, but disagree with the fact that your view is in the minority at your own peril. You have the minority view.


By the standards of what has become customary, you are cheap. Of course, it's your right to be cheap. But that doesn't change the fact that by what is customary, you are being cheap.

So no evidence? Okay.

People complain about the "logic" of the ethics of tipping waiters and waitresses came about all the time, even in this thread. No amount of complaining changes the fact that it is "customary" to tip 15-20% percentage of a tab for good service, no screaming about "what takes more work" changes or will change this custom.

You can vote against what is customary by tipping whomever you like however you like. This doesn't change the custom - nor does it change how people will view you. You will either be someone who tips exceedingly well or is cheap, depending on what you do that is out of step with the norm.

And no amount of handwaving will change this.

Ok. By "what is customary", what should someone tip if they win $50K?

This was particularly funny.

I've heard of the 15-20% for servers, but what's the custom for dealers? In 20 years of playing in cardrooms I've never been told.

If I'd be viewed as cheap for tipping 500 on a 55k payout, then I'd rather just not tip at all. If the dealer is going to be pissed at me regardless, might as well keep an extra $500..

Most people tip 5%, give or take. It is also reasonable (though not everyone does it) to remove what you will be taxed on your windfall before tipping.

So for your hypothetical $50k, you can deduct 25% of it for the taxes you will wind up paying come filing time (unless you can withold at the cage which some places will let you, others will make you and others - like in my room - do not even offer) which means you actually are winning $37,500. 5% of this is $1875 so a tip between $1500 and $2500 (the latter is 5% pretax) is as "standard" as one can get under the circumstances.

That said, I don't think anyone would call you cheap if you tipped a grand (though that would be a bit low) and I don't think if you tipped $3,000 that your sanity would be questioned (even though that would be a bit high) since both extremes are within the range.

Again, tip whatever you want for whatever reason you want. But we are talking what I see and hear most frequently and I find numerous places online with people who advocate the +/- 5% figure when the question comes up.

You know what I meant. I was running out the door at the time and didn't proofread it very well. If being a grammar cop is the best you got....

It wasn't the grammar; it was the content behind the sentence.

I tip 3% every time I cash in a tournament. I also tip 3% every time I don't cash in a tournament. It's easy in tournaments because the casino does it for me automatically.

And yet that 3% is considered not tipping to almost all dealers.

They also don't count the $10 dealer add on as any tip either.

Thought I would weigh in on this. 1st cheap and poker player goes hand in hand. Let me elaborate a typical 1-2 game has a rake of 5% up to $5 max plus $1 for jackpots or other promotions. That's $.60 per hand if it gets over $50 and ten players are playing. You can't find any bj tables for $.60 a hand. And yet players wonder why casinos give more comps to slots and tg players its poker do the math. 2 when peoples salary rely on tips they have a good memory when it comes to people that stiff. A tip is for excellent service if you stiff you may have to wait longer for drink or your order. However dealers are limited on there way of "stiffing you" maybe its making you reach to the middle of the table for your cards while everyone else gets rthem nicely in there hands. Or sorry sir you need to protect your hand its mucked now. Or maybe you won't get dealt in when you only got up for a second. Maybe that dollar or two isn't worth that to you but it is me. Besides that redbird or two I gave the dealer for my set holding up in a $200 dollar pot is not going to break me at the end of the night.

I finally figured this out a little over 10 years ago. Wish it hadn't taken me so long.

Any dealer ungrateful for any tip needs to find another form of employment. I would have tipped more only my opinion but I don't play poker for a living and that jackpot is free money to me so 5% is what I would give 32000 of free money( after taxes est.) Is just as good as 35000. As for the dollar coming from players excuse its the same as slots table games or the lottery the player fund the prize pool not the employees.

You really don't get it, do you. It wasn't the grammar he was talking about.

I think it's you who doesn't get it which is a shame because it's pretty simple... Even a caveman could figure this out so maybe you can find one?

I replied using FACTS based on EVIDENCE - my own personal knowledge and that of other dealers I have spoke with and a myriad of online sources. And I welcome other dealers to either confirm or deny what I assert which is that most people who win a BBJ tip around 5%.

You and others here seem incapable of separating your dislike of what has become customary with the fact that it has become customary. Here's a newsflash: You can disagree with something that is customary but that doesn't change either the custom or how others willl percieve you to be.

As an example, say you think it is entirely unfair that waitresses only make $2 an hour and live off tips. Or you think it's ridiculous that the server who served you a $5 burger in a greasy spoon diner can provide great service but won't get tipped nearly as much as the one working in the expensive steakhouse who brought a $60 check. You can fault the logic. You can fault the system. You can rage against the machine of percieved injustice! But how?

A) Tip what is customary anyway while holding your nose and telling anyone who will listen that the system sucks, but you are a participant in it because you see no other moral option (i.e. The waitress should make a livable wage and not tipping her won't make the restaurant pay her more.)

B) Tip whatever you want, customs be damned!

If you do B (and nobody said you shouldn't) you do so knowing you are going against established norms. You are not doing much of anything to change those norms, but you will stand out as either a great tipper or a cheapskate, depending on what side of the equation you stand.

But make no mistake: You hold the minority view on this subject and if you do B, you will stand out as the great tipper or the cheapskate because odds are good everyone else at the table will tip along the lines of the majority view.

This isn't very controversial, I don't think.

Mike Caro seems to think that 10% is "common" for a BBJ. Read the comments he left in his article on tipping. I believe that is a little high but there is some more evidence that you tip more like Table Games with the rare BBJ conquest.

People who tip just because it's customary to do so are the reason why ****ty servers and dealers still exist.

Maybe some of the well seasoned dealers in this forum could help back up your facts.