Asking for rake cuts...

YES!

Aria said it was auto, but I didn't see it happen. I always ask/remind.

I've worked in rooms where it's automatic. I've also worked in rooms where the players have to ask.

Even in automatic rooms, dealers frequently forget. They're not trying to screw the players or to increase revenue. They're just on autopilot and are used to full rake without thinking.

If the rake is reduced, it's a good idea to keep an eye on this when there's a dealer change.

It's also worth asking if you can get better than the standard reduction if the table is short, particularly if there are several call-ins on the waiting list who haven't shown up yet. The supervisor just might cut the rake to a dollar or even eliminate the rake altogether rather than let a game break when they can get it back to a full spread just by keeping the remaining players happy for 15 or 20 minutes until new players arrive.

Yeah, that's not a dealer thing. That's a people thing. People don't like back seat drivers. People who have a procedure for doing things the same way over and over don't like to be interrupted by a stranger who thinks something is off, when more likely, the dealer has a plan and their procedure might not be in line with the order in which you'd be doing it if you were the dealer.

Case in point - it bugs me when a player interrupts me when I'm gathering in the bets and I don't give him his change immediately. I have a plan, and you'll get your change if you're just a little bit patient.

On the other hand, I'm only human and I do make mistakes from time to time. If I get to the turn and I still haven't given you your $2 change from pre-flop betting, let me know and I'll give you your $2 along with an apology and a mea culpa.

Like so many things in life, tone and approach probably matter in these situations.

When I play in a room where it is supposed to be automatic, I find the best approach is to play naive. I tell the dealer that I just realized that we we are playing 4 (or 5 or 6) handed. I would then ask if this means that we get reduced rake.

I wait until the end of the first hand that should be reduced rake to say something (ie I don’t say something the second it becomes five handed and they don’t immediately put out the reduced rake plaque - I say something at the end of the first hand that is five handed when they are about to drop full rake). I usually say do you mind if we grab reduced rake rather than say it more rudely. Seems to work well and no one gets offended. Many dealers are paying attention and do it automatically but some aren’t and it’s important to pay attention so you don’t pay more than you should.

i used to be that guy who after my big chip was seemingly gathered "thoughtlessly" that would make some kind of indication that "hey buddy i got change coming my way"

i did it because i thought it'd be easier for all parties to have it stated as it happened when it was easier to resolve

but lo and behold i've learned that if i just chill for a moment that change is coming 99% of the time - even when dealer has done enough other actions in the meantime that i'm sure they've finally forgotten it this time

but once the flop comes out, then i can mention something and then they'll quickly send it without issue

i don't think i was the annoying guy necessarily, but my relationships with dealers has improved immeasurably once i started giving the benefit of doubt even though from all indications they've just swept everything up and are now doing something else and forgot about me as the overwhelming majority of the time they actually didn't

but i always ask for rake cuts once 6 handed or less and always ask for extra rake cuts if we're short and it's late at night

i'm quite surprised how often i'm able to get the floor to do $1 or $2 raked games late at night (i think it's more for the dealers than for the casino imo as if the games break the dealers go home and earn less since they are hourly and thus clock out so while they expected to do a midnight to 6 am shift they only worked until 2 am etc)

I know being a dealer isn't an easy job, but when the job involves handling other peoples' money, you should be following established procedures.

LOL at the responses about tiptoeing around dealers so they don't get their hackles up when they aren't following proper procedures.

No skin off my back not to tip for the rest of the down.

As long as you promise to sit in seat 1 and fondle me for the entire down we'll get along just fine.

Certainly if you are making change for people and someone complains they haven't got their change first, that person shouldn't be complaining. That said, many dealers won't pull in a bet unless they are immediately making change to avoid the problem you describe. I'm going to be complaining if I haven't got change and you're burning a card.

Players telling us we missed something when it's beyond the normal time to do that thing is good. I think Bolt is talking about players who start balking orders before we've had the chance to do it If the dealer has one of those brains where they are constantly planning their moves several steps ahead, this kind of thing can really mess us up. People think they're being helpful but it actually just causes us to throw out our current plan and reset, which slows things down and increases the chances of error.

These are the same dealers who hate it when you start moving things around for them.

So yea, as a general rule just sit back and watch as we do our thing. Wait until it's clear a mistake has been made before speaking up.

For the OP - when I'm in a new room and we go short handed I'll often ask the dealers if it's automatic or if a player has to ask. I wish it would just be automatic everywhere but I guess some room managers think they'll get a bit more rake if the table is full of drunks who aren't paying attention.