Tipping CONTAINMENT thread.

Perfect stranger is an unfair assumption. When I sit down to deal at a poker table, it's not unusual for me to know 3/4 of the players (or more) by name, because they're all regular visitors in the room where I work. Maybe on a Friday night there are more players who only go to a casino once or twice a year. And certainly there would be more unfamiliar faces at the table if I worked on the Las Vegas strip.

We run a "high hand of the hour" bonus in my room and I dealt one yesterday to a regular player, whom I've dealt hundreds (if not thousands) of hands to. He gave me 10 percent of his winnings. Would he have given the dealer 10 percent of his winnings if he'd won the same bonus while away on vacation in another state? Maybe, but probably not.

Do I get above average tips from complete strangers? Sometimes.

Are there players who are in my room 10 or more days per month who tip infrequently if at all? Yes.

But any dealer will tell you that their tip boxes began to fill up faster after they'd dealt in a room for a few months, got to know the regular players, and made connections with them.

Thus why this thread exists.

But on your 'the system is broken', if casinos increased wages and band any tipping of dealers...1) would the average dealer likely make more or less? 2) would the good dealers make more or less? 3) would the number of good dealers increase or decrease over time?

Would depend on the casino. I can tell you for a fact that the casino where I work would never, ever increase dealer wages unless it was mandated by the state.

But generally speaking, if your hypothetical question ever came to fruition...

The average dealer would make less money.
The good dealer would make less money.
The number of good dealers would decrease over time.

Luckily, we already run this controlled experiment and it's called "Every other country on earth."

Not a perfect double blind study because the experimental group tends to have universal healthcare and functioning labor protections and all, so then I guess it becomes a matter of how broadly you define “the system.”

When you are paying into the fund with your own money? Lots of situations like that. For instance, gambling at a table game and hitting the progressive bonus. Or hitting a winning lottery ticket. It’s actually a really bad example because I’m the one risking the money, not the dealer.

And on the other side of things again the difference is poker players pay money for the jackpot. You’re trying to make it symmetrical but it’s not at all, because poker dealers are not risking anything.

Definitely fair. But if a reg that you dealt to frequently gave you 1-1.5% on a 100k jackpot would you feel stiffed?

And would you tip less at a casino you’ve never played at before and will likely never play at again?

Also some people like to have a good relationship with the dealer, others will just ignore dealers. And many dealers are unlike you and won’t develop good relationships with players.

It’s contextual. There are certainly dealers I would be more generous with, because I think they are a good dealer, fair, honest, friendly, likeable.

But as a rule most people won’t have that relationship, and if they do maybe they think the dealer earned a 5k tip.

Also, on average my tip will probably not be so low, because I’m find with a 5% or even 10% tip on lower bonuses. If I liked a dealer I would probably throw them 50 bucks on a 500 dollar bonus. Sounds fair to me.

It’s just a different mindset of how I think about it after a certain point, and giving 5k is a lot, even on like a 200k payout.

Money is one type of investment. Labor is another. It's a distinction without a difference.

No, I'd not feel stiffed getting $1000 or $1500 on a 100k jackpot.

I rarely play live poker anymore, but when I play locally I tip very well. And if I play out of state I'm an average tipper.

Thus why I contend the system is not broken. The "worker" makes more and the "customer" gets better service. IMO, that is not broken.

You're trying to frame this as you tip more locally because you have developed a relationship with local dealers, but the fact you tip "average" when out-of-state suggests you're just worried about being shittalked in your hometown. That's okay, but admit it, brah.

Instead, you should just tip based on dealer skill, which also includes table professionalism (e.g., no one at the tables wants to hear about your dog dying or your girl getting plowed by the UPS driver or your two birdies on the back nine).

So that out-of-state dealer that is superb should be getting the "very well" tips and the average dealers should be getting average tips.

There's a small kernel of truth to this, but I could tip 1/2 of what I tip locally and the dealers would still be happy to have me at their tables and wouldn't talk smack about how I tip.

And if I'm in Vegas or wherever and a dealer stands out, I'll tip them better too, but not as much as a local dealer where I live and work. Particularly when it's a local dealer who I've worked with before, can expect to work with again in the future, and/or who plays at my table and tips me well.

I was the last one in the room the other night as they were shutting down and I heard one of the dealers complaining that he "only" got $100 tip on a $2500 high hand. I almost threw up in my mouth. He's definitely getting nothing from me if I ever hit anything because I know he won't be happy with whatever I give him anyways.

For context, the other two winners this month of maxed out $2500 payouts tipped $20 and $1. I asked him after the second one if he was still unhappy with his $100 and he gave me the side eye.

That’s good to hear.

I’m actually very much in favor of keeping the tipped system myself, as it seems that rake/drop in the US is far lower than other countries, even factoring in tips. I just get dubious about huge tips on jackpots.

How much would you tip on a 100k jackpot?

Eh, that's his forum answer, and he wouldn't feel stiffed per se, but he would think the dude is cheap as shiit (based on hundreds of his posts here).

Let's see if he's honest enough to be transparent. Karma, bolt, karma.

As for the tipped model being less expensive, that's bullshit. How much does a dealer need to make per hour to be happy? $35/hr? That's $2 per down per player at the table. Just because EU rapes players doesn't mean the US needs to follow suit.

Land O...

Thank you for being here to read between the lines on all of my posts and tell everyone what I really mean. It allows me to spend less time trying to choose my words to say what I want to say.

If I win $100K on a jackpot?

Dealer who hasn't made a strong positive or negative impression on me in a city where I don't live, I'm giving $3000 to $5000.

Dealer in my city who I don't have a strong connection with, $5000 to $10,000.

Dealer in my city who I have a connection with... $15k or more.

For reference, I hit a $7500 bonus on a table game earlier this year. Dealer was a former coworker of mine and we get along. After taxes I got $5400. I gave the dealer $1200.

As for Land O's point of making $35 per hour.... no that's not enough for me. But if it's $35 per hour in tips plus the $11 per hour I make for being on the clock, then $46 is enough.

Do I deserve that much? That's a matter of opinion. But $35 per hour will have me looking for another job.

I look forward to the upcoming post so that I can learn what I really mean.

Okay, so some random you'll give at least $3k to, but you don't think a local tipping you $1k is cheap? I'll stand by what I said.

Not sure why you want to get pissy about it - if I dealt cards and would give 15% on $100K, I'd think 1% is cheap, too.

Well, I'm talking in addition to what the house pays dealers from the rake since the $2/down would go directly to the dealer on top of their base.

Now we're talking. It's only taken almost 10K posts in this thread...

You, as a dealer for over a decade, would get what job that would dwarf $35/hr?

Just because someone tips me less than I'd tip a random doesn't mean that I mark him as a stiff. Especially when he gives me 2 to 3 times what I make on a good day at work.

And if I start earning $35 an hour consistently where I'm at now, I'd just switch casinos. With my resume I can get a dealing job just about anywhere in the country that's hiring.

Excluding instances when I've dealt a big jackpot or promo winner to a generous player/table full of players, last night was the most money I've made at work in years. Don't think I'll have to switch careers just yet.

I didn't say mark him as a stiff; I said you'd mark him as cheap af. And it's true, as your contention has always been that players should, "share in the joy" [sic] by being heavy-handed with the dealer.

Oh, I got you. I thought you meant a different job - like sticking your head into two feet of shiit to clear a sewer line or something. You guys have always made it seem like you're averaging like $15/hr overall and can make more money delivering newspapers, but now you're saying that $35/hr is so low that you can go anywhere else in the country to deal and get closer to $50. How's your mixed TD chops?

And what would that career change be, dealing craps? Dealing is dealing and not a career change.

Another poster asked if I'd feel stiffed getting a 1 to 1.5% tip on a 100K jackpot. I answered that I wouldn't feel stiffed.

Why does this thread have to be all about your issues with your perception of my attitude, Land-O?

If you're hiring and are looking for employees, send me a PM and we can discuss whether I might be a good fit. Otherwise how is it relevant to know what other careers I might be qualified for?

Right, and I said you wouldn't feel stiffed, but you would think he was cheap af. Since you're not pushing back on that specifically, it's only logical to take that as tacit admission.

Just trying to understand your perspective by trimming away the fat, brotha. Since the inception of the thread, dealers have been very tight-lipped as to what is a sufficient wage, and I've narrowed you down to ≤$35/hr being dogshit and ≥$46/hr being sufficient. That's progress.

As I have said before in this thread, dealers find out they make pretty decent money once they quit playing poker, as you have found out. And before you take that as a slight, most winning dealers do not play stakes that can support tipping out $30/hr or whatever.

No offense, but this is what a guy who is not qualified to do anything but pitch cards would say. Nothing wrong with having a niche and staying in it.

It's just natural to inquire what a guy's other options are when they are entry-level skilled labor and say that $35/hr is dogshit money and they would bounce if they earned that. I mean, I knew a chick who was a licensed psychologist but worked at shipping center for $15/hr, so you never know.

But I pay $80-$100/hr for drywallers, tile guys, etc., to remodel/repair rentals that I own. I'm guessing you can't drywall for shiit, so I'll ask the question again: how are you at dealing mixed triple draw? Are you the cat everyone has to remind to deal another card because the current hand is baduci and not badugi?

What's the minimum amount that I need to tip the food runners to make them happy?

I tried 3 dollars yesterday and I got some bad vibe on that.

Today I upped it to 4 dollars. Also, that seems like they are not happy.

Is 5 dollars enough? 7 is as high as I can go.

It does help me out a lot to not have to wait in line, but I also notice sometimes they are taking 3 or 4 orders at a time.

I'm going to aim for 3 to 5 dollars, but I might say Hey is that enough for a tip?

I'm not a big tipper usually. but I do generally tip consistently.

I tip the same as I would in a restaurant, approximately 20%. So, for a $15 meal I'd tip $3.

If that causes bad vibes, too fucking bad.

not a tourney player but for the lols played a 50 dollar tourney with a $10 addon today and got 2nd for $408

gave dealer of final table one of the 20s as i got paid

one of my hundreds was paid out in 20s, so i was assuming that was done to facilitate tipping

was unclear of what to do - i know a portion of the buyin covers tips already

was i indeed under a presumption that i'd be tipping?

is the amount i tipped appropriate? feel like any smaller would be insulting but honestly think i gave too much as is from a % won ($348) standpoint

would like to hear the opinions of the small daily tourney grinders and see how they do it