Q for Dealers: Pool Your Tips or Keep Your Own?

[The Armchair]

Which would you rather do? As a player, I'd prefer it you were not forced to pool chips. But I'll discuss more later.

[PhatCasino]

answers obvious. this is why most poker dealers have mastered the english language and other dealers have not, and are a step away from other undemanding professions

[juanez]

Pooling only benefits crappy dealers. Good dealers get more tokes, so they would obviously not want to pool.

[juanez]

this is why most poker dealers have mastered the english language and other dealers have not, and are a step away from other undemanding professions

I'm not sure what to make of this. Is this some kind of a joke or an insult?

[tylerdurden]

[ QUOTE ]
this is why most poker dealers have mastered the english language and other dealers have not, and are a step away from other undemanding professions

I'm not sure what to make of this. Is this some kind of a joke or an insult?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think he's saying that poker dealers, since they usually keep their own tips, are more customer-focused than pit dealers, who generally pool.

[juanez]

I think he's saying that poker dealers, since they usually keep their own tips, are more customer-focused than pit dealers, who generally pool.

Ahh, that makes sense. I was thinking that maybe he was insinuating that dealing poker was "undemanding". While not brain surgery, is can be rather demanding at times.

How many other professionals tolerate people cursing at them and throwing things at them every single day? /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[ItsJzH]

Uhm i disagree weather or not the dealer is good i usually tip based on the size of the pot.

[juanez]

Uhm i disagree weather or not the dealer is good i usually tip based on the size of the pot.

Of course pot size should be a factor when considering the size of a toke.

For the average sized pot, would you toke a good, proficient, courteous dealer the same amount as a lax, sloppy dealer who makes errors every few hands and needs to repeatedly call the floor? I wouldn't. Just like I tip good, proficient, courteous waiters and bartenders more than I do sloppy, slow ones who bring the wrong order.

Look, I realize that poker players think of tokes as a -EV obligation at best. But dealers work for tokes. The hourly wage is REALLY low - I make $4 per hour.

[scrub]

[ QUOTE ]
Uhm i disagree weather or not the dealer is good i usually tip based on the size of the pot.

Of course pot size should be a factor when considering the size of a toke.

For the average sized pot, would you toke a good, proficient, courteous dealer the same amount as a lax, sloppy dealer who makes errors every few hands and needs to repeatedly call the floor? I wouldn't. Just like I tip good, proficient, courteous waiters and bartenders more than I do sloppy, slow ones who bring the wrong order.

Look, I realize that poker players think of tokes as a -EV obligation at best. But dealers work for tokes. The hourly wage is REALLY low - I make $4 per hour.

[/ QUOTE ]

Toking based on the size of the pot is silly. I've never understood how dealers can feel entitled to larger tips from players who play higher limits or win outsized pots, yet get upset when players blame bad beats on them.

scrub

[PhatCasino]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Uhm i disagree weather or not the dealer is good i usually tip based on the size of the pot.

Of course pot size should be a factor when considering the size of a toke.

For the average sized pot, would you toke a good, proficient, courteous dealer the same amount as a lax, sloppy dealer who makes errors every few hands and needs to repeatedly call the floor? I wouldn't. Just like I tip good, proficient, courteous waiters and bartenders more than I do sloppy, slow ones who bring the wrong order.

Look, I realize that poker players think of tokes as a -EV obligation at best. But dealers work for tokes. The hourly wage is REALLY low - I make $4 per hour.

[/ QUOTE ]

Toking based on the size of the pot is silly. I've never understood how dealers can feel entitled to larger tips from players who play higher limits or win outsized pots, yet get upset when players blame bad beats on them.

scrub

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree, players should be restricted to tipping a max of $1.50 per pot (in order to get rid of those nasty $.50 pieces) who agrees with me? /images/graemlins/spade.gif

[canis582]

Where do they pool them and where do they keep their own in Vegas and AC? Does anyone specificly know for the monte carlo, Bellagio, trop and borg?

If I like the dealer, I toke them one or two when they get up. Does anyone else? Its a waste if they get pooled.

[scrub]

[ QUOTE ]
Where do they pool them and where do they keep their own in Vegas and AC? Does anyone specificly know for the monte carlo, Bellagio, trop and borg?

If I like the dealer, I toke them one or two when they get up. Does anyone else? Its a waste if they get pooled.

[/ QUOTE ]

Trop and Borg the dealers keep them.

Foxwoods is the only place I've played where they pool them.

scrub

[Bremen]

[ QUOTE ]
Toking based on the size of the pot is silly.

[/ QUOTE ]
Agreed. It is amazing how much moving up changes ones views on tipping. I used to tip up to $5 on a huge pot in a 2/4 game, now I play 1/2 NL and on a $300 pot I might tip $2.

[Rams_Law]

[ QUOTE ]
Where do they pool them and where do they keep their own in Vegas and AC? Does anyone specificly know for the monte carlo, Bellagio, trop and borg?

If I like the dealer, I toke them one or two when they get up. Does anyone else? Its a waste if they get pooled.

[/ QUOTE ]

Real easy to tell: if the dealer leaves the tip box at the table, they pool; if it goes with them, it's theirs.

Tangent question: What's up with Turning Stone dealers taking the chip tray with them? I get the security aspect, like a cashier at the supermarket who has their own drawer that leaves the register with them, but TS is the only place I've seen that does this.

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
I make $4 per hour

[/ QUOTE ]

C'mon. No you don't.

You need to get over the "poor me the poor poor dealer" attitude you've been posting with.

I'd be shocked if it didn't carry over into your attitude in the box, which could just be exacerbating the problem. Working in Colorado your avg toke rate is likely in the $22-25/hr range, maybe even higher, and is in addition to your salary. The complaining is disingenuous at best.

[bigfishead]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I make $4 per hour

[/ QUOTE ]

C'mon. No you don't.

You need to get over the "poor me the poor poor dealer" attitude you've been posting with.

I'd be shocked if it didn't carry over into your attitude in the box, which could just be exacerbating the problem. Working in Colorado your avg toke rate is likely in the $22-25/hr range, maybe even higher, and is in addition to your salary. The complaining is disingenuous at best.

[/ QUOTE ]

Clarky....I'm makin no comment about the "poor me's", But I think he meant his WAGE is $4.00 hr. Which I would tend to say is true. I know we have dealers in our house that get paid that. I personally get a whopping $5.40 hr....but we are only speaking of wage. I think he is saying we NEED tokes as the wage is so minimal. And that I know you agree with.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

Absolutely keep your own. That way the dealers are motivated to get better, and the best dealers make the most money. There's no other system that makes any sense to me. Pooled tips allow major slackers a free ride on the good performance of others, while individual tips force everyone to get better and better.

Note that poker is basically the only game this system would work for, craps, blackjack etc need pooled tips, because certain of those games tend to get nuch more tips.

al

[Photoc]

[ QUOTE ]
Note that poker is basically the only game this system would work for, craps, blackjack etc need pooled tips, because certain of those games tend to get nuch more tips.


[/ QUOTE ]

I completely agree. I have been in both areas of the casino. Unless a casino spreads only BJ, then pooling is absolutely necessary. Games like Let it Ride, 3 Card, Pai Gow (either one), craps, baccarat, and so on...all suck in tips. Bj and Roulette are the only good tipping games for the dealers.

Poker on the other hand, you all deal the same tables in order, every day. So the best will get the most, and the worst will want to get better to make more money.

[tubalkain]

[ QUOTE ]
Absolutely keep your own. That way the dealers are motivated to get better, and the best dealers make the most money. There's no other system that makes any sense to me. Pooled tips allow major slackers a free ride on the good performance of others, while individual tips force everyone to get better and better.

Note that poker is basically the only game this system would work for, craps, blackjack etc need pooled tips, because certain of those games tend to get nuch more tips.

al

[/ QUOTE ]

This is why I won't tip in a place where it's pooled. Why subsidize the slackers who don't truly earn tips?

[Photoc]

Annor

In some joints, dealers and other casino personnel can accept a "personal gift" valued up to 100 or 200 bucks. Thats how I got a very hard to get special edition 25$ chip from one place I worked. The floor even told the guy, when I was a pit dealer, that when I go on break, just to hand it to me as long as I clear my hands and such.

Thats how I got around the pooled thing when I played at Foxwoods a few years ago. Just hand the dealer a nickle as they are leaving the poker room and tell them it's a personal gift /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[scrub]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Absolutely keep your own. That way the dealers are motivated to get better, and the best dealers make the most money. There's no other system that makes any sense to me. Pooled tips allow major slackers a free ride on the good performance of others, while individual tips force everyone to get better and better.

Note that poker is basically the only game this system would work for, craps, blackjack etc need pooled tips, because certain of those games tend to get nuch more tips.

al

[/ QUOTE ]

This is why I won't tip in a place where it's pooled. Why subsidize the slackers who don't truly earn tips?

[/ QUOTE ]

That sucks. All that means is that the players who tip are subsidizing your poker play--we're all paying for a service.

scrub

[juanez]

[ QUOTE ]
You need to get over the "poor me the poor poor dealer" attitude you've been posting with.

I'd be shocked if it didn't carry over into your attitude in the box, which could just be exacerbating the problem. Working in Colorado your avg toke rate is likely in the $22-25/hr range, maybe even higher, and is in addition to your salary. The complaining is disingenuous at best.


[/ QUOTE ]

I was stating that my hourly wage, paid by the casino, is $4.00 per hour. Of course I make more on tokes and that was my whole point: toke good dealers better than poor dealers because that's where the majority of their income comes from. I wasn't "complaining" about how much I make. I do find the somewhat negative attitude in this forum regarding dealers rather humorous though.

And I have no "problem". I love my job and make good money. I have posted a few bad stories, but they have usually been in response to questions from other posters (like this thread).

Come visit Colorado Clark - I have a great attitude in the box. I haven't been in the biz long enough to get totally jaded like some of the older farts.

[IceKing]

In some casinos every dealer has a personal chiptray. They start with certain amount of chips, lets say 10.000. At the end of the shift, the 10.000 is removed, and the rest is dealers tip.
In these casinos chip-palming (dealer steals a chip from a big pot when pushing it) is more common, because dealer doesnt have to hide the chip, he/she just places it in the tray.

[Clarkmeister]

Alright, fair enough. It seems to me your posts have a certain amount of entitlement disease in them, but I'm willing to admit I could be wrong.

[Nick-Zack]

[ QUOTE ]
Uhm i disagree weather or not the dealer is good i usually tip based on the size of the pot.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a terrible idea. The whole concept of tipping is to reward good service. If a dealer is terrible (and not a break-in), then they should not be tipped. The only way to convince the bad dealers to improve or get another job is to not tip them.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

Would you not tip blackjack, craps, or other such dealers because some are good and some bad? Don't say "well I don't play those games" as an excuse not to answer the question either.

You still must tip, even in pooled tipping rooms. You're punishing the good ones just as much as you're punishing the bad ones. The best dealers shouldn't be punished just because the room they work in has a bad policy.

al

[Clarkmeister]

Al,

No one "must" tip for anything. Though I agree with your general point.

[Rams_Law]

[ QUOTE ]
In some casinos every dealer has a personal chiptray. They start with certain amount of chips, lets say 10.000. At the end of the shift, the 10.000 is removed, and the rest is dealers tip.
In these casinos chip-palming (dealer steals a chip from a big pot when pushing it) is more common, because dealer doesnt have to hide the chip, he/she just places it in the tray.

[/ QUOTE ]

I image that's how its done, because the dealer 'buys' a special rake chip from his own tray with the rake ($3), and drops the rake chip, keeping the checks in the tray. At TS, even with the personal chip tray the dealers carry a tip box. I guess there's no incentive if the house keeps any overage in the tray.

[alittle]

[ QUOTE ]
Would you not tip blackjack, craps, or other such dealers because some are good and some bad? Don't say "well I don't play those games" as an excuse not to answer the question either.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't play in the pit much anymore, but I always tip for good (and merely decent) service. In both BJ and craps, a good dealer that knows how you play will nearly play the game for you, allowing less thinking and more drinking. Since you can move around easily (generally), bad or rude dealers just cause me to change tables rather than not tip.