Ray,


I believe if you were to work four, 40 hour weeks dealing cards, the answer to all of your questions would be self evident. Dealing cards is more physically damaging than any job that I've held compensated by tips. I've been a Bartender and a Waiter, they're not even comparable. Count the number of dealers that have quit the profession due to physical injuries that you know of , and you'll know that I'm not fabricating this fact.


Before I was a dealer, and played most of the time, I figured out what constituted a fair wage that I was willing to pay for the services of a professional dealer. I came up with a simple method (for me) to pay that wage. I agree that I was (and still am) paying for the service rather than the results of that service. In the long run, it is easier for me (and evidently, most players) to pay that fee after having won a pot. This is one reason why I tip the same when I'm losing and always have.


My question is: Is this subject really important enough to discuss ad nauseum? I come here to discuss ideas conceived to let me compete with the best players in the world, not to figure out how to psychologically justify being a tight-wad.