Re: proper tipping
Hi All,
When I first started playing at the 15/30 game in the Taj at AC I decided that the way tips worked was stupid. I decided that the amount of tip should have nothing to do with how many pots I won or how big they were, and everything to do with how well the dealer dealt. So, I decided to just give every dealer a tip at the end of the 30 minute shift: $0 if they made mistakes or were excessively slow, $0.50 if they were average, and $1 if they were good. I figured that this was a fair contribution because on average I was giving each dealer $1 an hour, which, if everyone else did the same, would come out to $16 an hour in tips. With the hourly wage they get from the casino of approx $4, I figured that $20 and hour was a very generous wage (I have friends with college degrees that make less). I also figured that the dealers would be happy to receive tips even when they never dealt me a winning hand.
Alas, apparently dealers, like most people, don't like when thing are done differently, and some of them got annoyed at my system. I don't think that (most) dealers are worth more than $20 an hour so I decided that to keep them happy but pay them the same amount of money I would only tip $1 when I won a pot that went past 5th street (or had more than 5 big bets in it). This comes out to about the same $1 per hour, just in a more random fashion. I will rarely tip a dealer if they made a significant mistake (even if it benefits me). Also I often will give an extra $1 tip to an especially fast dealer, or one who does a good job of keeping their cool when a particularly obnxious player starts yelling at them just because they are getting unlucky. Lastly, I don't think the amount you tip should be dependant on the limits you are playing.
I'd be interesting to hear what you guys think about my tipping systems, and if you have an others that are interesting. Also, what about tipping waiters? I usually order 2 drinks at a time and give a $1 tip, assuming that they get the order right and don't leave me waiting for 30 minutes. I don't tip them to hand me a bottle of water if they already have it on their tray when they are passing by, however.
Regards,
Carlos
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