Tipping

otter · #1 08-19-2004, 03:17 PM

I regularly play in a $2-$5-$5 NL game at a casino down the road. I'm fairly new to NL and I'm not sure what to tip? I don't want to give it away like I'm Rockafeller, but I don't want to be a major tight a$$.

What is the standard? If I win a $1000 pot (and half is my money), $1 is obviously too cheap, but $10 seems like a lot.

Of course the amount that people tip depend on a lot of things and I want to be fair but not too generous! I don't know what the EV for this game is and I imagine that it might depend on that. Right now I'm averaging about $87/hour w/ only a small sample size of nearly 90 hours.

Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated.

turnipmonster · #2 08-19-2004, 03:30 PM

$1 is standard at any level. personally, if the pot is extraodinarily large I generally tip a nickel.

--turnipmonster

Matt Flynn · #3 08-19-2004, 05:19 PM

major issue here. are you a pro or not? do you like money or not? sorry but here's a different opinion on the subject.

typical table plays 25-30 hands/hour. at $1 or more a pot, that dealer makes $30-60 an hour. with tax avoidance it's the equivalent of $40-80 an hour. with a couple stiffs they make about $40 an hour in the medium games. in california they make more.

now look at it a different way. how many pots do you win in a year? say you win three an hour on average and 1 big pot every two hours. so turnip's paying $5/hour in tips, or maybe $7,500 a year if he plays "full" time. now run that through a limit holdem sim and you'll see how phenomenally that cuts into your win in limit. most winners are giving up half their winnings in tips. in no limit if you're winning $87/hour and feel generous, hey the dealer will appreciate it. but you are under no moral obligation whatsoever to pay the guy that much.

i overtip at $1/hand with no tip for blind theft or a limp and take against 1-2 players. the dealers in our main $5-10 pl game make over $80/hour dealing, tax free. any of you take that job?

matt

Pokrok · #4 08-19-2004, 09:10 PM

I work as a poker dealer and the only advice I can give you is tip what you feel comfortable and don't feel obligated to tip a moron in the box. If more players would tip based on quality of dealing/game control vs what others perceptions are of what they should tip regardless of professionalism we would have better dealers and better games in my opinion. Hope this helps =o)

TStoneMBD · #5 08-20-2004, 05:38 AM

i tip a dollar a hand and when i win a large one ill tip a couple of bucks. tipping every hand is paying a dealer 40 bucks an hour, there is no reason to feel sorry for them if you dont give them 10bucks on a huge pot. if a dealer is terrible (and i mean terrible) i try not to tip at all.

no offense to dealers, but i feel that making $40/hr is far more than a fair bargain for a job of this difficulty. if it was up to me dealers would make no more than 25 an hour but i tip every hand as it is common courtesy and i dont want to come off as frugal or rude.

if i am wrong on the hourly rate of dealers please correct me but from what i understand it borders 40/hr.

Trainwreck · #6 08-20-2004, 05:52 AM

I think you ignore the in play funds involved and tipping a buck a hand or in extreme case, $5 after a nice run of big pots is cool.

Dealers base pay in minimal wage... All the rest is tips, without them, they might as well flip burgers.... Why some dealers are grumpy and not fun to have deal for you is odd to me because surely it reflects badly on their tips, and I believe all the poker room dealers tips are NOT shared (pooled) like the pit is... I have asked a few dealers...
I have a few dealers that I dread coming to my table.

>Trainwreck<

sniperd · #7 08-20-2004, 10:36 AM

I play at Foxwoods mostly, and I ususally don't tip, and here is why. All the poker dealers pool their tips, so who the hell am I tipping? That dealer that just made a horrible call against the rules, and has no control over the game? I tip based on how good my service is (food or otherwise) and I really don't like idea of tipping everybody.

When I play in Vegas (where the dealers keep their tips), I usually don't tip after each pot. Instead when the dealer leaves, I hand him/her a couple of buck (losing/winnning didn't matter) if I like how they ran the game. If the dealer does something great like muck some idiots cards in the 1 seat, when it was action to him, and the guy was busy on a cell phone, they get a handful of chips right there from me. Or as the guy is screaming and yelling at the dealer, and the floor comes over, I make it a point to hand the dealer a bunch of chips, and say, "Good job running the game, I appreciate it." and I make sure the floor sees that.

I have often gone to speak to the floor after some moron complains to the floor about a dealer if the dealer was in the right. I really appreciate a fast/good dealer, and if they are funny, that's great too.

So, I guess, I don't like the idea of tipping if I win or lose a pot, I mean, the dealer really had nothing to do with it... right?

Al_Capone_Junior · #8 08-20-2004, 10:48 AM

I generally tip about $1 for every $100 in the pot. I modify this based on several factors, particularly how much I like the dealer, and also how much of the $$ I actually put in (if I only put in $40 and won $200, then I might tip more than if I put in $100). I think it's fair enough and I don't seem to get a lot of complaints about being cheap.

al

gcoutu · #9 08-20-2004, 10:49 AM

I don't live near a casino, but do get to vegas and others as often as possible. I don't play for a living, just for supplemental income. However, I am a tipper anywhere I go. If I get good service I tip well. I tip $1 pretty much no matter what and maybe $2 for a nice pot or ruling.

One thing that should be addressed is tipping in satellites and tourneys. Last time at the Mirage in satellites two people were getting seats/rebuys/add-ons per satellite. I played three and won two and was the only to tip both times. People need to be aware to tip in those situations so that I don't have to tip for them.

Don't be cheap, but you aren't obligated to go overboard.

turnipmonster · #10 08-20-2004, 11:14 AM

I generally agree with everything you said, although since I don't play for a living I don't have a problem with tipping a buck (generally don't tip if it's < 30). I am sure it cuts into my bottom line but I like most of the regular dealers where I play and also sometimes dealers give you a ride home or tell you something about the table you're going to (when they're off duty) so there are some reasons probably mostly specific to smaller card barns where everyone knows everyone. but in general I do agree it cuts into your bottom line. shorthanded and I tip at the end of a down, usually a nickel.

--turnipmonster