Horseshoe in Tunica: B&M Virgin Questions

[UATrewqaz]

Ok I'm a B&M virgin, played alot online, some cash games with friends, some freeroll NL tournaments at sportsbars, but never in a casino, but I'm going to Tunica this weekend and I have a few questions about the Horseshoe (where I plan on playing mostly I think) cuz I don't wanna look like a moron.

1. How does getting a table work? You sign up on a list and they call you when they have a table for you?

2. What about chips? When and where do you get your chips? Do you buy them just in the casino and bring them to the poker room or do you get them at the table when you sit?

3. Can you leave the table at any time? I mean for good, not to go to the bathroom or something, I'll make sure that when I sit I won't need anything for along while.

4. Are there any weird house rules there I should know about? I know the proper procedure for playing at a real table (no string betting, don't splash the pot, don't act out of turn, etc.)

5. Tipping the dealer... do I HAVE to do this?? The very idea of it sickens me to the core. I'm already paying the rake. I don't care if the other players think I'm a jerk but I don't want to be harassed or asked to leave about it.

Thanks all.

[d10]

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the Horseshoe (where I plan on playing mostly I think)

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Good choice, I'll be there myself this weekend.

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1. How does getting a table work? You sign up on a list and they call you when they have a table for you?

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Yes.

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2. What about chips? When and where do you get your chips? Do you buy them just in the casino and bring them to the poker room or do you get them at the table when you sit?

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Buy your chips on the way to your table once they call your name. There's a cashier cage in the poker room that's impossible to miss. You could also buy your chips at the table (give your cash to the dealer) and someone will bring them to you, but I always just purchase them from the cage. I mean it's on the way, I don't know why I would buy at the table, unless it's a game just starting up and a lot of people need to buy at the same time. If you run through your initial buyin for whatever reason it makes more sense to purchase more chips from the dealer instead of walking back to the cage, but that's a rare occurance. Or you could just be one of those guys who leaves cash on the table and calls $10 bets with $100 forcing the action to stop each hand while the dealer makes change for you (but please don't).

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3. Can you leave the table at any time? I mean for good, not to go to the bathroom or something, I'll make sure that when I sit I won't need anything for along while.

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Yes. Naturally I usually leave for good after my UTG hand or maybe a couple before, although nobody will stop you if you want to post your blinds and then leave. You can also leave with your chips on the table for a little over an hour I think it is? I think they count your time away in terms of dealer rotations, so if you plan on being away for a while it's best to play a hand or two from a new dealer and then leave.

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4. Are there any weird house rules there I should know about? I know the proper procedure for playing at a real table (no string betting, don't splash the pot, don't act out of turn, etc.)

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None that I know of.

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5. Tipping the dealer... do I HAVE to do this?? The very idea of it sickens me to the core. I'm already paying the rake. I don't care if the other players think I'm a jerk but I don't want to be harassed or asked to leave about it.

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Technically, no, but the real answer is yes, although you won't be harassed or ask to leave if you don't (at least not by anyone who works for the casino, the players on the other hand is a different story, I myself harass players who don't tip, although I do it very tactfully. Usually I'll start tipping the dealers for them when they should be doing it, which makes them feel 10x as cheap, they'll start tipping after that). There have been a number of threads in this forum regarding tipping dealers so I'll leave it at that, you can search for those threads if you want to know more about that subject.

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Thanks all.

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No problem, good luck at your first B&M experience and I hope to see you there. I'll post in here a bit later when I have a better idea of when and where I'll be playing cause there seems to be a few 2+2 people going down this weekend and I'd like to meet some of them. Make sure you say whats up if you see me.

[Edge34]

If I was you I'd just try to edit part 5 out of my question to avoid problems from a lot of the people down here.

Dealers get paid (technically) less than minimum wage. Tokes are part of their livelihood, so suck it up and toss a dollar the dealer's way when you win a pot. If you're not playing high stakes, its not like you're making rent money anyways, and if you are, what's a [censored] dollar?

And not to be an [censored] about it, but if you intentionally stiff he dealer, well, you are a jerk. Or at the very least a tightwad. Hear that? Its Lincoln screaming. Stop pinching him so hard.

What about it sickens you anyways?

[steamboatin]

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5. Tipping the dealer... do I HAVE to do this?? The very idea of it sickens me to the core. I'm already paying the rake. I don't care if the other players think I'm a jerk but I don't want to be harassed or asked to leave about it.


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I realize you are clueless about poker beyond the keyboard of your computer so I will be polite.

Tipping the dealer is +EV.

If you play live poker for any length of time, having a good dealer is very important and tipping encourages a dealer to improve.

Dealers are human beings that are just trying to make a living and if they are doing a good job they should be rewarded.

If you were a dealer, who are you going to watch out for, a good tipper or a stiff? So keep stiffing the dealer and don't be suprised when decisions that can go either way, go the other way.

When you are playing live poker, especially low limit, you want everyone at the table in a good mood so they gamble it up and stiffing the dealer isn't how you keep a happy table.

Stiffing the dealer is a terrible idea, the few chips you save will cost you lots of bets in the future because it is the type of behavior that causes a table to tighten up. I hope you end it at a table full of rocks and just take turns chopping the blinds, that's a lot of fun and a highly profitable experience. You'll only get action when you are beat, so you win little pots all night but lose the big ones and that is -EV, big time.

You say in your OP that you don't want to look like a moron, I'll tell you right now, at a live poker game, you are better off being perceived as a moron, than a stiff. If they think you are a moron, they'll play back at you and you'll get action. If they perceive you as a tightass, you better learn to love chopping the blinds and dragging tiny pots.

There are probably many more reasons why it is -EV to stiff the dealer and people that can explain it far better than I but one of the most important things at a live game is to carefully consider your actions and how your actions affect the other players at the table. If you are doing things that cause the table to tighten up, that is -EV and stiffing the dealer is a good way to begin.

[Pocket Trips]

Is it just me or is this thread starting to sound like the opening scene from "Reservoir Dogs"?

[UATrewqaz]

Thanks everyone for the advice, makes me feel more comfortable going in knowing a little bit more of the procedures.

As far as tipping the dealer, I guess I will a bit, should I happen to win a pretty substantial pot here and there and will most likely tip when the dealers change and when I leave the table. I probably won't tip as much as your average B&M veteran but I guess it's something I have to start getting comfortable with.

If I'm winning a ton I'll definitely be more apt to tip of course.

So how does tipping work? You just toss them one of your chips?

Oh and that reminds me of another question, the rake, how do the dealers do the rake? As they tend the pot (draggin the bets) do they keep count of how much is in it and then pull out the rake in a seperate stack (so you can see how much it is) or do they wait till the very end of the hand and take it out.

[Chipr777]

The dealer will keep track of how much is in the pot and rake accordingly as the pot builds. The rake won't be dropped until after the pot is pushed to the winner. My names Todd, I'm the shift manager on day shift this weekend at Horseshoe. If you have any questions when you get there let me know. As far as the tipping? I have no comment but the others in this thread have done a good job of explaining why this may be a good idea.

[RacersEdge]

Good luck - just started going B&M recently myself. I actually may be at the HS this weekend too. I have been playing at the Goldstrike the past week or so and I might go over a try the 4/8 game at the HS (the lowest limit there BTW).

The only weird rule I saw was that for some reason you can't play out of the chip rack - you must remove your chips and put them on the table.

[d10]

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So how does tipping work? You just toss them one of your chips?

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The standard procedure is to throw/push/leave/whatever a $1 chip in the direction of the dealer whenever you win a pot. Just leave it somewhere closer to the dealer than it is to you and he'll know what it's there for and pick it up. If you only manage to steal the blinds or win a very small pot no one will complain if you don't tip. You can also tip more if the pot is large or you're feeling generous, $2 is not uncommon and I've seen up to $5, but if you never tip more than $2 no one will think you're cheap.

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Oh and that reminds me of another question, the rake, how do the dealers do the rake? As they tend the pot (draggin the bets) do they keep count of how much is in it and then pull out the rake in a seperate stack (so you can see how much it is) or do they wait till the very end of the hand and take it out.

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The rake is set aside to the dealers right as the hand progresses, so you can look there to see how much has already been taken out. If you're playing on a small limit table with a bad beat jackpot the dealer will also pull $1 out at the end of the hand and put it in a box to his left. You can avoid the $1 bad beat jackpot contributions at the Horseshoe by playing 10/20 and above, but keep in mind a lot of players will be there for the sole purpose of chasing the bad beat jackpot, so even though it's very unlikely that you'll hit the jackpot you'll probably make more from these players than $1 per hand.

[d10]

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The only weird rule I saw was that for some reason you can't play out of the chip rack - you must remove your chips and put them on the table.

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This only applies at the Gold Strike, at the Horseshoe it's common to see players playing out of racks. I prefer to build pyramids though, it looks much more intimidating and gives me something to do.