Here’s a Tip



“Fantastic! Another tipping thread is just what this board needs.” On a popular internet poker message board that I frequent, this is a common response when someone poses a question in the non-poker forums about tipping in every day situations. How much should I tip the pizza guy? How much should I tip the bellman?  Should I tip the movers? The lack of understanding of the basics of adulthood in that forum is stunning, and the proliferation of tipping questions has become a running joke. Of course, since it is a non-poker section of the site, tipping in poker is not discussed. That type of tipping, though, can be very confusing to someone who is only accustomed to playing online. As we all know, if you play online you do not have to tip the non-existent dealer. But in a brick and mortar poker room, tipping is expected. For newcomers to live poker, the entire environment can be intimidating; worrying about how much to tip the dealer is the last thing you need. So, here are some…uh…tips? Let me get one thing out of the way right now. Yes, you should tip the dealer in a cash game. Dealers are similar to waiters ...

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2 Comments

DavidR

Please remember that not all casinos and facilities take out in advance for the dealers or floor personel. Players should ask if any of the buy in was withheld for floor personel and dealers then determine the tip they chose to leave. With a buy in to smaller tournaments being stated like $200+$20 many times that $20 is merely going to the facility running it not to the dealers (outside of their normal hourly rate).


Keaton Hoskins

In addition to what David said, some tournaments allow a initial “Bonus Buy” that adds to your chip total but not to the total pot. These “Bonus Buy’s” are for the dealers and are usually 100% for the dealers tip pool. So that is a good way to get something extra for yourself and also take care of the dealers ahead of time.


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