[AlienBoy]

FWIW - At Commerce, where the dealers are generally superior to The Bike, I'm more apt to tip $1 for pots over $10.

But hey, If I bet out with so much aggression that the 2 people that paid to see the flop fold (3 SB minus RAKE) - I'm still supposed to tip a buck? I don't think so.

Commerce and the Bike have the added "jackpot"rake. If that rake were not there (and I wish it wasn't) I'd be less stingy with the tokage.

At Binion's in LV, where the dealers are fabulous, and there is NO jackpot rake, I'll tip a buck even out of these tiny pots. But this is harder to do with a JP rake.

Thinking in terms of EV for a moment:

We say that someone is doing amazingly well if they clear 2BB per 100 hands.

In a live game with a shuffle machine, that's about 35 to 40 hands per hour.

Let's say for the sake of argument that you have to win 3 pots to make that 2BB. For a 3/6 game, tipping $1 a pot means a reduction to 1.5BB per hundred. That's a 25% reduction in EV. That sucks.

If the dealer isn't helping me by keeping the game efficient, enforcing rules, and otherwise keeping the "energy" at the table positive so the fish feel happy and bet into me, then he's further reducing my EV. And I should still tip the same?

Nope.

The dealer IS an important part of an advantage player's game, regardless of if the game is poker, craps, or blackjack. Dealers that are together and working in a way that betters my game deserve a tip for certain. Slackers that don't pay attention to the game, don't keep it under control or efficient, and that don't enforce the rules don't deserve the same sized tip.


And yea, I used to work in restaurants, so I do get the whole tipping concept.



AB