another tipping question (sorry)

[AaronO]

Bav-
You are correct. I am now uncomfortable with not tipping every hand, mostly because I did not realize that was the norm. I had always assumed that tips were reserved for larger pots, and that dealers did not "expect" a tip every hand. In fairness, no dealer has never looked at me crosswise when I didn't tip, but if I am breaking an unwritten rule, I would prefer not to do that.

Like I said, I am not a regular live player, so I just don't know what many of the norms are and am looking for some guidance. I still think it is ridiculous to tip 25% of a pot, but if that is expected, then I guess I should change my ways.

[pfapfap]

Trust me, the dealers are thinking nasty things about you, and over time you may be held more strictly to the nittiest of rules, not be given benefits of doubt, etc. That they're not saying anything or acting any differently but rather taking it in stride is a sign that they deserve even more to be tipped.

Think of it this way. This is a service industry, and by playing in a cardroom you have entered a tacit agreement with the house that you as a player will support the dealers that have volunteered to run your game. Everybody at your table is paying the dealer's wages except for you. The dealer is probably only mildly irritated, but the table as a whole should be upset that you are forcing them to carry your burden.

In the end, however, it's your choice. I may disagree with those who choose not to tip, and I may think that by and large their arguments tend to fantasize that we live in a different culture than we do, but I'm not going to discuss it with anyone who doesn't show an interest in the topic. And I have no interest in argument, I'm just stating a viewpoint.

It all boils down to how you feel about Mr. Pink.

[AaronO]

Thanks. That adds a lot of perspective. Again, it was never my intention to slight anyone or act outside of what is considered the norm. I simply don't play enough live poker to know what is expected of me with regard to tipping. My understanding was not the viewpoint that you represented in your post, so it is helpful for me to hear from those that play live a lot. Your post makes a lot of sense, and I do respect your opinion.

[SellingtheDrama]

Ask and learn...its all you can do now [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I'm a $1 for most pots, and a couple more (usually any whites won) when I win a huge pot/stack someone. I'll also generally flip $2 to the dealers that I consider the best in the house - they're working harder and I don't mind rewarding them for it.

But 25% of the pot (as referenced above) is pretty much insanity and the dealers know it too. Anyone doing that regularly isn't leaving with money anyway.

[rivermetimbers]

i play 1/2nl and tend to only tip on pots of $40 or more, which generally happens when the hand sees a turn, sometimes flop (this is donkalicious 1/2 we are talking about)... typically I only tip $1 or $2, but in a huge pot ($100+) im only tipping up to $5...i assume this is typical

edit: after reading other responses it seems i am pretty cheap, but fwiw i tend to tip almost all of the pots i win (bc they tend to be large enough)

[ptartaglio]

"Trust me, the dealers are thinking nasty things about you, and over time you may be held more strictly to the nittiest of rules, not be given benefits of doubt, etc."

Trust me..this is so true. You stiffs out there will get screwed. The dealer will find some angle to screw you sooner or later.

[bav]

[ QUOTE ]
Trust me..this is so true. You stiffs out there will get screwed. The dealer will find some angle to screw you sooner or later.

[/ QUOTE ]
Ok... let's keep perspective. A dealer who is actually being professional will not look to screw an under-tipper, ever. But not all dealers are particularly professional. But they also don't want to lose their job over a couple dollars a day of tokes, so most of 'em won't try anything truly dastardly. But yes, if you tick 'em off you can expect that they'll be a little quicker to muck your hand if you've stood up from the table to adjust your underwear during a hand, or they may fail to notice some tiny rule infraction that is going to work against you that some other player is making. Mostly, though, they'll just glare at you and pitch your cards erratically. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

As well, failing to tip for a $3 blind steal is NOT going to tick off very many dealers (and those who DO get upset about it can just suffer). Few really do expect they're gonna get $1 out of your $3 of profit. So if it makes you feel like a chump to do that, don't feel obligated. Again... how do YOU feel about it?

On the other hand, if pot after pot is $6 and gets checked down to the river, how's the dealer supposed to feel about working for 15 minutes making his $1.50 minimum wage? So yeah, I've actually tipped a dealer when I lost money on a pot after rake and split just 'cause the poor guy hadn't been toked in 3 hands. I toked a dealer my stack of $1's the other day because when I asked "why'd they close the long table with the autoshuffler and bring those players to our jammed full stud table with no shuffler instead of taking us over there" he immediately volunteered to call the floor to move us. This left him at a dead spread making no tokes; that'd be an example of professionalism (giving up tokes for the benefit of the players) that should be rewarded.

[quickfetus]

Interesting, although I couldn't disagree more strongly. . . I'll write out a reply when I finish this research paper. For now, back to "The Realist Consensus, the Zionist Mind, and the Arab Question."