Suppose Tipping Poker Dealers Was Illegal

[RR]

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I don't have an answer, but I know that in Australia, dealers and casino staff aren't allowed to accept tips, and they were mostly competent at the Aussie Millions.

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How large of an event was this? Do they have to hire temp dealers for it? The underlying problem with the WSOP is that it is so big that they have to get dealers from somewhere. There are a few dealers that just like to travel the circuit, but most of the temp dealers would rather be working a full time job rather than working as a temp.

[DonovanMD]

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I don't have an answer, but I know that in Australia, dealers and casino staff aren't allowed to accept tips, and they were mostly competent at the Aussie Millions.

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Agreed.

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And I know that when I played at Burswood in WA the dealers made between 15-19 dollars an hour with benefits, since tipping is not allowed in casinos, and generally never done ever in Oz.

[suzy89222]

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I don't have an answer, but I know that in Australia, dealers and casino staff aren't allowed to accept tips, and they were mostly competent at the Aussie Millions.

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just guessing, but that is probably because there is much less tipping in australia than US in all service jobs (waiters, taxi drivers,etc). when i was out there a few years ago, an australian told me that they almost view tips as insults, like they arent able to take care of themselves. employers apparently compensate them fairly, and they dont have the tip-crazy culture the US has.

[ncpokeresq]

Several interesting aspects of this question:
Would the poker rooms better reward dealers as a group than players,
Would poker rooms better reward better dealers than players
Would the total amount going to dealers as a whole increase
Would some cardrooms attempt to attract better dealers by paying more
Would the pay vary greatly at the same room among dealers or would it be basically flat absent seniority
My algebra, based on WAG, is that dealer pay would go down because an acceptable level of competence/incompetence could be achieved at a lower hourly rates than most average dealers currently make, much less better dealers (who presumably make more by getting out more hands by general speed/keeping game going, thus variance in tipping evening out). Of course, there may be different definitions of what constitutes a good dealer.

[LA_Price]

David,

In England tipping dealers is illegal, so maybe you should go there and do a case study. I used to play a lot in Birmingham(UK) and there was a mix of good and bad dealers, like there is here. At the place I played most often they charged 5 pound an hour sessions. There was another place with worse dealers that only charged 3 pounds an hour, but because the game was a little smaller(which may have had something to do with the bad dealers) I didn't go there.

One thing was that people who were good tended to rise to management positions, so they didn't stay dealers as long as they would have if they worked in America.

[Jerry D]

That's why electronic poker tables with no human dealers is the way to go. Alot of old fogey poker players won't like it, but in 10 years it will be VERY RARE to see an actual human dealing poker in a B&M. Mark my words because they are very true. So in my humble view your question is moot. There is no need to raise the rake to compensate for dealers not making 'tips.' Just get rid of the dealers, and then you get rid of the 'tips.'

Everybody wins with electronic tables. The casino makes more money per hour. The players get more hands per hour. The players don't have to tip. The players don't have to endure the missed deals and numerous mistakes dealers are constantly making.

[Ramon Scott]

In 10 years, I'll be back just to say like Brent Carter did to Phil Hellmuth...

"I was busy marking your words."

I guess if casinos were interested in the bottom line, poker would've already been eliminated all together.

How did that Hollywood Park e-poker room fare?

I guess everyone will just stay home and play on teh internets.

Believe it or not some people just don't trust machines... or teh internets.

[Kevroc]

DS,

Does Brandi toke as well as the tokes she receives from her "other" job?

BTW, I never gives any womans my monies either playa!

[BiggieFats]

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That's why electronic poker tables with no human dealers is the way to go. Alot of old fogey poker players won't like it, but in 10 years it will be VERY RARE to see an actual human dealing poker in a B&M.

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Wasn't the same thing said about blackjack tables 10 years ago?

[Wdanger]

As an ex UK casino dealer i can safely say that not being allowed legally to accept tips, but having a higher basic rate of pay, results in an overall net loss of earining compared to dealers in casinos that do allow tipping. It looks good on paper but sucks when you come to spend anything. Not tipping does also, in my experience, lead to less interested dealers in some cases, but also less voracious dealers too, who concentrate on the game rather than angling for tips.

So in summary there are pros and cons, the cons mainly being felt by the dealers that dont get tips. In a casino setting rather than a straight cardroom, the fact that the dealers are paid a higher salary and dont rely on tips doesnt mean the casino has to charge more for anything as all the cash that would have been tipped will eventually find its way into the drop boxes.