Poker Tipping 101

I was at my local casino playing when the guy next to me leaned over and explained the most bizarre reason he does not tip the dealer when he wins. I know this guy’s heart may have been in the right place, but he was definitely clueless or ignorant about tipping dealers in a casino.

Thinking back about this, I realize there may be a lot of other people out there who may have preconceived notions about poker dealers and tipping. I think a little “Poker Tipping 101″ is in order.

Here is what happened. The guy next to me calls the chip runner over. The same chip runner who just a few hands earlier had brought the table a new setup. He says to the lady, “here I want to tip you for the setup since the dealer didn’t give you anything”. Then he turns to me and says, “This dealer takes and takes but he won’t give anything to the chip runner when she brings him a setup. I haven’t tipped him the last two pots he gave me because of that.”

This comment is so far off base I just have to write this post in case there are others out there with such ridiculous preconcieved notions. As a poker player this guy should have known that everything is not what it seems.

When this player first entered the world’s largest card club he should have read the sign that specifically states “some employees share their tips with other employees”. Maybe by reading that he wouldn’t have been so quick to jump to conclusions.

At this particular casino I know for a fact that the dealers, every day have to tip the chip runners and floormen $15 a day at the end of their shift. With a five day work week, that comes out to over $300 per month that EACH dealer contributes to those who work the floor.

Instead of penalizing the dealer, this player dealers should be applauding the dealer for financially supporting the chip runners income so that chip runners and their families can have a better life.

As if showing how ignorant he is about the relationship dealers have with chip runners, this man really showed his stupidity when he blamed the responsibility of tipping on the dealer.

This clearly shows he doesn’t even know what a tip is! A tip is a payment one person gives to another for a job well done.

Now the chip runner is definitely doing her job and does deserve a tip. But whose responsibility is it to tip? It definitely is not the dealers, he doesn’t want the setup. While a dealer is forced to check the deck he is missing out on tips he could be making if he was dealing. That setup is costing him money.

The person responsible for tipping is the player requesting the setup. He is the one asking the chip runner to work extra and bring a new deck in hopes it will change his luck.

So yes, all dealers do pitch in and tip these floor people for services such as bringing chips and setups to the customers. Since dealers are paying for the services that benefit the customer only, customers should consider tipping the dealers a little extra instead of stiffing them.

For additional tips on tipping, here are two more posts in a three post series on tipping:

How Much To Tip A Poker Dealer
How Much To Tip For A Jackpot