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Ian James educates us on tipping the poker dealer
There has been a lot of discussion on the internet forums about tipping in the past several months, some positive, some negative and some just plain, uninformed opinions. As a former international poker dealer I would like to address the issue of tipping and educate new poker players on the facts of tipping a poker dealer.
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How does a poker dealer earn a living?
I have dealt in many clubs on my international travels and, without exception; a poker dealer is reliant on tips to make a good living. If a club is paying a salary it will be close to the minimum, some clubs pay zero and then there are other clubs where the dealer must pay the house for every 30 minutes at the table.
It is the same situation in the US, a friend of mine in the Bellagio gets little more than minimum salary from the casino and makes the majority of her income from tips. To a dealer a tip is not a bonus, it isn't something extra to buy a drink. Tips are the main source of income therefore it is not unreasonable for a dealer to expect to get a tip from the winner of each pot, small pots excluded of course.
Why should I tip, I already pay rake?
A poker dealer is a professional providing a service. Like any other professional, they expect to get compensated for their work. Collectively, players pay the salary of the dealer by tipping. The rake/table charge is for the house, not the dealer. As a player you don't have the option not to pay rake but tipping is optional. You can choose not to tip, but what would happen if too many people took this option? Either you would have no dealers which would result in player dealt games and the chaos that goes with that, or higher rakes in the cardrooms to ensure that dealers are paid a good salary.
I have played before in player dealt games and it was horrible, I spent so much time concentrating on what the player/dealer is doing with the cards and pot that I had little time to concentrate on my hand and my opponents play. A professional dealer frees you up to concentrate on winning money instead of being too busy watching how the game is dealt.
Now, I've heard many excuses from experienced players who don't want to tip, one of them being "I'm losing, when I’m winning I'll give you something". Sounds fair, but what happens if everyone on the table is losing, then the dealer makes no money (this can happen if the winner leaves the table and then the chips bounce between the remaining players for the rest of the night).
If you win a nice pot in a higher limit game with players who are verbally abusing the dealer (ideally this would never happen, but in many clubs dealer abuse still occurs) show the dealer how much you appreciate them being professional and dealing the next hand rather than them confronting their aggressor (who would usually be the fish) and slowing the game down or, even worse for you, getting the fish to quit. In these kinds of games it makes sense for you to be more generous to the dealer, those fish who continually abuse the dealer are worth a lot to a winning player.
Don't forget, you do have a choice, if the service you are getting at the table is bad then don't tip, but if you have a good dealer sitting there and the game is under control don't be shy to show your appreciation!
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