Tipping live poker tournaments

Alright so i've been playing this tournament at a nearby race track and just had my first live tourney win. Who do you tip and how much is generally tipped? It was a 65$ total buy in and i picked up $1400 for the win. What do all you more experienced winners generally tip? This is also in the U.S. for what it's worth.

Thanks in advance!

No one is gonna call you bad names for 10% or so... at least not to your face. I usually just ask the dealer or who ever is giving out the prize money whom I should tip.

Good man to tip though! In some rooms dealers stand to lose money dealing tourneys. Especially when cheap bastards decide not to thank the staff. Plenty of rooms in Vegas have add-ons or extra juice on tourneys to help with this problem.

When I was playing in Vegas I generally would tip the dealer a couple of bucks every few hands if I was winning---but you would have to put it in his/her shirt pocket---never just hand it to them---and if you got drinks or food while playing you had to BE SURE to tip the wait-person who brought them to you even though these things are FREE! Oh! I was playing Black Jack, not poker! Once though I DID play some 7-stud there but didn't last long enough to have to worry about tipping ANYBODY!

Last time I was in Vegas, I played in a few tourneys at Paris. Cashed in 2 or 3 of them. When the poker manager was paying me, he asked if I wanted to give a little something to the dealers. I thought it was a nice way to do it, got to remember to take care of the dealers. Without them there is no game and as someone said before, they can lose income dealing tournaments as they are not getting tips on hands.

I was in Vegas last week and would not play a tourney anywhere as the "juice" was anywhere from 20% to a tad under 30%, that's how the dealers get paid and it's way too much. I did tip Blackjack dealers, waitresses usually $2 per winning hand or drink. 11,000 people have lost their jobs in Vegas so far this year and the poker rooms were as quiet as hell so the dealers should be happy they are still working. The manager had IMO, a bloody cheek asking you for the money and I have no doubt it went straight in his pocket. BTW, would you play for eg, a 10 seat $35 sng where the prize pool was only $250 ? I doubt it.

i think the tipping system itself is stupid. i mean come on, it leaves this situation where you feel obligated to tip someone. i think it should be the choice of the player. the emlpoyer of the dealer should be the one to compensate the money. so much so that the dealer doesn't have to expect a tip.

I play tournaments at the IP in Biloxi, MS. When collecting there they have always taken players individually to a table with a drop box and while you are being paid out, showing ID and club cards for benefit verification and signing receipt, you can just discreetly drop as much as you want into the box. I even noticed that some smaller bills were included for this purpose. I like this practice as it is not in the least pressuring.

I tip 10% of the pot, 3 hands in a row and I tip 20%

I don't think dealers can do much with tournament chips when they're dealing the tournament :P

This was pretty much exactly what went down at the Running aces in MN. I ended up throwing two $25 chips into the dealer box. I just wasn't sure if that was a good amount and if your supposed to tip the managers or if they get a piece of the dealer box.

ill be honest if i win a small amount that doubles my buyin, i go with 10%, but if i win a nice amount, i would give in the 20% range. i may give a bit more if im a regular and not just passin through too.

What? like your talking cash games I guess? So on a $100 pot (which $50 is your money) you tip $10? omg... I tip $1 in that situation, always.

If I stack an opponent for a $400 pot, I will tip $5 sometimes but usually 2-3$. You would honestly tip $40 here?

You are losing so much by tipping that much!

Check the fee structure/rake/staff fees for the tournament. Usually there is some vig factored in to compensate the dealers. I would tip 1%-2% if so, if NOT, 10% is more than reasonable.

Stiffing people who's jobs depend on tips with the excuse that "their employer should pay them" is bs. Their employer doesn't pay them-- you know what these professions are, and casino/poker dealer is one of them. Anyone who doesn't tip waitresses and others who depend on gratuity for the majority of their income is scum, imo. Be a "George" when possible, which is usually for most people.

Dealers dont even get minimum wages+tips? omg thats pretty bad....

I tip decent, but I always thought they get a daily wage too, otherwise the money would be pretty bad.

Tipping generally only happens in america. The rest of the worlds working staff dont expect handouts as a right and wouldnt take a job without a standard min wage.

Its like a taxi driver expects a tip after you pay him a fee. Thats rediculos. Waitresses perhaps deserve a tip more imo but they shouldnt expect it. If someone blatently asked me for a tip i'd say get a job that pays

The mixture of ignorance and arrogance in your response is pretty impressive. Congratulations.

Tipping, while approached differently by different cultures, is very much an international phenom. Wiki lists the tipping customs for 46 countries not including the US.

Tips aren't hand-outs, they're gratuities for services rendered. Bartenders and waitresses aren't standing out on the street asking for free money. They're working inside bars and restaurants serving food and drinks to you and your family.

The overwhelming majority of restaurants in America do not pay their tipped employees the national minimum wage. Depending on location some waitresses may only make $2.75 per hour. Many of them work extra hours/days off the clock or even forego full-time employment status while working 50-60 hour weeks. The extra money that they earn in tips makes these sacrifices worth while and keeps many restaurants (which would otherwise fail) in business.

I'm too lazy to look it up but I believe there is a standard minimum wage for tipped employees. It's just not as much as the federal and is regulated on a state by state basis.

Don't worry about tipping people though, who needs them?

Gee, I thought I was Italian. But now I realize Imma cheap bastard.

Thanx for the insight.


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Heck, If I ever won that much, I would be more than happy to tip the dealer. I play at a casino about 75 miles a way from time to time and play at the $1 $2 tables. No tourney yet. If I win a good hand I'll toss him/her a buck. If I hit a small pot, I'll toss him/her a .50cent piece. Understand that almost everyone tosses him/her a .50 or $1 fro every hand won, so they rake up pretty well. Not to mention they are taking in more rake than any online game. It's like ten percent rake at live casino tables where I play, so they are getting payed very well even without tips. They do serve free drinks so I figure it equals out between the drinks and the tips. Never have I won a tourney for even close to what your saying at $1,400.00. Congrats.

douche douche douche

That's a point I've made before. I've seen some casinos that keep as much as 42% of the players' buyins. There is no way anyone can beat those rakes over any period of time.
Again, like in the tourneys, you're already up against a rake. If a dealer is dealing 25 hands/hour and averaging even $1 tip per hand, he's not hurting. I'm not saying I'm only tipping a buck every time, but if I rake a $500 pot, $25-$50 is much too much IMO.

Ive been to a lot of countrrys and none of them expect tips like they do in america. Thats a fact.

Im guessing you were a waiter in a previous life or something

It's science...

What did you do in a previous life to come back as a...

and I'm guessing that if you re-visit a restaurant they spit in your food.

i dont know, must of been good though

You're sure one class act.


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I know it's an oldish thread, but I was watching Poker After Dark "reunion" game the other night and some real interesting stuff was being talked about. The "table" were all player veterans of the Mayfair Club, one player had been a part owner. One of the main topics of chat was the online poker ban in the US and what an arse GB is. The guy who used to be part owner of the Mayfair was talking about how things have changed in NY poker clubs. Apparently, dealers and waitresses PAY the club to work there. Usually $100 per day, they make their income purely from "tips", he said the clubs were "up" 3 grand before they even opened the doors, and that most dealers and waitresses make $400 min per day. That's around $12k in tips in one day, most be lots of money in NY. Wonder how they are doing now with the Wall Street tumble?

After winning $480 in a recent tournament ( buy in was $105) I tipped the dealer at the final table $40. A little over 10% of my profit.

Interesting read.......... a lot of different opinions......I have not played live yet so was wondering myself what the norm was for when I do

In the UK we are not allowed to tip the Dealers or Croupiers. I will always tip the waitresses if I win in a tournament.

As for the tipping debate. I worked 10 years in bars and restaurants. Someone said that people who don't tip are scum should actually be saying that the employers are scum for not paying enough to their staff.

A tip is a tip, if you think that someone deserves it for good service then tip them. I will never tip someone if they provide bad service. A tip is supposed to be an extra.

The American system of tipping your waitress is flawed and it is the employers who are to blame!

Wow... that seems kind of creepy. Are you sure it not just "her" shirt pocket? Most casinos I've gone to, there is a tip drop box and the dealers are pretty good about keeping tips very visibly separate from the rest of the loot.

Interesting reading indeed.

There should be some kind of 'unwritten standard' for Poker tipping I guess, but in Vegas, tipping is unbelievable. A taxi driver once SCREAMED at me for only tipping him 20% (he wanted me to double his fee!!). You must tip the guy that gets you in the taxi, the one opening the door for you when you get out of it, the one who takes your suitcase (before you are able to say that you can handle it alone), the one who brings them to your room.... There isn't enough money left to play Poker!!!!

yea i agree with this too....i mean i tip dealers, but its hard to do that if you dont win...

i think i would only tip like $1 per hand won for me because as someone else said, if they are dealing 25 hands/hr, there is around 20-25$ tips if the majority tip when winning hands, as some people might choose not to, i definitely think the 10% is way too high, you should hope you never get playing too high lol, you will be giving away Cnotes at a time lol.