Tipping the Dealer

Just wondering are they an average tip / percentage that a poker player should tip a dealer in a casino live cash game?If you do tip a dealer ... what is the most that you have ever tipped a dealer? The most that I have ever tipped was $5 after winning a pot . Also... what is the average salary of a dealer?

I've never tipped a dealer - not necessarily because I'm a tightwad, but because you're actually not allowed to here.

In games/places where you're allowed/expected to though expect the amount to vary with stakes. I'd just go with whatever most of the other players are tipping.

As to what a dealer makes, again I can only speak for what happens here (in Australia) but a full time dealer at our local casino would make somewhere between $40 and maybe $60 k/annum depending on their experience, rating, how many other games they had, etc.

tip a small blind, if youre playing $1/2 then tip $1, $2/5 tip $2 etc.

over $5/10 just tip the $5, or whatever singles are in the pot, a good dealer should know to leave singles in the pot.
its not about the 'big' tip, its about the consistent tip, be the guy who tips every time they win a pot, dont be the guy who says
'oh im down ill get you when im winning' -you'll never be winning.
or 'ill save up a few and get you with a big one'- youll never play another hand
or 'ill tip when i leave' -youll never leave, or if you do its only one dealer getting that tip.

dont worry about small pots, <$20 you dont need to tip those
and you dont need to tip extra in bigger pots (unless youre the douch who says ill wait for a big one, then you'd better tip so freaking big the dealer falls off his chair in shock)

Tip extra if you:
get good service, the dealer is smart and polite+efficient (has a good rack ;-), you are having a good time.
dont tip if:
the dealer is rude, untidy. not paying attention (ie watching the game on tv, he is there to work, dont reward him for not doing so).
and if any of this happens dont simply use it as an excuse to not tip, go to the floor man and say 'i am not tipping because...'

dont let your luck affect your tip, its not the dealers fault you cant get a good hand to pay off.
dont let other services affect your tip, its also not the dealers fault your drink got warm/cold.

Ive seen $100+ tips in my time, for all sorts of reasons, cute dealer, good dealer, lucky dealer, fast dealer or "I just won it from you and you're a dick so ill give it to the dealer."

Tip between 3-6% in a tournament, unless its the wsopME, then you can tip slightly less(just remember that around 1000+ staff are sharing it and you just won 10 million)

Dealers salary is irrelevant, good dealers tend to make more, unless its a country where its a flat salary, then more experienced dealers get paid higher. but if they make 200k a year then they are worth it and you should still tip well for good service, or they will stop working there and you will be stuck with the 15k a year crappy dealers who dont want to be there, deal slow, and make mistakes that cost you the pot.

I usually tip $1-$2 depending on the size of the hand.. if i win a couple huge pots maybe ill throw a $5 tip in the mix.. Nothing crazy but in some of my wasted nights ive given some big tips to dealers/drink girls lol

Thanks guys for the info.I was playing 1 night in a $1/$2 cash no limit game & the dealer was a very nice attractive lady wearing glasses.The players ended up calling her," the naughty librarian".lol She just smiled and took it as a compliment.She was making very good tips that night.

not allowed in most of the casinos, but may tip dealer for 1 or 2 chips, if I win a lot.

just see through 007 movies that there are half a million chips tip? -- may be the most expensive tip. LOL

1 to 2 in most moderately sized pots...

Nothing in small raise and take its or limped then bet and take its....

Can be a decent amount more on huge pots...ive gone like 20 on a 4 figure pot before....lol.

I do not think people should be compelled to tip mediocre or bad dealers though. I had certain dealers I never toked when I used to play a lot live. These dealers were either ridiculously rude to me in the past or just bad, well below average dealers who I wanted to encourage quitting.

Is it mean, I dont know.

Is it cool to tip horrible dealers the same as exemplary ones, hell no!



I definitely has my guy at one point...he was a truly superior dealer who excelled at speed, professionalism and friendliness. I would toke him virtually every time he pushed me a pot, and I remember going out of my way once to hand him a red chip on my way out of the casino once when I had forgotten to tip after a ~1100 pot or something.

Some dealers deserve high praise, some dont.

p.s.

Ive played several thousand live hands at 5/10, and ive never seen toking red chips as a norm.....yes, some recreational players will do it, but then again some rec. players will do it at 2/5...so what.

If you are trying to play for a living or really grind a roll up, you cannot afford 10-20 bucks/hr to go to tips...you would honestly be better served by occasionally laying a 20 on the floor man of you choice.

XXPXXP said:

not allowed in most of the casinos, but may tip dealer for 1 or 2 chips, if I win a lot.

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Just curious, where do you play that tipping the dealer is not allowed? I have played in Vegas at several casinos and have never come across that rule....

I generally play $1/$2 NL, and I will tip on every winning pot that is over $20...depending on the pot size I will usually tip anywhere from $1 to $5, though I once tipped a dealer $20 on a $170 dollar pot.

I was fortunate enough to win the first ever live tourney I played in years ago. Well, since I had no live game experience I cashed and walked out of the poker room, all the while the dealer was kinda floating around near me. Like a dumbass, I never realized why. I felt so bad when I finally realized it about halfway home. I don't know why it never crossed my mind, I was just so excited about the win and didn't even give it a thought. Sorry to that guy!!!

chriseles said:

Just curious, where do you play that tipping the dealer is not allowed? I have played in Vegas at several casinos and have never come across that rule....

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Can't speak for that poster, but it's actually the norm in a lot of countries outside the US.

Where I live (Australia) tipping casino dealers is actually banned - certainly by casino policy, and I think probably by law too - for fear of collusion etc. Dealers will actually be fired for accepting tips.

OzExorcist said:

Can't speak for that poster, but it's actually the norm in a lot of countries outside the US.

Where I live (Australia) tipping casino dealers is actually banned - certainly by casino policy, and I think probably by law too - for fear of collusion etc. Dealers will actually be fired for accepting tips.

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Wow! I'll have to keep that in mind if I ever play outside of the US! I would hate to accidentally get someone fired for tipping by habit lol. Thanks for the info!

Tipping eats into winrates quite a lot so I tend to keep it small.

I usually tip at the end of a winning session about 4-5bb. Although I found out recently that the dealers dont even get it, the dealer himself said dont tip me again. Helps my winrate no end.

youregoodmate said:

Tipping eats into winrates quite a lot so I tend to keep it small.

I usually tip at the end of a winning session about 4-5bb. Although I found out recently that the dealers dont even get it, the dealer himself said dont tip me again. Helps my winrate no end.

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Here in the US in Atlantic City at least, the dealers each have their own little box that they carry with them to each table that they put each tip into.. it has a little clip on it that hangs it on the side of the table.. so i get to tip the good dealers more and know they get the money and by good i mean fast, knowledgeable about the game.. not just lucky.. but dont get me wrong the lucky ones get a lil extra too

depends on the casino.. if a casino pulls all there tips together I usually dont tip.. if the dealers keeps there own tips I usually tip a dollar. . You have to be careful even if the casino dealers tote their own box around doesnt mean they get to keep there tips.

chriseles said:

Wow! I'll have to keep that in mind if I ever play outside of the US! I would hate to accidentally get someone fired for tipping by habit lol. Thanks for the info!

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No probs, and it's actually not as bad as it sounds - the dealer will only get in trouble if they're caught accepting the tip. If you forget the rule and offer them one it's not a huge deal, they'll just have to politely decline it.

i have only tipped out dealers once but it was in a tourny i won $500 and tipped $50.

I will tip in a cash game (usually the small blind unless the pot is really big) but not in. Tournament. where i am, you can buy extra chips at the beginning of the tournament and those extras buys go tothe dealers, so i don't tip separately on the occasion that I cash. Should I still be tipping in tournaments?

dragonflyamb said:

I will tip in a cash game (usually the small blind unless the pot is really big) but not in. Tournament. where i am, you can buy extra chips at the beginning of the tournament and those extras buys go tothe dealers, so i don't tip separately on the occasion that I cash. Should I still be tipping in tournaments?

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Depends if you think that the chip has bought it. If you gave a fiver at the start, and only 1 or 2 more people gave a fiver then the dealers are going to share 15-20 bucks between them and the floorstaff.

If you think they deserve that then dont tip extra. If you think they earned more than 20 bucks split 6/7 ways then sure tip more when you win 500. just deduct your 5 from the tip.

Tipping is (usually)always voluntary, and it should reflect service. You shouldnt be looking for reasons not to tip, but for reasons to tip. and if someone goes the extra mile give them a little extra and they will go the extra mile for you again.

i pl,ay 1 2 no limit i usually throw them a buck if its a real good pot maybe 2 if hes dealing me alot of good pots maybe a couple more most importantly is tipping the waitress gotta keep them drinks comeing and you dont want them weak i always greese there palms real good once i sit and get my first one you might even get a hun out of the deal

I've tipped anywhere from $1 on some small pots that I won up to $7 on the larger ones at 1/2. If I like the dealer though I will give an extra bb or two right before I finish the session.