Tipping Dealers

In most places that poker is played, tipping is customary. Dealers earn a good portion of their wages via direct tips from the players. There are pluses and minuses for the "tipping" system vs. the "house paying all the wages" system. Let's look at some of them.

On the plus side, dealers benefit directly by performance – the more hands they get out, the more they figure to make. Players certainly want dealers to get out as many hands as possible. Tips (those that go directly into the dealer's pocket, not those that are "pooled" or split with others) provide incentive for dealers to do a better job.

On the minus side, many think it's the house's responsibility to pay employee wages. Naturally, the rake would increase if tips were not allowed, but at least the players wouldn't feel obligated to tip. I've always wondered who decided which occupations deserve tips and which ones don't. We've all heard, "You tip for service." If that is the criterion, why don't we tip the auto mechanic, nurses, or teachers? Don't these people provide a service for us?

Another minus is that the toke system is not fair. In a tipping system, everyone does not pay his fair share. (Shocking news – some players do not tip.) Dealers hope the "tippers" win the pots. If they don't, they won't make money. Assume for a moment, however, that all players toke when they win a pot. The toke system penalizes the loose players and rewards the tight players. Does this make sense?

I consider myself a good tipper. My problem with tipping poker dealers is that they are not rewarded because they do a good job, but because they push someone a pot. A dealer could do a lousy job and make a half-dozen mistakes during a hand, but the winner usually gives him a tip. (How many times have you seen a dealer deal a multiway pot perfectly and be toked by someone who didn't win the pot because he did a good job?)

Here is a tipping incident that illustrates my point: I was playing in a pot-limit Omaha game ($25-$50 blinds). Player A was in the big blind with the A A 7 7. Player B had the K K Q 9, and Player C had 10-9-8-6 with the 9 8. Player A had $3,600 in front of him, Player B more than $10,000, and Player C about $5,200.

Player B opened the pot for $100, Player C called, and Player A (in the big blind) made it $400 to go. Both players called. The flop was J 10 7. Player A (with a set and the nut-flush draw) led out for $1,000 and both players called (and, yes, Player C had the "nuts" here, but just called). The 2 came on the turn. Player A moved all in for $2,200. Player B called. Player C also went all in.

The dealer now dealt off the 3. Aaahhh! Player B did not have time to act on Player C's all-in bet of $3,800 (a raise of $1,600) before the card was dealt. While Player C, who would have won the pot with a straight, was moaning about his fate (using some colorful words that are unprintable here), the floorman was called. He allowed Player B to act on his hand and then ruled (correctly) that the dealer must reshuffle the pack and deal another card off for fifth street. That card was the 8, giving Player B the best hand (a bigger straight) and the $14,000 pot.

As Player B was graciously raking in the pot, he picked up a black chip ($100) and pitched it to the dealer. The dealer was rewarded for making a mistake – a mistake that cost Player C a $14,000 pot! We all know dealers are human and mistakes happen. (Those who can't accept that should not play poker.) However, the dealer didn't get his generous toke for being a good dealer; rather, he got it because he made a horrendous blunder. Dealers are toked because they push someone a pot, not because they do a good job.

Attention, all dealers, there is a lesson to be learned here: Always knock the table before dealing off the next street in the higher games, especially in pot-limit and no-limit poker.

Most of us tip because we know it is necessary for dealers to make a decent living. I'm for that.

Take care.