To Tip or Not To Tip

Every once in a while the subject of tipping comes up both in poker literature and at the table and opinions have ranged from defending those players who almost never tip to giving ridiculous advice, such as £1-£2 games you should tip the dealers X amount with a small pot and Y amount for a large pot and if you are running bad to tip the dealer before the deal starts...

Now in my opinion there are so many things wrong with those statements.

Of course I appreciate being tipped but do not want to come across as begging, nor do I wish to feel bad when a player suggests that another should be tipping. By tipping you are thanking me for the cards, making out that I’m quasi responsible for them. This opens up a whole can of worms because if the dealer is responsible for the cards and is insistent upon a tip when things go the players way then surely he can be berated at when things don’t quit go the way the player wanted and I’m sure that no Dealer wants to be shouted at. Size of pots are all relative and there should not be a compulsory tip amount and there should not be a formula of the amount to be tipped .What’s more if you are running bad the last thing you want to hear is that you should be tipping!

As a Dealer I can tell you that if players did tip every pot that; a) What would have been a profitable night for a player might turn into a losing night and I would probably be out of a job due to the lack of customers. And b) I would probably be out of a job as I’m sure that there are better dealers who would come in and deal.
Of course there is a simple solution to this sticky problem

Tipping should not be allowed

I believe that casinos (Not card rooms*) should pay their help a decent wage and not expect their customers to do it for them. If this means that the rake (or table charge) goes up a small amount, then I am in favour of it. The extra amount of rake would only be taken out of the large sized pots anyway and would at most equate to a few extra pounds per hour off the players hourly rate, this idea would also apply to tournaments, just charge a little extra juice and then do not allow the winners to tip.
*the reason behind excluding card rooms is that I don’t work in a casino and as I’m writing this I can be biased :P