Poll

5 votes (17.24%)
14 votes (48.27%)
10 votes (34.48%)

29 members have voted

Wizard
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January 31st, 2012 at 10:00:50 AM permalink
It is normal for players to make a bet for the dealers rather than tip them directly. Most dealers correctly thank the player whether the tip wins or loses.

Keeping that in mind, sometimes when I'm playing slots and the cocktail waitress delivers me a drink I won't have proper change to tip her. Let's say my smallest bill is a 20. What I often do in these situations is make the following offer to the waitress, "I don't have any small bills, but if you can guess the last digit in this $20 bill you can have the whole thing."

They will always tender a guess, and be wrong 90% of the time. In these cases I say "Sorry, it was a ___. We'll try again with another one next time." In response I often get the sarcastic thank you, that I'm sure cocktail waitresses have finely honed for when they get stiffed. Other times they suggest where I can go get change, toned in such a way that they will be expecting some of it later.

This isn't just cocktail waitresses. When In was in New Orleans I was watching an outdoor juggling act. When it was clear the act was almost over everyone else made their escape, to avoid tipping. However, I stuck around, offered compliments on the show, and then proceeded to look for a few bucks. I didn't have anything small, so proceeded to make a similar offer. The guy made his guess and lost. After I said "sorry" he proceeded to follow me around, suggesting places I could make change. When it became clear I wasn't going to said places I could hear him insulting me in hushed tones.

So, the question for the forum is if I offer a 10% chance to win $20, and the recipient loses, how much credit in thanks should I get?
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
jml24
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January 31st, 2012 at 10:12:51 AM permalink
I think you should be thanked UNLESS you turn down an immediate offer for change from the waitress. Then you are just cheap. In my experience the waitresses usually have a big pile of bills/chips on their trays and will make change if asked.

I also think there is a difference between doing this in a casino and the juggling act situation because the casino is a gambling environment. However, the juggler was definitely out of line by hounding you after accepting your offer and losing.
miplet
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January 31st, 2012 at 10:15:04 AM permalink
They don't offer options for getting change before guessing? If they guess first, then I think you should get the $2 in thanks.
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DJTeddyBear
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January 31st, 2012 at 10:16:02 AM permalink
Other:

Most waitresses or entertainers that are expecting tips, will also be able to break large bills.

Although you might hate to admit this, some people are NOT gamblers.

If you want to have fun with those people, you can offer a tip, and then a double or nothing wager. Or in the case of the serial number digit, the option of a $2 tip, or the $0 or $20 challenge.

If you don't have the small bills for the tip, then they should get the option of waiting while you find somewhere to break the bill, OR the all or nothing challenge.

---

Regarding dealer toke bets:

These are a different story since you have made the wager, and have lost the money. Had the bet won, it is not you that has to pay the higher price, but the house.

In either case, you paid.

While some dealers aren't gamblers, and would prefer to just get the tip directly, there are plenty that have no love for their employer, and love to have the chance to stick it to the man, even if it's just for a couple bucks.
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slyther
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January 31st, 2012 at 10:16:58 AM permalink
Don't the waitresses usually have a cup full of change/chips on their tray?
I've never worked in a tipped position but I'd imagine I wouldn't give you $2 worth of "thanks credit" either.
Nareed
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January 31st, 2012 at 10:23:17 AM permalink
I often have that problem tipping the children (yes, children) who pack bags at the supermarket. The usual tip is two pesos per bag. What I do is ask for change, when I have nothing smaller than a 20 peso bill.
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UCivan
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January 31st, 2012 at 10:40:20 AM permalink
Quote: DJTeddyBear

Although you might hate to admit this, some people are NOT gamblers.

Most people are NOT gamblers, they just want to make a simple living: providing good services and getting paid / thanks for it. $1 or $2 each can pile up.
thecesspit
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January 31st, 2012 at 10:45:42 AM permalink
Quote: UCivan

Most people are NOT gamblers, they just want to make a simple living: providing good services and getting paid / thanks for it. $1 or $2 each can pile up.



A one shot 10% chance at $20 is not the same as 100% of $2, even if the EV is the same.
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
P90
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January 31st, 2012 at 10:47:04 AM permalink
Quote: Wizard

Let's say my smallest bill is a 20. What I often do in these situations is make the following offer to the waitress, "I don't have any small bills, but if you can guess the last digit in this $20 bill you can have the whole thing."

So, the question for the forum is if I offer a 10% chance to win $20, and the recipient loses, how much credit in thanks should I get?


You should get credit for wasting her time if she loses, and credit for $20 and some George points if she wins.
A bet for the dealer is different, as dealers get enough bets for them for the outcomes to average out.

I'm not in the service industry, but that's the credit I would give you if I helped you in a way that warranted more than a thanks (say, tweaked your car's ECU for an extra 50 bhp) and that was the payment.

On the other hand, if I offered you to compete for it, in a way that I preferred (and I can see myself making such an offer), whether it is a game of skill or chance, then I would give you credit for the entire expected value.

The difference is that with you and the waitress, you are gambling, and in the hypothetical situation with you and me, I am gambling.
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jml24
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January 31st, 2012 at 10:51:40 AM permalink
Agreed that some people are not gamblers, but for a cocktail waitress, the Wizard's offer is an excellent deal. If everyone made this offer they would be collecting an average of $2 per drink and the 10% payoff rate is large enough that the variance would be very low over a week of tips. I am guessing the typical waitress delivers at least 30 drinks per hour which would average $480 in tips over an 8 hour shift if everyone tipped by the Wizard's gambling method. If there any any cocktail waitresses reading they can correct me but my guess is the real life average tip is much less than $1. There are occasional big tippers, but there are also a lot of stiffs.

My point being, any waitress that accepted this offer should be VERY appreciative, win or lose, because she should be encouraging everyone to do it.
Wizard
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January 31st, 2012 at 10:52:33 AM permalink
To the four of you who voted I should get no credit/thanks, let me say that if I see a cup with a lot of small bills on the tray, I will ask if she can make a large bill. However, lots of times I don't notice one, there are lots of drinks on the tray, she seems in a hurry, or for some other reason breaking a large bill just seems like a big inconvenience. My opinion is that if the waitress isn't willing to give me proper credit for the opportunity then she shouldn't hazard a guess in the first place. This never happens. I feel if she makes a guess, which they always do, she is accepting the offer to wager her tip.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
bigfoot66
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January 31st, 2012 at 11:00:44 AM permalink
I think that most people do not view gambling the way that the people on this forum do. It is traditional to tip the dealer with a bet so the dealer appreciates the thought more. However I bet many dealers probably don't think in terms of EV either and see it as no gain when the bet loses. While you are "deserving" of "credit" for a $2 tip I think most cocktail waitresses will not see it that way. The way most people view gambling I think you are setting yourself up for the worst of both worlds here. The waitress will see you as a stiff if she loses and she will credit her own wise decision making if she guesses correctly and gets the whole $20.
From a 'moral' standpoint you absolutely deserve credit for the EV of whatever offer you make. However from a practical standpoint I think that you will get better service if you demand change from her and give her the $2.
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DJTeddyBear
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January 31st, 2012 at 11:04:46 AM permalink
Quote: jml24

If everyone made this offer they would be collecting an average of $2 per drink ...
...my guess is the real life average tip is much less than $1. There are occasional big tippers, but there are also a lot of stiffs.

Yeah, but if thid tip challenge trend ever started, then there would be guys doing it with $10 bills.

Hell, there might be guys doing it with $5 bills, on the assumption that a typical tip is 50¢.

In the end, all you're doing is causing the cocktail service to be slower than it already is.
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P90
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January 31st, 2012 at 11:16:09 AM permalink
Quote: Wizard

I feel if she makes a guess, which they always do, she is accepting the offer to wager her tip.


You can make that argument, but, like I said before, it's still about who is gambling.

Illusion of control plays a large part in the psychology of gambling. That's why there were machines with "skill stops", why modern slots still wait for you to press the button, why video slots offer mini-games. The minimum amount of control in gambling people need is to make the gamble themselves.

Offer casino regulars a straight-up $100 bill or $150 in freeplay, and most will be way more attracted by the former, even if they are going to spend it on the same slot machine tomorrow anyway. With you and the waitress, you are wagering the tip and then giving the proceeds to her. As to why the offer is accepted, it can be "better than nothing", since you don't have to tip at all.

In either case, most people only enjoy a gamble when it's their choice, not when it's cast upon them. The same person can pay to insure an item worth $1,000 at -EV, and the same day go to a casino wagering another $1,000 there.
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MakingBook
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January 31st, 2012 at 11:21:46 AM permalink
I think the Wizard's offer was fair. When I make a bet for the dealer and it loses, they NEVER get pissed off. I fail to see much difference?
"I am a man devoured by the passion for gambling." --Dostoevsky, 1871
Doc
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January 31st, 2012 at 11:49:39 AM permalink
Quote: MakingBook

I think the Wizard's offer was fair. When I make a bet for the dealer and it loses, they NEVER get pissed off. I fail to see much difference?

I suspect one big difference is that dealers are accustomed to receiving no tip at all on most rolls of the dice or most hands of cards they deal, perhaps even no tip from a lot of players for an entire session. For you to place a wager for them and it to lose, well, that's about the norm, so they don't get pissed. On the other hand, a waitress is probably accustomed to receiving some kind of tip from almost every customer every time she delivers something. To wind up getting nothing at all, even if she had a tiny chance of getting a very good tip, would likely seem similar to getting stiffed straight off.
RoyalBJ
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January 31st, 2012 at 11:50:29 AM permalink
If dealers poll tips, no individual dealer should accept / decide on "betting" any tips which is in fact everyone's money. - just a separate subject. Back to this very subject, dealers and waitresses have different business models. Go figure it out.
AcesAndEights
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January 31st, 2012 at 12:31:01 PM permalink
Quote: bigfoot66

I think that most people do not view gambling the way that the people on this forum do. It is traditional to tip the dealer with a bet so the dealer appreciates the thought more. However I bet many dealers probably don't think in terms of EV either and see it as no gain when the bet loses. While you are "deserving" of "credit" for a $2 tip I think most cocktail waitresses will not see it that way. The way most people view gambling I think you are setting yourself up for the worst of both worlds here. The waitress will see you as a stiff if she loses and she will credit her own wise decision making if she guesses correctly and gets the whole $20.
From a 'moral' standpoint you absolutely deserve credit for the EV of whatever offer you make. However from a practical standpoint I think that you will get better service if you demand change from her and give her the $2.


I voted no and agree with this reasoning. I doubt most cocktail waitresses understand what EV even means.

In a perfectly logical world you deserve thanks, but the world is not so, and given the context and audience, I understand their position if they don't thank you.
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RaspberryCheeseBlintz
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January 31st, 2012 at 1:32:19 PM permalink
You should get credit for some amount less than $2, since you are asking them to take higher than normal variance.
EvenBob
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January 31st, 2012 at 2:02:10 PM permalink
From the waitresses POV, she thinks A, You're trying
to be cute and B, You're trying to weasel out of giving
her a tip. Neither is good if you expect fast drink service.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
thecesspit
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January 31st, 2012 at 2:09:25 PM permalink
Quote: RaspberryCheeseBlintz

You should get credit for some amount less than $2, since you are asking them to take higher than normal variance.



+++
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
Woldus
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January 31st, 2012 at 2:12:57 PM permalink
I spend most of my time in the Poker room and it seems like 90% of the drinks delivered get toked a buck at least. In fact I usually have people at the table craning their necks to find a waitress that they'll happily give $1 or $2 for a drink. I've also never seen a waitress that couldn't break a $20. Are poker players better tippers?

When my wife and I play table games we ask the dealer how they'd like to be tipped...directly or with a bet. Seems pretty common for them to want you to make a bet... If I was a delaer I'd want the player to tip with a bet - if they hit a bonus I'm up a lot - if not it was their money not mine. Deal another winning hand and let them bet for me again.
EvenBob
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January 31st, 2012 at 2:13:04 PM permalink
Its really only fair if you offer them a $2 tip
OR a guess on the $20. If one in 10 get it
right, it works out the same for you anyway.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
NicksGamingStuff
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January 31st, 2012 at 2:45:39 PM permalink
Here is the difference in my opinion: Dealers appreciate the wager because it shows thought, last night I had players betting 50 cents to a dollar on almost every hand for me last night and I made about $200 for the tip pool. The tip pool is the difference, since tips are pooled the tip itself is less personal to the dealer. For the drink people they go for their own so every tip they do not get costs them money because they are taxed on each drink they serve as an expected tip.
Johnzimbo
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January 31st, 2012 at 3:11:30 PM permalink
I voted for the $2 in expected value but then I am able to do basic probabilities in my head. I guess if I wasn't able to, then I might have voted differently.

Wiz, when they guess wrong do you show them the serial # so they know you aren't scamming them? If not, they may feel that you are a lowlife who doesn't tip
zippyboy
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January 31st, 2012 at 4:05:49 PM permalink
Why are you even ordering a beer at all if you know you have no dollars in your pocket? Why don't you just go to the bill changer first if you're so ill-prepared?

And how is it that you repeatedly have no dollar bills with you?
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AZDuffman
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January 31st, 2012 at 4:08:37 PM permalink
I hear where you are coming from, but I see two problems with your approach.

First, waitresses do not think in terms of "EV." Few people in casinos think like we do. See my George McGovern "but everyone I know voted for him" examples here on the board. The waitress sees herself getting $20 or nothing.

Second, as somone else said, you might be coming off as some kind of "cute" customer she sees 10 times a day and after she gets the first one then throws down some other challenge.

In your defense, I am sure this is not true, and a good waitress should have enough change to break down a $20. Only way she might not is if she just broke down others and the cashier at the bar would not give her change. (Here in PA at Rivers no employee may have even a personal penny on them at any time.)
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minnesotajoe
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January 31st, 2012 at 4:22:18 PM permalink
At my first casino, it was not required but expected for the poker dealers to tip the cage at the end of the shift. The 'standard' tip was 3$

Well, I decided to start 'a game' like the Wizard did. I told the cage as I handed them my box they had two options:

1. I would tip 3$ right now
2. THEY picked EVEN or ODD on what my total amount of tokes would be. If they guessed right, I'd tip 5$. If they guessed wrong, they got zero.

My logic was they should pick correct 50% of the time.. so I'd end up essentially tipping 2.50$ per day.. therefore saving myself 50 cents per shift.
---------
As for the Wizard... if the cocktail waitress did not offer to make change before accepting the 20 or Nothing challenge, then she SHOULD NOT expect a tip. However, I am certain that over 50% will give some sort of attitude
Tiltpoul
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January 31st, 2012 at 4:53:15 PM permalink
I also voted Other... most of the reasons have been stated here, but now I'm going to add my 2 cents (pun intended)...

I kind of think the offer, while generous in the long-term, is really kind of bad in the short term. If a cocktail waitress is not willing to make change, they don't deserve a tip... they are in the SERVICE industry, and any reasonable request in the construct of the job is to be expected. If it involves her (or his, we REALLY need to be PC since more than ever I've seen male cocktail servers) tip, she should be MORE than willing to make change.

To be honest, if I don't have money (or correct change) to tip the waitress, I DON'T ORDER THE DRINK!! If I decide I want one, I haul my butt over to the change machine and make change for myself. Then I go back to my machine and order my drink then. I know it's easier in the Midwest, as Total Touch is now the norm in Caesars properties. Still, if I'm not ready to tip, then I don't get a drink.

It's the same with eating at restaurants on comps. I will always make change before going to a buffet or cafe so I can tip properly. I might actually undertip a bit for a buffet, but I always try to leave at least 15% where service is premium (i.e. sit-down restaurant).

As others pointed out, some people aren't gamblers. Not to derail the thread, but when a dealer is giving me a hard time about not betting bonuses, I will ask him/her, for their tip, if they want it on the higher paying, higher HE bet. Some say yes, some say no. But I always ask. Occasionally, if the dealer has explicitly said they don't gamble, then I ask if they even want to bet the tip. Some will drop it right then.

It's a very nice gesture, in the long-run. But cocktail servers don't live in the long run... or at least they don't see it that way.
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JohnnyQ
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January 31st, 2012 at 4:56:03 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

Keeping that in mind, sometimes when I'm playing slots and the cocktail waitress delivers me a drink I won't have proper change to tip her. Let's say my smallest bill is a 20. What I often do in these situations is make the following offer to the waitress, "I don't have any small bills, but if you can guess the last digit in this $20 bill you can have the whole thing."



So I think the next logical experiment here would be to for the Wiz
to have a dollar bill AND a 20 ready when the waitress comes by.

AND if it is a slow enough time where she can talk for a few
seconds, ask her which she would prefer. I think you might
have to give her 2 guesses before she takes you up on the
guessing offer. You could even tell her you are doing an
experiment on human behavior.
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Wizard
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January 31st, 2012 at 6:04:10 PM permalink
Quote: Johnzimbo

Wiz, when they guess wrong do you show them the serial # so they know you aren't scamming them? If not, they may feel that you are a lowlife who doesn't tip



Yes, I always show them. Often they look at it suspiciously, as if I'm luring them into some kind of trick.

Quote: zippyboy

Why are you even ordering a beer at all if you know you have no dollars in your pocket? Why don't you just go to the bill changer first if you're so ill-prepared? And how is it that you repeatedly have no dollar bills with you?



Take is easy. This exclusively happens at video poker machines. I don't like to break my stride and abandon my machine to look for a change machine, which may or may not have a line.

To everyone who said that cocktail waitress always carry around plenty of money to make change, seldom do they offer to do so. I would say that 20% of the time they do offer to make change instead, which I happily go along with, and tip $2. However, most of the time they go along with my proposition and tender a guess.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
shupe03a4
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January 31st, 2012 at 6:05:42 PM permalink
I think your offer is more than fair.
I have started arguments with my friends who have worked as servers, I never have. My opinion is that an employee should EXPECT his/her employer to pay the wages. Not the customer you are serving.
If you take a job in a service position and expect tips, then don't you also have an expectation built in that a few or more people who might not tip??

Wiz, That is why i think you were being generous, I work hard to earn my money and if somebody offered me 1 in 10 shot to get $20 for 30 seconds of effort(while doing your job), I would be thanking you.

MinnJoe- the tip money for taxes is withheld and adjusted later, right?? not an average?
EvenBob
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January 31st, 2012 at 6:23:58 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

To everyone who said that cocktail waitress always carry around plenty of money to make change, seldom do they offer to do so. .



Old old waitress trick. Most of the time if they
say they can't make change, they get the
whole bill as a tip. Sometimes they don't. Its
also time consuming to make change. A
waitress is only there to make tips. Not to
deliver drinks, not to make small talk, all
she thinks about is the bottom line. Its a
shitty job.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
Johnzimbo
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January 31st, 2012 at 6:41:41 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

Yes, I always show them. Often they look at it suspiciously, as if I'm luring them into some kind of trick.

Ahh, so THIS is the famous $20 trick I keep hearing about

Also, back in the pre-TITO days I would often take 5 quarters and place them in the neighboring video poker machine when the waitress delivered my drink and tell her "your tip is you get to play this hand and keep any winnings". One time on joker poker it dealt a full house and she got $8.75

teddys
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January 31st, 2012 at 7:59:26 PM permalink
I would just stiff them if I don't have a dollar. So what? They often don't even give you a dirty look; they just walk away. It is part of the job. But most of the time, I tip.

The last time I played with the Wizard and we played the $1/$5 trivia game, I could tell one of the waitresses was pissed when she only got $1. In the spirit of the game, I joined in, but it is not something I would do on my own. I felt bad about it.

I've often given large bills to waitresses to break for me. I think I even gave one a $100 once. In retrospect, this may have been naive of me.

Quote:

Also, back in the pre-TITO days I would often take 5 quarters and place them in the neighboring video poker machine when the waitress delivered my drink and tell her "your tip is you get to play this hand and keep any winnings". One time on joker poker it dealt a full house and she got $8.75

I like that!
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odiousgambit
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February 1st, 2012 at 4:53:05 AM permalink
I think she would expect you to be generous, as you are asking her to play a game. You could tell her to get $19 in change, or take a guess to get the whole $20. That way your average tip should go down to $1.50, so you benefit, but she can still get a tip.
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boymimbo
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February 1st, 2012 at 6:41:25 AM permalink
If the waitress takes the bet, then it's a fair bet. Naturally, the waitress will give you a dirty look as she really wants that tip and thinks that her feminine charm will make you part with the money anyway.

The way she sees it, you're willing to part with $20. Your bet is arbitrary. You could have easily made the bet: "guess ANY number in the serial number", to which her odds of winning are much higher. You could have said "if you get it wrong, I'll give you the $20". When $20 is presented, that's the potential win and gives her great hope -- she expects somewhere between $0.25 and a $1 from most patrons, maybe a $2 generous tip if she isn't in the high roller room or isn't standing next to someone who just won a jackpot.

So, naturally, when she doesn't get the potential win, she's (rightfully) disappointed. It's a fair bet. But the dirty look and the ensuing guilt that you may be feeling (since you posted about it) might make you present a $10 bill next time and say: "guess any number" or a different $20 with the get "come within one of the serial number" or entice you to go to the change machine and make up for the last loss by giving her double the tip ($4) next time.

So, go to a change machine, get some $1s, and because you are a gamer, offer her $1 and offer her another $1 for a trivia question.
----- You want the truth! You can't handle the truth!
Ayecarumba
Ayecarumba
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February 1st, 2012 at 3:29:24 PM permalink
Accepting the bet means taking a risk on getting nothing. You should not feel bad about that. How often do you get counter offers on the terms? I suspect most CW's do not spend much time working out their game theory (aside from not displaying change in hope of getting a big bill).

However, I think it unwise to tick off those who control the cleanliness of my food.
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication - Leonardo da Vinci
buzzpaff
buzzpaff
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February 1st, 2012 at 3:32:15 PM permalink
Take that $20 bill and but 10 $2 scratch tickets.
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