Blackjack Tipping

Quote: LonesomeGambler

KJ makes a good point from the perspective of a pro player. If you're betting big, even frequent tokes can go completely unappreciated. I recently played a session where I toked the dealer somewhat frequently over the course of three or four hours. At the end, I had increased the dealer toke pool by over $20/hour. Every time I left the table to take a bathroom break or a phone call during the session, both the relief dealer and main shift dealer complained to the other players at the table that I was a cheapskate and that I wasn't toking enough, despite the fact that I was easily toking more than twice the average amount (probably more like 4x) at the table. The following day, the shift dealer even complained to a player that had played with me the night before that I had "won $8000" (not correct) and "didn't even tip $100!" I suppose I should have just kept the money in the first place, eh?

I'm glad they don't talk about us in the break room. :-)

Quote: kulin

I'm sure this question is asked a lot but it also seems to be answered in a lot of ways so I am hoping to get a more definitive answer so I wont feel foolish the next time I am in Vegas. It is important to me to tip the right amount and in the right way without disrupting other players or the dealer.

On the wizardofodds.com site, it says "There is no firm social norm but I suggest about one half your average bet per hour. The smaller your average bet the greater the ratio of tip to bet should be." In other places I have read that you should tip 5 dollars every half hour. In yet other places I have read you should tip 1 to 2 dollars per hand (which I think would come out to a lot more than half of my average hand per hour unless we are playing at a snail's pace).

Going off the general rule of half yer bet per hour and planning to bet $50 per hand that would put me at $25 per hour. I feel that the least disruptive way to bet would be to place a bet for them. So my initial plan would be once every 10 minutes or so to place a 5 dollar bet for the dealer. If I had a miserable dealer, maybe I wouldn't be so worried about tipping every 10 minutes exactly.

My goal is to encourage a friendly dealer and tip frequently enough that I wont accidentally tip in a disproportional way due to dealer rotations. My concerns are that I either wouldn't be tipping enough or that I would be tipping in increments that would make too much additional work for the dealer and should instead do something like place a $15 bet for the dealer every 30 minutes.

In particular I am eager to hear from any dealers out there.

*edit* Also, am I suppose to tip the people who work the cages?

There is a lot more to tipping than I ever realized, as I have learned from reading some of the responses in this thread.

I have a tendency to tip everything at the end, but I'll usually slide the dealer a $5.00 tip if there is a dealer switch.

At the end, I will usually either tip 10% or 5% of my winnings, and the dealer either gets 10% with me, "Paying," 5% or he gets 5% with me, "Paying," 10%. I will usually make a bet for the dealer of 5% of my winnings, and if the hand wins, then that is the tip. If the hand loses, then I will place 5% way outside of the betting circle and say, "No bet, for the dealer."

If I lose I will usually just tip my last $10 in chips and not make a bet either way.

Quote: Mission146

There is a lot more to tipping than I ever realized, as I have learned from reading some of the responses in this thread.

I have a tendency to tip everything at the end, but I'll usually slide the dealer a $5.00 tip if there is a dealer switch.

At the end, I will usually either tip 10% or 5% of my winnings, and the dealer either gets 10% with me, "Paying," 5% or he gets 5% with me, "Paying," 10%. I will usually make a bet for the dealer of 5% of my winnings, and if the hand wins, then that is the tip. If the hand loses, then I will place 5% way outside of the betting circle and say, "No bet, for the dealer."

If I lose I will usually just tip my last $10 in chips and not make a bet either way.

Tipping is a really weird thing and I personally find it very frustrating at times. When I am playing at a 10 or 15 dollar table I ask for 5 whites about once and hour, and bet them. I tend to get a lot of appreciation for these bets as most of the dealers on these lower tables are new. Sometimes a dealer will even say "Thank you for all the bets, have a great night" when they are finishing their shift. On the other hand when I play a $25 table in the "front pit" with the more experienced dealers, it seems that my 1 dollar tips are just a drop in the bucket, especially if there is someone betting black or heavy green that is dropping red every few hands. Sometimes when my bet loses I don't even get a "thanks for the try", which I consider to be a common courtesy when a toke bet loses. If I get a blackjack with my 25 dollar bet and I bet the pink for the dealer this tends to get a little more appreciation. I just find it frustrating at times when dealers don't act appreciative of my tokes. 80% of my play has been at one casino and I feel confident in saying that as a college student I have probably given 1200-1500 to the dealers over the years, sometimes as much as 100 dollars when I am coming in with a 1000 dollar bankroll if I have been doing well over the course of my sessions. I also tip even when I am down which most players don't do. I am a grinder, playing for many hours when I visit the casino, so my tips add up to a lot more than the business man who gives a few reds while playing 25 dollar blackjack for a couple hours. Again some dealers are very thankful, but others seem like they could care less. At my casino the dealers are paid $4 an hour plus tips so I feel obligated to give them some action, but at times I question myself for being generous.

I card count. I normally don't tip.

1) I can choose to not tip, the dealer thinks I am a tight ass.
2) I can choose to tip at a small amount, thus lowering my hourly wage by 5% to 10%. The dealer thinks I am being cheap.
3) I can choose to tip at an acceptable rate to the dealer (at my betting level), thus lowering my hourly wage by 30% to 100%.

If I don't card count but simply to have fun gambling, then some where between $3 to $10 per hour might be worth the money for a more friendly dealer.