HurricaneMikey
A-List Buffoon
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2002
- Messages
- 5,923
- Trips to Las Vegas
- 25
Sonya and I had a brief conversation this week about something I posted on my website regarding tips, and we agreed that it might be a good idea to share some 'insider' info with all of the members and lurkers here, some of whom may legitimately have no idea about the concept of tipping dealers.
First of all, I don't want this discussion to devolve into a flamewar like I've seen on other boards regarding the very basic notion of if you should even tip the dealers at all. Some people out there unfortunately think that they shouldn't. Nothing we can do about 'stiffs'. They exist, and we deal with it. Luckily the good players outnumber the bad.
I've been working as a casino dealer in Las Vegas for over a year now, and honestly, I love it. It's so far removed from what I used to do--equities trading at a brokerage--and so much more enjoyable, I think I'll probably be here in Vegas until just about the time they push that button and implode the Mirage.
First of all, let me throw it out there for everyone to know. As a dealer, the casino pays me $7 an hour. Yep, seven bucks. And I consider myself an asset because I deal every game in the pit except roulette and baccarat. I started at minimum wage, but due to my mad skillz behind the green felt, they loosened the purse strings a bit. Most dealers make less than that. A majority of dealers in Vegas work for minimum wage.
So how can I afford to live out here? Only one way to do so--on tips, and tips only. Tips are my lifeblood.
If the tips weren't very good, I'd find something else, probably less enjoyable, to do for a living. And I'm not alone--if players didn't tip, all the table games would eventually go away, because casinos wouldn't be able to hire anyone to work 'em. (Besides, they'd rather use the floorspace for much more lucrative slot machines, anyways).
Unfortunately, a lot of visitors coming to Vegas are either inconsiderate of good service, or just don't know any better. I'd like to take the high road and say the latter. So it's my purpose here today to inform.
So, lets say you're new to table games. Just how do you go about tipping the dealers?
Lets start with the more popular games.
Blackjack: Just put a buck or two (or more) directly in front of your bet outside of the circle. The dealer will know that it's for them. If it wins, the dealer will pay you first, then pay his bet. Once all bets are settled, he'll come back and fetch it. Do not commit the major faux pas of grabbing the original buck and trying to take it back. Once that bet is out there and the cards come out, all of that money either belongs to the dealer or the house.
If you're splitting or doubling down, don't forget to double the dealer's bet, also. If you don't, not only will the dealer think you're a cheapskate, so will the other players.
Also, it is customary that if you win a big 4-way split/doubledown hand, to throw the dealer a little something after you've gotten your payoff--especially if he offered advice on the hand.
If you find that the bets for the dealer don't work, by all means, just push a gaming check out and tell him that it's for him. Also, when you color up and have an extra nickel or two and some silver, you can leave that behind, and it will be greatly appreciated.
We can usually spot stiffs a mile away, and anyone that is stiffing the cocktail waitress is certainly not going to throw anything the dealer's way, so if the dealer sees you ignoring the waitresses when they deliver your drink, he's going to do everything in his power to bust you.
Before you ask...there are ways. I will not divulge trade secrets.
Craps: There are a myriad of ways to bet for the dealer in this game--two-way hardways, two-way prop bets, putting the boys on the line. Any and all methods are good. If it's just a buck, we'll take a hardway or a prop bet. Just toss a dollar check out to the stick man and call the bet "Yo for the boys" or "Hard ten for the crew" etc.
If it's five bucks or more, put it on the line next to your bet (and the best players put some odds down for the boys, too, but that is exceedingly generous and usually unexpected). Just let the dealer on your end know that you've got them in action. He will say 'Dealers on the line' for both the stickman and boxman to acknowledge.
Not that a dice crew would do anything illegal or unethical, but I've seen several occasions where hardways accidentally stayed up for players who were betting for the crew when the number came up easy...
Again, when you color up, leave a few bucks behind for the boys when you leave. It sets a good example for the other players, and earns you some good gambling Karma.
One thing to remember--Never try to hand a tip directly to any dealer. Always put it down on the felt, point to it, and say that it's for them. Nothing will get a call down from the Eye faster than a dealer making hand-to-hand contact with a player. That's never good.
Roulette: The best way is to offset a chip on top of your bet on whichever number you're betting--and of course tell the dealer that they're in on the roll. Or just bet a single chip on one of the outside bets--red or black, odd or even, etc (don't forget to alert the dealer that it's their bet--otherwise they'll tell you that you need to bet a minimum of $2 on any outside bet). Of course if you have a big stack on a number and it hits, you're going to get a 35-1 payoff, so you'll see players toss some chips back to the dealer after getting paid. That's always a plus!
Pai Gow and the rest of the Carnival Games: The most common method is to put up a buck in front of the fortune bonus or the play bet (or even better--both!). If the bet is on the regular 'play' bet and pushes, just leave it up--it's extremely cheesy to take down a bet for the dealer if it pushes.
Also, if you get a big bonus--4 of a kind or better, I've found that most players tip around 5% of the payoff, but some generous souls will even give 10%, but that's pretty rare. We don't make a lot of tokes on Pai Gow, but I'm doing my best to change that. Some really generous players throw me a buck every time they win both the bonus and the player hand at the same time. That adds up nicely, too.
As far as the carnival games go--usually a buck out in front of any bonus--like the pairs plus bet in 3-Card. On the WPT poker game, we get bets on the Ante, the hole-card bonus, and the final hand bonus. And if somebody gets a full house or better, I usually drop a few bucks in the toke box.
In Let It Ride, the most common thing to do is put a buck up in front of the third circle for the dealer. That way if you get any hand that pays, they get a little something, too. Of course if you get a monster that includes a bonus, giving the dealer a small slice is generally accepted practice. Not a lot, but if you get an $1100 payoff and throw the dealer a nickel, they'll smile and say thank you, but most of them will come back and ruin my break by bitching about the cheapass on the Let It Ride table. So please, for my sanity, give generously...
As far as Baccarat goes, I have no idea. Just ask the dealer--and be bold! Say Hey, how do I tip you on this game? and I'm sure they'll be more than willing to help.
With any game, as I've mentioned, you can always leave a bit behind when you color up. But if you're on a streak, make sure you take care of the dealer in the middle of it, if only to keep the streak alive. Besides, if you don't, and he gets tapped out for a break without dropping a dime from you, you've just earned a reputation as a stiff--and don't think for a second that the dealer won't go back to the breakroom and tell everyone else what table you're on, what you're wearing, what you look like, and how much you've made so far without taking care of the dealers. Then they'll be gunning for you. And you don't want that.
Re-reading this as I'm typing it, it might sound like I'm trying to shame people into tipping. That's not my intention, but if you feel that way, then maybe you've got a slightly guilty conscience. But Vegas is a town that lives and breathes tips. The only people that work harder for tips than casino dealers are cocktail waitresses and valet parking attendents. Maybe bartenders, too.
Some folks only tip when they're winning. I can understand that outlook, but now that I depend on it, my question to them is, Do you stiff the waitress at the restaurant if your steak doesn't taste good? Remember, the purpose of a tip is to reward good service. (Yeah, I know, a dealer that won't bust is providing poor service, right?)
Granted, some dealers don't provide good service--unfortunately, they are a drag on the rest of us. At my casino, we're on a 24-hour split. Everything that goes in the toke box during that 24 hours is divided up amongst all the dealers who worked that day--from the friendliest blackjack dealer who tripled you up, to the smelly guy with poor manners and bad breath on the dice table who couldn't call a hard way if his life depended on it. It's not ideal, but it's the best compromise I've heard of. Nobody goes table-for-table anymore like in the old days at Binions where a good 4-man dice crew might drop six grand every night...
But I'm ok with it. Some nights on blackjack, I'll drop almost a thousand dollars all by myself. That gets countered when I'm dealing Pai Gow for an entire shift and maybe drop $50 all night. Regardless of the amount, I appreciate every bit of it.
But it all balances out in the end. And remember, quality follows the money. If players are tipping well at a particular casino, word gets out and they attract the best dealers, perpetuating the cycle. If you want the best dealers at your favorite casino, be a generous tipper!
If people stopped tipping, there will be no more table games. And this town will then officially change it's name to Las Harrahs.
And they'll implode a lot more than just the Mirage.
Mikey
First of all, I don't want this discussion to devolve into a flamewar like I've seen on other boards regarding the very basic notion of if you should even tip the dealers at all. Some people out there unfortunately think that they shouldn't. Nothing we can do about 'stiffs'. They exist, and we deal with it. Luckily the good players outnumber the bad.
I've been working as a casino dealer in Las Vegas for over a year now, and honestly, I love it. It's so far removed from what I used to do--equities trading at a brokerage--and so much more enjoyable, I think I'll probably be here in Vegas until just about the time they push that button and implode the Mirage.
First of all, let me throw it out there for everyone to know. As a dealer, the casino pays me $7 an hour. Yep, seven bucks. And I consider myself an asset because I deal every game in the pit except roulette and baccarat. I started at minimum wage, but due to my mad skillz behind the green felt, they loosened the purse strings a bit. Most dealers make less than that. A majority of dealers in Vegas work for minimum wage.
So how can I afford to live out here? Only one way to do so--on tips, and tips only. Tips are my lifeblood.
If the tips weren't very good, I'd find something else, probably less enjoyable, to do for a living. And I'm not alone--if players didn't tip, all the table games would eventually go away, because casinos wouldn't be able to hire anyone to work 'em. (Besides, they'd rather use the floorspace for much more lucrative slot machines, anyways).
Unfortunately, a lot of visitors coming to Vegas are either inconsiderate of good service, or just don't know any better. I'd like to take the high road and say the latter. So it's my purpose here today to inform.
So, lets say you're new to table games. Just how do you go about tipping the dealers?
Lets start with the more popular games.
Blackjack: Just put a buck or two (or more) directly in front of your bet outside of the circle. The dealer will know that it's for them. If it wins, the dealer will pay you first, then pay his bet. Once all bets are settled, he'll come back and fetch it. Do not commit the major faux pas of grabbing the original buck and trying to take it back. Once that bet is out there and the cards come out, all of that money either belongs to the dealer or the house.
If you're splitting or doubling down, don't forget to double the dealer's bet, also. If you don't, not only will the dealer think you're a cheapskate, so will the other players.
Also, it is customary that if you win a big 4-way split/doubledown hand, to throw the dealer a little something after you've gotten your payoff--especially if he offered advice on the hand.
If you find that the bets for the dealer don't work, by all means, just push a gaming check out and tell him that it's for him. Also, when you color up and have an extra nickel or two and some silver, you can leave that behind, and it will be greatly appreciated.
We can usually spot stiffs a mile away, and anyone that is stiffing the cocktail waitress is certainly not going to throw anything the dealer's way, so if the dealer sees you ignoring the waitresses when they deliver your drink, he's going to do everything in his power to bust you.
Before you ask...there are ways. I will not divulge trade secrets.
Craps: There are a myriad of ways to bet for the dealer in this game--two-way hardways, two-way prop bets, putting the boys on the line. Any and all methods are good. If it's just a buck, we'll take a hardway or a prop bet. Just toss a dollar check out to the stick man and call the bet "Yo for the boys" or "Hard ten for the crew" etc.
If it's five bucks or more, put it on the line next to your bet (and the best players put some odds down for the boys, too, but that is exceedingly generous and usually unexpected). Just let the dealer on your end know that you've got them in action. He will say 'Dealers on the line' for both the stickman and boxman to acknowledge.
Not that a dice crew would do anything illegal or unethical, but I've seen several occasions where hardways accidentally stayed up for players who were betting for the crew when the number came up easy...
Again, when you color up, leave a few bucks behind for the boys when you leave. It sets a good example for the other players, and earns you some good gambling Karma.
One thing to remember--Never try to hand a tip directly to any dealer. Always put it down on the felt, point to it, and say that it's for them. Nothing will get a call down from the Eye faster than a dealer making hand-to-hand contact with a player. That's never good.
Roulette: The best way is to offset a chip on top of your bet on whichever number you're betting--and of course tell the dealer that they're in on the roll. Or just bet a single chip on one of the outside bets--red or black, odd or even, etc (don't forget to alert the dealer that it's their bet--otherwise they'll tell you that you need to bet a minimum of $2 on any outside bet). Of course if you have a big stack on a number and it hits, you're going to get a 35-1 payoff, so you'll see players toss some chips back to the dealer after getting paid. That's always a plus!
Pai Gow and the rest of the Carnival Games: The most common method is to put up a buck in front of the fortune bonus or the play bet (or even better--both!). If the bet is on the regular 'play' bet and pushes, just leave it up--it's extremely cheesy to take down a bet for the dealer if it pushes.
Also, if you get a big bonus--4 of a kind or better, I've found that most players tip around 5% of the payoff, but some generous souls will even give 10%, but that's pretty rare. We don't make a lot of tokes on Pai Gow, but I'm doing my best to change that. Some really generous players throw me a buck every time they win both the bonus and the player hand at the same time. That adds up nicely, too.
As far as the carnival games go--usually a buck out in front of any bonus--like the pairs plus bet in 3-Card. On the WPT poker game, we get bets on the Ante, the hole-card bonus, and the final hand bonus. And if somebody gets a full house or better, I usually drop a few bucks in the toke box.
In Let It Ride, the most common thing to do is put a buck up in front of the third circle for the dealer. That way if you get any hand that pays, they get a little something, too. Of course if you get a monster that includes a bonus, giving the dealer a small slice is generally accepted practice. Not a lot, but if you get an $1100 payoff and throw the dealer a nickel, they'll smile and say thank you, but most of them will come back and ruin my break by bitching about the cheapass on the Let It Ride table. So please, for my sanity, give generously...
As far as Baccarat goes, I have no idea. Just ask the dealer--and be bold! Say Hey, how do I tip you on this game? and I'm sure they'll be more than willing to help.
With any game, as I've mentioned, you can always leave a bit behind when you color up. But if you're on a streak, make sure you take care of the dealer in the middle of it, if only to keep the streak alive. Besides, if you don't, and he gets tapped out for a break without dropping a dime from you, you've just earned a reputation as a stiff--and don't think for a second that the dealer won't go back to the breakroom and tell everyone else what table you're on, what you're wearing, what you look like, and how much you've made so far without taking care of the dealers. Then they'll be gunning for you. And you don't want that.
Re-reading this as I'm typing it, it might sound like I'm trying to shame people into tipping. That's not my intention, but if you feel that way, then maybe you've got a slightly guilty conscience. But Vegas is a town that lives and breathes tips. The only people that work harder for tips than casino dealers are cocktail waitresses and valet parking attendents. Maybe bartenders, too.
Some folks only tip when they're winning. I can understand that outlook, but now that I depend on it, my question to them is, Do you stiff the waitress at the restaurant if your steak doesn't taste good? Remember, the purpose of a tip is to reward good service. (Yeah, I know, a dealer that won't bust is providing poor service, right?)
Granted, some dealers don't provide good service--unfortunately, they are a drag on the rest of us. At my casino, we're on a 24-hour split. Everything that goes in the toke box during that 24 hours is divided up amongst all the dealers who worked that day--from the friendliest blackjack dealer who tripled you up, to the smelly guy with poor manners and bad breath on the dice table who couldn't call a hard way if his life depended on it. It's not ideal, but it's the best compromise I've heard of. Nobody goes table-for-table anymore like in the old days at Binions where a good 4-man dice crew might drop six grand every night...
But I'm ok with it. Some nights on blackjack, I'll drop almost a thousand dollars all by myself. That gets countered when I'm dealing Pai Gow for an entire shift and maybe drop $50 all night. Regardless of the amount, I appreciate every bit of it.
But it all balances out in the end. And remember, quality follows the money. If players are tipping well at a particular casino, word gets out and they attract the best dealers, perpetuating the cycle. If you want the best dealers at your favorite casino, be a generous tipper!
If people stopped tipping, there will be no more table games. And this town will then officially change it's name to Las Harrahs.
And they'll implode a lot more than just the Mirage.
Mikey
Last edited by a moderator:
It's hard to look like the newbie and ask "uh.. how do I tip you?" at a table and I think this will help a lot of people. 
But I do find it really frustrating when others at the table, especially those winning, are being total stiffs. They should really look around and see what is the appropriate tipping behavior.
