Tipping points
13 July 2007
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark: I have a problem about tipping
blackjack dealers in the casino. I figure they
get a high enough salary dealing cards, so why
should I feel obliged to tip them, especially
when their job is so easy and they don't do
anything to help me, like tell me what's under
their face or ace when I'm losing? The only
thing I ever get from the dealer is a nasty look
or a sarcastic remark when I light up a
cigarette. Eddie T.
"Easy" in your mind, Eddie, might be performing
tedious mental calculations like counting to 21
and dealing countless hands in a smoke-filled
casino to chain-smoking Lucky Strikes players
like yourself, but the fact remains, the
majority of a dealer's pay comes from minimum
wage and through the gratuities of casino
patrons. As for losing and expectations of help
from a dealer, I hope you wouldn't really expect
the dealer to bend the rules if you decide to
tip. If so, fuhgeddaboutit!
Naturally, Eddie, you are under no obligation to
tip. If you are winning, however, and the dealer
is being courteous and helpful (not to include
cheating), it is customary to show your
appreciation with an occasional gratuity.
The custom of tipping has its roots in England
more than 200 years ago. Samuel Johnson is given
credit for establishing the tradition that has
evolved into the present-day tip. In the 18th
century London coffee houses, Johnson and his
friends would hand their server a slip of paper
with coins attached. On the paper was written,
"To Insure Promptness." The acronym of this
phrase is apparently the origin of the word
"tip."
You could look at tipping, Eddie, as a donation
to "Lady Luck." (Biased thoughts from
someone-that would be me-who was a longtime
compensation-for-service employee.)
Oh and one more thing, Eddie. Drop me a line if
you ever stop smoking. I promise not to call you
a quitter.
Dear Mark: Thanks for the tip on what to watch
for when playing on a "no hole" card blackjack
game. I'm curious though as to if you ever dealt
the game that way, and which do you prefer?
George K.
I've dealt the game both ways, George, and
although the pay-and-take and time between hands
obviously running slower when played without a
hole card, my personal preference was dealing
through a hand without dealing myself one,
simply to derail the too many eddies (see
above), who think they're cute and ask me what
my hole card was, figuring, "what the hell, it
isn't his money, he doesn't care."
Believe me, dealers won't risk their jobs over
yours, Eddie's or anybody else's bet. There's
nothing wrong with asking for advice, but not
after the dealer looks under his or her face or
ace.
Dear Mark: What happens to the blinds when no
one calls them in Hold'em? Tom M.
It sort of depends, Tom, on where you're
playing.
Known as the chop, it is an agreement between
the two players who posted the blinds to have
them returned when no one else enters the pot,
and since many establishments only collect a
rake on hands when there is a flop, by agreeing
to one rather than playing through a hand, you
avoid being subject to that rake.
Although you'll seldom if ever see the chop in a
Hold'em tournament or a casino ring game,
players, myself included, still like this rule
on tables where there is plenty of action,
mostly because you move on to a "real" hand more
quickly.
Incidentally, Tom, in gamblese, chop could also
mean splitting a pot when both players have an
equal hand at the showdown, or, in a High-Low
Split game where the high hand divvies up the
pot with the low hand.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "Nobody is always a
winner and anybody who says he is, is either a
liar or doesn't play poker." Amarillo Slim
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