Importance of Tipping

Tipping makes the world go around. When you go to a restaurant, you typically leave a tip. If you don’t, you should. The amount varies by country and customs, but typically runs between 5% and 25%. In poker, it’s the same. Who should you tip, you ask? How about the dealer? What about the floor person who just brought you a cheeseburger with all the fixings? Let’s review some of the basics of tipping in the poker industry.

The Dealer – A dealer works under a very similar situation to a server at your favorite restaurant: Most of their income is derived from tips. When you win a pot at a cash game table, it’s customary to toss a few dollars their way. Yes, this ultimately depends on the size of the pot, but not tipping is a direct snub at the dealer. Oftentimes, players will encourage others to tip if they lapse, which is customary and should not be frowned on. Anywhere between $1 and $5 is sufficient and depends on your table’s stakes and your own bankroll. When you suck out on the river by hitting a two-outer, a little bit more might be acceptable.

Some cash game players choose to give the dealer a tip at the end of a session, although I’ve never approved of that practice if the dealer is not aware of it beforehand. In tournaments, a portion of the prize pool is reserved for dealers. Oftentimes, this is less than 3%, which means that tipping after every hand is not required (besides, what are you going to tip with?). Some event winners will tip on top of their earnings, but that is ultimately up to them and is certainly neither required nor expected.

Floor Staff – I like to think of tipping floor staff the same as being in a restaurant: If someone brings you food or drink, tip them. A cocktail waitress bringing you a beer is worthy of at least a $1 tip. A waiter whom you ordered a bratwurst from is worthy of a 10% to 20% tip depending on your mood. Whether you’ll need cash to tip depends on the setup at the casino, so get change if you need to or feel free to use casino chips if you have them readily available. I’ve learned that cocktail waitresses take casino chips from other gaming establishments, so pay with those as needed. Just remember to tip, otherwise you’re going to be “that guy.”

Floor personnel who seat you and bring you chips typically will not expect a tip unless they seat you ahead of players who were waiting or performed some other extraordinary action. Instead of tipping the cashier at the cage, who is likely being paid by the hour, save your money for the front-line service-oriented staff.

If you’re staying at a hotel, tip the bellman and housekeeping staff as you would normally. Give your bellman at least a dollar for every bag you make him schlep up. Give that hotel staff member who delivered extra towels to your room at 2:00am a few bucks for their effort. If you order seven prime cut steaks at 7:00am to wind down from a night in Las Vegas, give the server a healthy tip when they show up at your suite at the Palms. It’s the exact same tipping structure as you’re used to; just because you’re at a poker tournament doesn’t make it any different.

Finally, tipping to charity is also permitted. In major events like the World Series of Poker (WSOP), the option to donate 1% of your earnings is available. Whether you take advantage of it is up to you, but you can exercise your charity muscles with ease. Before you do, I’d advise learning what percentage of the money donated goes to those who the charity serves.

If you are an online poker player at Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker or any online poker room and would like to donate to charity like some players do when playing at the major casinos, there are many charity organizations that will put your money to good use, share some of your earnings with the not so fortunate.