# Tipping the Dealer at a Casino **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 13, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-the-dealer-at-a-casino/339863 "2006-01-13T20:03:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-the-dealer-at-a-casino/339863/21 "2006-01-14T20:50:45Z")
What **silenus** said. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Ty\_Cobb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@Ty\_Cobb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ty_Cobb)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-the-dealer-at-a-casino/339863/22 "2006-01-14T21:53:23Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Yes, but they can watch your bets to make sure you have optimal payouts, frown if you are about to take a stupid hit, stuff like that. A friendly dealer makes the game more fun. There is no dynamic quite like a hot craps table with happy, well-tipped dealers. šŸ˜ƒ Oh, really? And they mug when the dice are going to come up with a natural? Iā€™d like to see that one! Tipping at gambling is stupid, but gambling is stupid, so I guess the faster your money burns the less time you spend and the more you have of real life left. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-the-dealer-at-a-casino/339863/23 "2006-01-14T22:21:23Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > There is no dynamic quite like a hot craps table with happy, well-tipped dealers. Iā€™m trying to figure out what they might be dealing. Sounds vaguely illegal (though no doubt fun). ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-the-dealer-at-a-casino/339863/24 "2006-01-14T22:43:33Z")
> [@Ty Cobb](#): > > Oh, really? And they mug when the dice are going to come up with a natural? Iā€™d like to see that one! > > Tipping at gambling is stupid, but gambling is stupid, so I guess the faster your money burns the less time you spend and the more you have of real life left. Umā€¦ Iā€™m pretty sure **silenus** didnā€™t say anything about them predicting the _future_ or anything. But in a game like Blackjack, the deck is stacked against you, and if I have someone like the _dealer_ willing to help me out, Iā€™ll damn sure take it. Plus (and I know what forum weā€™re in, so Iā€™m not saying this with vitriol) your comment about gambling being ā€œstupidā€ sounds like a child who calls something stupid because he canā€™t figure out how it works. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-the-dealer-at-a-casino/339863/25 "2006-01-14T22:45:23Z")
> [@Ty Cobb](#): > > Oh, really? And they mug when the dice are going to come up with a natural? Iā€™d like to see that one! > > Tipping at gambling is stupid, but gambling is stupid, so I guess the faster your money burns the less time you spend and the more you have of real life left. Then please spend your time in different threads if you donā€™t fancy gambling as a form of recreation. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-the-dealer-at-a-casino/339863/26 "2006-01-14T23:19:42Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Iā€™m trying to figure out what they might be dealing. Sounds vaguely illegal (though no doubt fun). The person running the game is still called the dealer even if there are no cards involved (although there is a form of craps which uses cards instead of dice). ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-the-dealer-at-a-casino/339863/27 "2006-01-15T00:26:28Z")
I cashed in a bucket of slot machine quarters at the money counter/cashier booth, and the total was $200.75. She passed me four 50 dollar bills, and the 3 quarters. For no reason, I pushed the three quarters back to her. She thanked me and did the following. She put her hands out palms down, turned them over to palms up, pulled each quarter towards her, one at a time, and dropped them in a box below the table. I asked her what that was all about, and she pointed to the camera above her. Nobody ever trusts the help. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-the-dealer-at-a-casino/339863/28 "2006-01-15T01:36:12Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > But in a game like Blackjack, the deck is stacked against you, and if I have someone like the _dealer_ willing to help me out, Iā€™ll damn sure take it. It sounds like a good thing. But the optimum (which is to say ā€œleast unfavorableā€) Blackjack strategy is easy to grasp and employ. Once youā€™re on board with that, thereā€™s (pretty much by definition) close to nothing that the dealer can legally do to help you. So the notion of tipping amounts to a way to turn a small disadvantage for the player into a bigger one. If it improves ā€œkarma,ā€ that may add to the fun for some. But karma in gambling is a delusion, and not all players are likely to feel itā€™s fun to be deluded (or to feel forced to pretend they are). ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-the-dealer-at-a-casino/339863/29 "2006-01-15T02:43:39Z")
On a $5 craps table, a $1 hardway for the dealers hardly seems like a tip worth offering. I usually toss out a $5 chip and say ā€œdollar each hardway for the dealers, and keep the extra dollar.ā€ Iā€™ve tried several different ways to tip the dealers. Pass, Donā€™t, Come, Place, Hardway, C&Eā€¦none of them are as satisfying as the hardways. Also, on rec.gambling.craps, there were several craps dealers, and when I polled them asking what method of tipping they preferred, they overwhelmingly preferred the hard ways. Oddly, one of their least favorite tips were line bets, as the payout is only 1:1. For a similar reason they disliked being tipped straight up, as a winning tip is usually worth substantially more than the player spent giving it. But on one table, I swear I tipped 5 times in a row without a single penny winning for them, so ever since I always make sure they get at least a guaranteed buck. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tipping-the-dealer-at-a-casino/339863.md?page=1)