Page 12 - Jackpot Magazine Tunica ~ November, 2023

PLAY TO WIN
Several ways to tip at the blackjack table
“Tipping should never be seen as an obligation, but rather an opportunity to
change your luck or the
odds. So what’s in it for
you if you decide to tip?
Basically, it ensures that
you will have a friendly
and helpful dealer. For most players, having a good time with a friendly dealer is reason enough to tip.
If you are an average player, I suggest making a tip early on in your playing session to a dealer that is trying to make players comfortable. But what if you end up with sourpuss dealer (and I’ve had more than my fair share during my playing career)? Easy, just don’t tip. In fact, my advice is to get off the table and play elsewhere.
How to tip: There are two common ways that most players tip a dealer. First is to simply place a chip on the layout at any time and tell the dealer “this is for you.” Most players who tip this way do so at the end of their playing session after they have colored up their chips.
The second way to tip is to make a bet for the dealer on your hand. This way, the dealer will have a stake in the outcome and root for you to
win.
Here’s how to
make a tip bet. Suppose you make a $5 bet by placing a red chip in the betting
area. Say you also want to make a $1 bet for the dealer. To do so, place a white chip just outside of the betting area. If your hand wins, the dealer will pay off the red chip with another and ditto for the white chip. After he clears the table of all the losing bets, he will pick up the two white chips, and then place the two chips in the toke box. By making a tip bet, your $1 bet for the dealer turned into a $2 toke for him.
There is a downside to making a tip
bet. If your hand loses, the dealer receives no tip (he will scoop up the red and white chips and place them in the casino
chip rack; essentially the chip that you bet for the dealer now becomes part of the casino bank). However, even if the hand loses, most dealers still appreciative the player’s gesture.
Recommended way to tip: This is a less common way, but it is what I consider to be a better way to tip the dealer. Instead of placing your tip bet outside of the betting area, place it on top of your bet (inside the betting area).
Let’s assume you bet $5 on the hand and you placed a white chip on top of your bet. If the hand wins the dealer will pay you a red chip and a white chip. You then give the dealer one white chip representing the win from the extra chip you bet on the hand.
Notice the difference between the two ways of making a tip bet for the dealer. Essentially, bets made outside of the betting area are controlled by the dealer, as opposed to bets made inside, which are controlled by the player. When you place your chip outside, the dealer will pay himself if the hand wins and earn $2 (he keeps the original $1 you bet for him plus the $1 won on the hand). If, instead, you place the tip bet inside and the hand wins, the dealer pays you (not himself). You, then, turn around and give the dealer the $1 won for the $1 bet on the hand for him.
This method of tipping saves you 50 percent of the money you give to the dealers and gives you the option of betting the $1 again on the next hand (in fact, I usually let the chip ride until I lose a hand).
And, it is perfectly acceptable to base your tips on how much you are betting. If you are a $5 player, I suggest a $1 or $2 tip bet for the dealer. If you are a $25 bettor, making a $5 tip bet would be appropriate.
Play To Win Again
The Best of... Series
reward excellent service.”
— Anonymous
Regular readers of this space know that my father was an avid blackjack player. He also believed in rewarding good service. Not everyone knows that players can do just that at the blackjack table, as tipping is not just for waiters and valet personnel, but also for casino dealers.
Now, when the words “good service” are said in reference to a blackjack experience, it is important to note that it doesn’t just meaning winning. Believe it or not, someone can win hand after hand and if the dealer is grumpy, sloppy or just plain rude, well, that makes for a bad experience and it’s what’s known as bad service.
Gaming expert Henry Tamburin, author of many best-selling books on gambling including Blackjack: Take the Money and Run, shared his thoughts on tipping at the blackjack table as well as his
expectations for dealers.
Some of what Tamburin
expects from a dealer is
that they should smile, be friendly, wish him good
luck when he gets his chips,
and not be indifferent if he
or any player at the table
asks a question. He added
dealers usually will try their
best when they see a player tipping.
In the column he penned for Jackpot!, Tamburin explained the best way to tip. A tip, by the way, is also known as a toke in the casino industry. Let’s see what he says:
Many blackjack players feel uneasy about tipping a dealer because they don’t know when to tip, how much to tip, and or even how to go about giving a tip. My recommendations may surprise you.
Why tip? Tipping won’t miraculously
12 JACKPOT! MAGAZINE November 2023
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