Is this a home game or an underground game?
Home game = friends.
Underground = strangers, though many may be regulars.
If the answer is home, then the door is wide open to mock and tease the player that doesn't tip. I for one, would understand being down 3 buy-ins, and finally winning a monster and not tipping because the player may be still on tilt (and down 2 buy-ins), so he would not get the cheapass teasing I would deliver to the guy that asked for change while up a couple buy-ins.
That said, I'd rather the dealer fee be taken as a percentage of the cash outs. That way winning players pay more than losing players, felted players pay nothing, and the dealer can earn a relatively predictable amount.
The unraked but dealt games I am referring to (mine and one other) are home games where most regs are good friends who have played together for 10-15 years.
However, the bad tippers (who are common to both games) are almost all newer additions.
These newer regs have “only” been part of the group 1-2 years. One of them was called out for it after forgetting to tip on two successive huge pots, and he did change his ways, but he was the type who could handle criticism.
The worst offender has never really become one of the guys. He’s hugely successful, but kind of clueless about personal relations. Very much accustomed to people doing things for him.
(For example, at my last game he spent half the night quizzing a contractor at the table for free advice on a home improvement problem, not picking up on any obvious cues that the contractor was there to relax and not think about roof leaks or rotted siding for a few hours…)
But as a whale/donator to the game there is hesitancy to call him out the same way longtimers get razzed instantly for the smallest mistake.
Normally the guy who brought him to our two games would be on the hook for alerting him to what’s expected, but I don’t think the sponsor would be comfortable or particularly suited to take on that task.
I know, too much info. But this is the stuff hosts have to navigate.
For my own game, I think I am going to address it first by attaching a friendly notice to the next invite more gently reminding players that decent tips are essential if we want to keep enjoying the comforts of a great dealer. (I could never replace him.)
I may also give them a sense of what my own tipping is like as an example, while not compelling anyone to do anything in particular.
The initial goal would be to avoid embarrassing anyone publicly or making them feel singled out.
But if that hint doesn’t lead to some improvement, then I’ll have to take it up at the table and/or in direct conversations.
