Tipping in a Dedicated Dealt Game (4 Viewers)

I agree with most here that if you’re playing and dealing people will less likely tip you.
The host of the weekly game I play in collects $5 from everyone at the start which still probably doesn’t cover his costs. He provides water, seltzer, pretzels, cookies, hot dogs (on the roller), lollipops, etc…. It would be ridiculous for players to not want to donate $5. And if they have a problem with that then I wouldn’t want them there. Some bring booze, some don’t. I’ll usually throw in a bottle of bourbon for the crew every other month or if I win big the previous week.
Even with that if I’m up I’ll leave my spare $1-$4 for the host. If I’m up a few hundred I’ll give a little more if he is down in the session. A lot has to do whether he is up or down.

Especially with your stakes I think the $5 up front will far outweigh tips. People like you are what allow people like us to enjoy a fun night out of cards and BS’ing. A beer at a bar or a coffee at Starbucks is more than $5. Most tip the valet and food delivery $3-$5. If they can do that for you I see a problem.

Your players don’t know how lucky they are to have you.
Good luck!
 
merkong said:
My apologies but my thread never talked about a playing dealer putting the tips into their stack.
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Do you have these people on ignore?

glynn said:
I deal my own and some other games. Mid-game tips are tapped on the felt with a "thank you" and go directly into my stack.
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casinochipper22 said:
I'm assuming you're playing the game as well and dealing yourself in? If that is the case, personally I wouldn't tip you during the game. I don't tip someone I'm playing against. That doesn't make much sense to me and kinda awkward.
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Machine said:
agree with @casinochipper22, if you're playing in the game and dealing, I would likely not tip you. I would also expect lower stakes games to pass the deal.
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Machine said:
It is not 'good form' to tip someone that is dealing and playing, it IS good form to donate for food or to the game.
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GetUrShineBox said:
I agree with most here that if you’re playing and dealing people will less likely tip you.
The host of the weekly game I play in collects $5 from everyone at the start which still probably doesn’t cover his costs. He provides water, seltzer, pretzels, cookies, hot dogs (on the roller), lollipops, etc…. It would be ridiculous for players to not want to donate $5. And if they have a problem with that then I wouldn’t want them there. Some bring booze, some don’t. I’ll usually throw in a bottle of bourbon for the crew every other month or if I win big the previous week.
Even with that if I’m up I’ll leave my spare $1-$4 for the host. If I’m up a few hundred I’ll give a little more if he is down in the session. A lot has to do whether he is up or down.

Especially with your stakes I think the $5 up front will far outweigh tips. People like you are what allow people like us to enjoy a fun night out of cards and BS’ing. A beer at a bar or a coffee at Starbucks is more than $5. Most tip the valet and food delivery $3-$5. If they can do that for you I see a problem.

Your players don’t know how lucky they are to have you.
Good luck!
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I think all players are lucky to have their hosts.

The money is such an insignificant part of this situation and thread that I refrain from having players contribute up front. I don’t do good and beverage beyond water and soda.

My players are in survival mode. Lol

Their big gain is the venue, equipment, oversight, and exacting regularity the game runs.

It was their idea to be provided with a chance to send support to the game during play. I’m only entertaining it.

It’s my hobby. I have no issue with what’s involved or I wouldn’t do it. I mean even at $5 a head that doesn’t really change anything in terms of how much you have to love doing it to do it out of your own pocket.

And yes to all of us “Hug your home game host!”
 
ekricket said:
Do you have these people on ignore?
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I do not. Coffee?

My apologies but I don’t recall you quoting the individuals that were speaking away from the basic premise of the thread when you commented.

It is a thread that I instigated and a playing dealer stacking chips is not germane to the thread.
 
merkong said:
I do not. Coffee?

My apologies but I don’t recall you quoting the individuals that were speaking away from the basic premise of the thread when you commented.
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Yea, you might drink a few cups to get going this morning. Here’s a screen shot of the only reply I made until you accosted me. You might note that I replied to casinochipper’s post

8B394BCB-B172-4A7D-BB26-89AB5F3BB554.png
 
Well, I think we covered this adequately.

Every host is free to run their games as they see fit. Some go for the monthly feast and some go for the twice weekly BYOB.

The bottom line is that as players we should be looking for a mechanism to support the game financially and as hosts we need to provide a clear and non-authoritarian way for players to comfortably contribute as they’re comfortable.

Good luck to all of us!
ekricket said:
Yea, you might drink a few cups to get going this morning. Here’s a screen shot of the only reply I made until you accosted me. You might note that I replied to casinochipper’s post

View attachment 1066006
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im sorry if you feel like I accosted you.
 
Look, if you want to feel good about asking for money to host then just feel good about it, you don’t need our blessing. If your group is wanting it why are you asking us about it?
I don’t have any problems giving a host some money to help defray costs.
I have a problem (but I shouldn’t) tipping a playing dealer. It’s just a hangup, not a character defect.
I do reply to conversations that I find interesting, even if they are off topic from the OP.
Welcome to PCF. Once you are here a while you will get the hang of it.

I think we’ve covered this adequately. You can close this thread now apparently.
 
This was my next post but I had to cut it and search for how to close a thread. (Still didn’t find it. You know being “new and inexperienced and not having a handle on things.”)

Please weigh in on closing the thread.

“Well, I think we covered this adequately.

Every host is free to run their games as they see fit. Some go for the monthly feast and some go for the twice weekly BYOB.

The bottom line is that as players we should be looking for a mechanism to support the game financially and as hosts we need to provide a clear and non-authoritarian way for players to comfortably contribute as they choose.

Good luck to all of us!”
 
@merkong - We have had very in-depth discussions about legalities of running a poker game, which isn't easy with different state laws. Typically, the ambiguity of 'tipping' could change the status of a legal game to illegal. We would need to define 'tipping' in a specific context to have discourse of if it changes the status of the game for you.

I was trying to help by delineating 2 different contrasts.
1) Tipping someone dealing and playing in a game - its not for me, and I think this will be the most common reaction - I also run a game and it is nice if others show appreciation by donations. Donations pre or post game would likely have no impact on the status of the game.

2) Explain that there are some trigger words for the forum as a whole that will go over easier, and will help locally as well.

One conversation that seems often taboo is discussing a rake, how it works and what nots of raked game. I have always only had raked games available locally, so it doesn't bother me, I don't do it for my home game, but I do like to go over the top with hosting. So I do provide crazy amounts of food, I'm a foodie.

I personally would never ask for donations, but if someone asks about it or offers I try to graciously accept.
 
merkong said:
This was my next post but I had to cut it and search for how to close a thread. (Still didn’t find it. You know being “new and inexperienced and not having a handle on things.”)

Please weigh in on closing the thread.

“Well, I think we covered this adequately.

Every host is free to run their games as they see fit. Some go for the monthly feast and some go for the twice weekly BYOB.

The bottom line is that as players we should be looking for a mechanism to support the game financially and as hosts we need to provide a clear and non-authoritarian way for players to comfortably contribute as they choose.

Good luck to all of us!”
Click to expand...
I wouldn't try to end a conversation because you don't like where it went, others may weigh in down the road, or change their minds; Its a community, no one is flaming or being excessively rude.

Let it be, let it be, whisper words of wisdom, let it be...
 
merkong said:
Playing dealers can’t stack tips. That’s not even part of any conversation.
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Of course they can. It’s not standard but it happens all the time.
merkong said:
I do deal and play but it’s clear that the tips are intended to support the game, exercise good form.
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You say that, but you’ve kind of made a big deal about being the dedicated dealer. Combine that with the fact that you want people to tip AFTER EACH HABD, and it definitely feels like you want to be tipped for dealing (and also for hosting.). I say this only because if it feels like this as a reader, it may also feel like that to your players.
And I say that because I’ll rarely tip a host for dealing. Microstakes home games are meant to be self dealt in my mind, and if the host wants to do all the dealing, that’s up to him, but I won’t reward him for it.

As far as tipping the host? Yeah I get it. I host and it’s nice to get tips. I try to tip the host when it’s somebody else’s house. But personally I’d never put out a tip jar. It just feels like begging or charging (which isn’t any way to treat your guests in my mind.) And really, your hope or expectation that the winner tips after every hand and that money disappears from the table - it feels like a rake.
 
And FWIW, if I think about how much I’m tipped on average by my guests on any given night, and then compare that to how much I’d get if I caught a small blind tip on each hand, yeah getting tipped each hand would probably generate 3x-5x more profits. So yes if you can get your guests to tip after each hand, you’ll probably make a lot more money.
 
merkong said:
My apologies but my thread never talked about a playing dealer putting the tips into their stack.
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From your own OP:
merkong said:
The chips would stay out of play (duh)
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It's disingenuous to say that your thread never talked about doing something because it only talked about not doing that same thing. I was responding directly to that line in your post. @ekricket is right.

As others have pointed out, it is not obvious in a "duh" way that tips would stay out of play. It would almost always be legal in my games to top off with those chips anyway, for instance.
 
casinochipper22 said:
I don't tip someone I'm playing against. That doesn't make much sense to me and kinda awkward.
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I'm honestly surprised and delighted when players tip me, as it's no secret that I selfishly deal to keep the game moving fast and smoothly. Maybe you've been blessed, but our average player is not good at dealing, and the game will move (crawl) at that player's pace.

Turns out, the other players enjoy the same benefit! I hear you about the awkwardness though. We are talking about hyper-local norms here, so every micro-culture will be different.
 
Is the purpose of the tip jar a way to promote the “good form” of tipping, or a way to help defray the costs of hosting?

If the latter, why not just mention to the players that hosting is expensive and if people don’t chip in, you’ll have to run the games less often? I feel like you’ll get more $ this way anyway.

As explained in the OP and subsequent posts, the tip jar idea seems like a passive-aggressive way to collect a host/hospitality fee (at best), or to collect a rake (at worst).
 
ChipFinderSK said:
As explained in the OP and subsequent posts, the tip jar idea seems like a passive-aggressive way to collect a host/hospitality fee (at best), or to collect a rake (at worst).
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It’s also a way to get tips from losing players, if it’s expected to be used after every hand. When tipping is done at the end of the night, losing players won’t tip (ostensibly because they’ve already donated to the game in their own way.). But if a tip is expected every time a pot is raked, you actually can get blood from that stone!
 
+1 on not tipping a host that decides to self deal... Forget that nonsense. My view is also based on the fact that my games are among friends and acquaintances.

However, like almost everyone (especially those that host regularly) I can recognize the costs that go into hosting a game and will help offset by bringing food/snacks or leaving extra booze or bringing a gift (booze) for the host.

I also host about 90% of the games my group plays in and don't accept cash.
 
No tipping.

I’m closing the thread.

I make 6 figures and this is my hobby.

You’ve won.

Over and out.

Ken - A completely self-funded home game host in MN

Someone PM about how to close a thread lol
 
All games operate differently. I might feel differently about accepting cash, if I hosted 2 games /week too.

Like some others have commented, you might be better off asking for money (instead of tips) to defer costs of hosting 2 games every week.
 
I think as long as tips are voluntary it's defensible in most jurisdictions, but I'm not a lawyer and to my knowledge this hasn't been tested.

I usually get $10-$20 a night from a couple of the winners and I host a little higher stake game than yours. That enough to at least keep me buying Copag decks and a couple bags of chips for snacks each time.

Obviously, I have over $2000 between my chip sets that I will never recoup. But that was as much to please me as much as spending that kind of money on a painting pleases other people.

Personally, for a home game, I think the tip at the end of the night scenario is the best gesture. Implying the need to for tips up front could be interpreted as a rake which would raise jeopardy. Tipping during hands is okay too, but I think too much of an ask from home game players. Especially at those stakes. If players start tipping a dollar a hand, the host would have half the money after 3 hours if there's only $200 or so in play.
 
I think most people have some kind of budget for entertainment, even if it’s just a loose figure or range in their head. If it’s bugging you that you lose money when you host that’s really really understandable and not an unfair thought to have
When I see a tip jar my first thought is “if you want money just say so”. No matter where it’s at.
But if you just say up front “$5 for the barbque” or whatever then I can budget that amount out of my entertainment, give it to you and forget about one more thing while I’m playing cards.
If it’s a dedicated dealer that’s not playing I’ll throw $1-2 out of every pot I drag.
If it’s a playing dealer then I’ll hold off until I’m either about to leave or change tables, then the last few hands I’ll throw some $ over and give him any change chips I can’t cash atm.
It’s an irrational thing I know, but it’s like some people won’t step on cracks and some throw salt over their shoulder. I still try to be good too because santa might be watching.
Upbringing, what you gonna do.
 
If your players are not already donating for the cause don't have them back. If i come to someone's house that put the game together provided food drink or snacks I'm donating, no need to ask me. When I host i never ask but after a while of someone not kicking in they don't get a call back.
 
ekricket said:
I think most people have some kind of budget for entertainment, even if it’s just a loose figure or range in their head. If it’s bugging you that you lose money when you host that’s really really understandable and not an unfair thought to have
When I see a tip jar my first thought is “if you want money just say so”. No matter where it’s at.
But if you just say up front “$5 for the barbque” or whatever then I can budget that amount out of my entertainment, give it to you and forget about one more thing while I’m playing cards.
If it’s a dedicated dealer that’s not playing I’ll throw $1-2 out of every pot I drag.
If it’s a playing dealer then I’ll hold off until I’m either about to leave or change tables, then the last few hands I’ll throw some $ over and give him any change chips I can’t cash atm.
It’s an irrational thing I know, but it’s like some people won’t step on cracks and some throw salt over their shoulder. I still try to be good too because santa might be watching.
Upbringing, what you gonna do.
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I somehow allowed the “the money is an issue” narrative to garner way too much oxygen.

It doesn’t.

It’s my hobby.

No tip jar. Give if you like.

The game is too strong and too good. They know what they have and I’m proud to provide it.

Still haven’t gotten that PM about “Closing Threads for Dummies” but this dummy is waiting.

I’ve got way more important notifications I’m waiting for.

Ken - Provocateur and Provider of Free Poker in MN
 

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