How Much Should You Tip on a Big Bad Beat Jackpot?
Just to state the obvious right up front, I did not win any money from a bad beat jackpot. However, it is one of those things that recreational poker players dream about. If only ...
In a recent post, blogger Pete P. Peters noted a nice score he won on video poker and speculated as to an appropriate tip for the attendant who took care of the hand-paid jackpot. It got me wondering about a topic that surfaces from time to time: how much should a person tip on a bad beat jackpot? I am not so much concerned about smaller jackpots, but what about a big one -- a REALLY big one?
The two poker rooms closest to me, Par-A-Dice Casino in East Peoria, IL and Harrah's Joliet have sizable bad beat jackpots. The loser of the bad beat hand would currently receive almost $50,000 at Par-A-Dice and over $300,000 at Harrah's Joliet. Yowsa!
So, imagine that you the loser in the bad beat jackpot hand. You are stoked. The place is going crazy. And then you think, "how much should I tip the dealer?"
I play mostly $1/2 NL Hold 'em, and at most places, the average customer tokes the dealer $1 on a "regular" pot. If the pot is pretty big in size, many players will tip more than $1. But what do you do when you win a huge jackpot?
Keep in mind that the government is going to gobble up a significant portion for most people. Also, it would not be unusual for many poker players to have a modest positive ROI or perhaps a negative ROI. The jackpot would help you catch up on months or years of beats.
I have invited a few poker dealer friends to post their thoughts, but ... what would you do?
posted by lightning36 at 1:26 PM
18 Comments:
On a jackpot of tens of thousands of dollars or more, I'd probably do something like $100 to the dealer, and similar to whoever has to do all the paperwork and payout processing.
Most dealers expect $100 even if u only get $2000. This creates resentment
I hit the bad beat for 16k and some change a few years ago. I tipped 5%. I didn't know what to do and took the advise of the room manager. It was a mistake I would learn later. I paid 5k in taxes on that jackpot at the end of the year.
-grouse
This is my nightmare. It's why I hope to avoid ever hitting the bad beat. If I hit for $300,000, I figure I lose nearly half in taxes and other governmental "juice." So, I'm pulling in $150,000 cash - still a decent score. This would have to be the baseline for my decision. From here, I have no idea what is customary. Assuming I hit this weekend, with no guidance on the issue, I'm tipping between $3,000 and $5,000. Some minimal amount of which I'm spreading out to all the dealers on shift. $100 each, perhaps, which the rest going to the guy/girl who dealt it.
I had the winning hand in a bad beat jackpot on march 9, 2013 (my late mother's birthday) my share was $29,976.00. I told the dealer I would meet him outside and give him $1,500.00. when we went to collect he said I should give him something then for appearance's sake. I gave him $500.00. I was going to meet him the following week to give him the rest. the day before he sent me a message on facebook saying he couldn't take it because if the casino found out he would get fired. he later told me he was very happy with what I had given him.
also the player with the losing hand had originally given him $200.00 and gave him $300.00 more when he saw what I gave.
I also gave the cashier that sold me the chips earlier in the day $200.00 because she is a Bear's fan.
I'd do 1% or so.
If my take is $50k AFTER taxes, I would tip $1000. Anything under $50k I'd tip $100 less per $10k received.
I would probably tip significantly, on the order of 5-10% of the jackpot. I would also ask the room to take the toke out of the payout. Finally, Inwould tip the dealer the most, but also tip all dealers in the room. That's me though...
I can't see tipping any more than $500 no matter how big the jackpot is. Five hundred bucks is a lot of money for the dealer, he/she should be thrilled with that.
The subject of "tipping" came up in a different context on twitter today, courtesy this old post from our friend Grange. Readers might find it interesting:
http://craakker.blogspot.com/2010/12/bad-beat-bakes-my-noodle.html
I think 1-5% is in order. $50k, I'd tip around $1k with $~50 each spread around the room (particularly if it's my home casino).
On the $50K bad beat I would tip $500. One the $300K bad beat I would tip $5000.
Keep in mind bad beat jackpots are not taxed where I play (in Canada), and the tips are shared amongst all dealers, cashiers share a separate pool of tips.
For the $50k, I would tip $1500 to the dealers, and $300 to the cashiers. For the $300k, I would tip $5000 to the dealers and $500 to the cashiers, and a round of drinks for everyone playing in the room (probably <$1000).
By way of comparison, I had a table share of the bad beat jackpot for $4500, out of which I gave $300 to the guy who missed the hand getting a glass of water, $150 to the dealers and $50 to the cashiers.
Hit one for $25k and tipped $1k, the winning hand, who got $12.5k, tipped $500. other players at the table tipped enough to to bring total dealer tip up to table share, which was $1800.
We pooled tips into envelope, and gave it to her in the bathroom, which was difficult because i'm male.
Big L
I am with Rob! Their walking with $500 they weren't expecting is a nice happening.
If you were a name player, it would likely be zero. We overtip. Many tip on a single hand and ignore variance. I tip a good dealer at the end of their down and not based on anything else. Really, tips should be based on dealer quality not what you won or lost.
I guess I'm way out of line because I thought the standard on the net "take home" after you figure taxes even if estimating was to tip the dealer 10%, but from what I'm reading here that's going way over the top.
I hit a badbeat for 12k Dec 2001 and tipped the dealer 900 (and i'm usually a nit) but was playing over 50 hours a week in that room and needed the good will... most places the dealers split the tip with over dealers...I claimed 60% on my taxes they didn't ask for my records.... today I play less than 4 hr a week probably would tip less
I recall a story I heard in Atlantic City back shortly after they started Bad Beat Jackpots. An unknown young guy won the bad beat for over 400K. Tipped no one except for the guard who walked him out, $400 or so, if I remember correctly.
I definitely would tip based on my expected net winnings. For a 100k win I would take home around 55k. Would probably tip the dealer 1500 and another 1k or so spread out to the cashier and other dealers. So about 5% of net. If they could take the tip off the 1099G I would tip a little more.
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