Losing chips in my stack, and a tipping point

Not playing the Harrahs weekly today.

Couple of interesting moments from Monday night.

I was playing next to the Tiltin' Texan with two great football pool numbers 4 and 7. Course not so great with a field goal fest waiting to happen with the Steelers/Ravens. Pretty early on needing to factor a safety into the football math to win, I was focused only on the table.

Still, I had a brain fart. I usually keep a stack of 6 to 8 chips in my hand to occupy myself when out of the action. I play with it away from my larger chip stacks and sometimes leave it out there on its own. Suddenly, I was down to just a couple of chips in my hand and the little stack had disappeared. I was dumbfounded. It was like it just disappeared from the table.

I asked the Texan if when he had scooped a pot, maybe I had left it out there and he pulled it in. Yet, in my mind I felt he hadn't scooped a pot since it "disappeared." In fact, he had gotten resucked out on just before that in a big pot and given up chips. Probably the wrong time to ask about me misplacing a paltry few chips. I certainly didn't think the Texan would have done it on purpose--4 to 6 reds--no, way. And to be clear, I certainly don't think the Texan would have taken 4 to 6 blacks or bigger chips for that matter. Maybe in scooping a big messy pot, of which he had a couple, he might think the little stack is a part of what's steered his way and dragged it unintentonally.

Still, I asked only because I was at a loss... even him scooping it by accident didn't seem likely. I hope he didn't think I was accusing him of anything. So, at the next dealer shift I'm racking up my chips. And lo and behold, each stack is one chip higher. Another habit of mine when fiddling in boredom, is to overstack my 100 stacks (though something I'm trying to get away because of using the stacks in big pots). I must have done it without thinking and then a couple of seconds later wondered where my little stack was. A good lesson to me, to stay on top of recounting my chips. Sorry Texan.

The tidbit, was one of our dealers, who shall remain nameless dealt at a glacial pace, getting slower and slower and slower. Tex asked me if he was making a point. Finally it was beyond obvious. It was taking a lot of energy for him to move that slow and the table asked him about it. "That's the first dollar I've gotten from ya'll in 25 minutes," he said. The guys at the other end of the table had been taking down the pots and I hadn't watched them not tip.

I told him, "The faster you deal them out, the more likely I'll win a pot and tip you. I'm not going to short you." Others agreed and it was back to normal. Which is and was true. I never understood why dealers would penalize the whole table and themselves by pitching less hands. Seems like the quicker they go the more likely they'll get tipped. Now, if a table of 10 was winning pots pretty evenly and nobody was tipping, yeah, I can see making a point of it. They got to earn a living. However, when only 3 or 4 guys were screwing him seems like he's hurting himself as much as he is the players by dealing slowly. In general, the faster a dealer pitches the more tips they'll get.

I think I'm a good tipper. Before poker impacted my bottom line as much, I used to toss redbirds after biggish pots and throw around two to three ones for smaller pots. Once I realized what that was doing to my bottom line, and watching other generous players take that money out of play, I'm back to about a dollar a pot. But that includes some small ones. Nothing endears a dealer to me more than a guy who tosses it back saying the pot was too small for a tip. Yeah, he gets that dollar back and then more.

Of course huge pots, and quick dealers that have a happy disposition still get bigger chips and string tips. Now, considering I feel I'm a pretty good tipper by watching the other players as comparison, I'm surprised when dealers use sour tactics on me to get more tips. Moving glacially slow, is a bit of one, but it's directed at everybody. And you can't argue it was effective. Though, I wonder if saying something first (which I believe is discouraged--but he still said something after the fact, so it's not like he was opposed to violating this rule) and then moving slow would be a better course of action.

I once asked the same dealer in the past to extend a courtesy most regulars get, and he haggled for the tip beforehand. He wouldn't do it without a tip. That was tilting. One he either assumed I'd stiff him, even though I've been generous to him every other time, or two he was making a statement to the table that the courtesy had to be bought not asked for. Either way poor form.

The dealers that get the biggest tips are almost always the quickest and most capable. The dealers that are quick and capable who get shorted are the ones that use angles to manipulate the players. I've never seen Da Rock or some of the other good dealers without a smile or a ready chuckle and an eagerness to keep the action going. The players show their appreciation with their chips. I'm sure they have their bad sessions too, when the bad tippers win every pot and the good tippers can't win, but I have a feeling those sessions are far fewer for them than the other guys.

www.gulfcoastpoker.net


Comments

in my opinion you should post the dealers name..they wanna be a jerk at the table they deserved to be called out. sorry, but I have HUGH problem with dealers that talk about how they don't get tipped or tell the dealer that's pushing them that the table isn't tipping. That kind of stuff is unprofessional and just dumb. They expect tips for big hands, but i don't get a rebate when i get sucked out on...just shut up and deal and be happy if people decide to throw u a few bucks for DOING YOUR JOB!

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