next time you're in a casino and feel like being a prick, remember this story. its a little long, but you have nothing better to do right now than read it.

tonight i was pretty brutal on the blackjack table. couldn't bust a 16, couldn't make a 12 for my players, just an all around massacre for 8 1/2 hours. around 3:00am i had two guys sit down at my dead table. one bought in for $300, the other for $200 (then another $200, and another $200, and another $100).

so both guys are getting destroyed, which i warned them was bound to happen with the way i had been dealing tonight, and $300+ guy is talking all kinds of shit about me, my dealing skills, the casino in general, you know, the typical asshole stuff. he's down around $75 or so, puts out $35, and hits a blackjack. here's your $52.50.

now i'm sure you guys all know this, but dealers don't get paid shit without our tips. $4.65/hr doesn't cover the cost of gas to and from work every day, so we rely on those toke boxes filling up. that being said, i don't mind if someone who is getting killed stacks the pink ($2.50) chip on top of their next bet, because hey, you need everything you can get. after a nice run of cards, $300 guy is back up around $750, or +$50 for the session, and decides to make a $20 bet, and then stacks the pink chip on top. ok, why he held on to it for so long baffles me, but whatever. sure enough, blackjack. now we don't have quarters on the game, so a $22.50 black jack only pays you $36. at this point, i'm really expecting that $1 chip to find its way either into my toke box, or out in front of his bet as a bet for me. nope, right on top of his bet. he wins it, stacks the second $1 chip on top, all the while still complaining that i can't bust, even though putting an Ace on my 16 still pays his 20.

needless to say, i took every last nickle the bastard had, and felt damn good about it. it's really not a good idea to get on your dealer's bad side. we really are rooting for you to do well, until you piss us off.

on the other hand, there's the guy who started with $300. he was down to his last $25, and shoved it all out there for one last shot. Ace, Queen. nice, here's your $37.50. after the hand, he throws me the pink chip and says "that's for you, kid." i really didn't expect it, and even told him i didn't think i'd done anyting to deserve it with as bad as i was beating him, but he said he was glad to give it to me. i think he lost two more hands the rest of the night. he went on a sick run of cards, nailed 4 straight blackjacks, split 8's 4 times with $50 on each hand (doubled on two of 'em), and ended up coloring up for over $2k, all the while making toke bets for me, and tossing me $25 on his way out.

amazing how the same few shoes totally ripped apart captain stingy douchebag while paying off the dude who bought some good karma.

the moral of the story: it pays to be good to your dealers.

i'm pretty sure you're interpreting a mild coincidence as some sort of ultimate truth. in fact, the guy who didn't tip was far less likely to go broke than the guy who did, since he had more money at his disposal.

if dealers are getting paid 4.65/hour, not tipping is wrong, but don't pretend it has actual results, unless you're an unethical dealer.

In which case, can I come visit sometime, and bring my friends Andrew Jackson and US Grant?

i actually had my first experience at $2 blackjack the other day, and it was awesome. the dealer was very new, and tipped her hole cards every single time. and not subtlely either, if he had a face card under, she would sigh and say 'ok' or 'go ahead,' but if she had a bust card, she would get a smirk and say nothing.

easiest $14 i ever made.

how much karma do I get for tipping $75 after a poker hand?

is there a scale?

- Jordan

SW?

i don't see one

GET OUT OF MY HEAD

unless she was picking them up and looking at them, i doubt she knew what she had...the only card you can see when you check the peeker is an Ace if your up card is a 10/face or a 10/face if you're showing an Ace



G-dubya is also welcome