Why You Should Tip The Craps Dealers

by Larry Edell, published on Wednesday, October 3 2001

Because you should tip so that YOU can win more money. If you play craps frequently, you have certain betting patterns you are you used to. Sometimes you might make some unusual bets, or take your bets down after a win. A dealer would be more likely to learn your betting pattern and, keep an eye on your bets if he knew in advance that you were tipping. He would do his best to take care of you, and help you win, so you would tip him more. Let’s say you are betting $44 inside and taking all of your bets down after any two hits. Let’s say the second hit comes, and you get distracted by a scantily clad drink girl. Ever wonder why the drink girls are dressed like that? There is a reason for everything in a casino. Anyway, your faithful dealer will interrupt your daydream and say, “Sir! Want your bets down?” You come to your senses, remember your wife and family, and quickly nod your head yes, just before a seven rolls. Your dealer just saved you $44. Happens all the time. When you tip, the dealers always announce it, so the floor people know about you. When they look at your rating card, they are liable to bump it up a few notches. Let’s say they have you rated as a $25 player. A few tips and they might rate you at $30. They want you back, and they’re certainly willing to bump up your comps just a little to keep your business and tips in their casino. You can tip the dealers in a number of ways. You can bet $5 pass line for them. When you put down your pass line bet, place $5 next to it, and tell the dealer, “for the dealers”. He will announce “dealer on the line” and after a decision, both the dealer and stickman will thank you, win or lose. You can also make a hardway bet for the dealers, or a proposition bet. This way if it wins, you can parlay the bet, and the dealers can win a lot more. If you bet $5 hard six “for the dealers” and it wins, the payoff is $45. Parlay that and the tip suddenly turns from a $5 tip into a possible $405 tip - the dealers will take notice of you - for sure! So the next time you win a bet, think about investing some of it in a tip. It will really help you in the long run! The dealers will take better care of you, and you just might get some better comps - a good return on a small investment! And, as always, good luck at the tables!