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Dancer's Answers We publish a brand-new video poker article from Bob Dancer every Thursday in this section. These columns are called "Dancer's Answers". Click on any of the links below for more Dancer's Answers: Bob Dancer Articles - Main Page Vicksburg Video Poker - May 8, 2008 Vicksburg, MS Video Poker - Part 2 - May 15, 2008 Vicksburg Casino Video Poker - Part 3 - May 22, 2008 Common Deuces Wild Mistakes – Juan or the Other – May 29, 2008 Figuring Out Quick Quads - June 5, 2008 Breaking Full Houses in Quick Quads - June 12, 2008 A Quick Quads Puzzler - June 19, 2008 Let’s Go Scouting - June 26, 2008 When You're Not Sure of the Game - July 3, 2008 Can it be Right to Play Hunches - July 10, 2008 Good Hearted Woman in Love With a Good Timin’ Man - July 17, 2008 One-Way Versus Two-Way Straight Penalties - July 24, 2008 Effectual versus Ineffectual Straight Penalties - July 31, 2008 Unusual Dealt Royals - August 7, 2008 Learning from a Horse Handicapper - August 14, 2008 When Bad Is Good - August 21, 2008 I Live For These Moments - August 28, 2008 Next Dancer's Answers column coming on September 4, 2008! |
Author's note: This column, along with next weeks continuation, were published as one article in Casino Player in April 1998 The Art of Tipping Slot Personnel --- Part I of IIMany people tip the change personnel or others when they win a jackpot. Casinos make this easy for you by paying off a $1000 jackpot with nine one-hundred dollar bills, and five twenties. If you “forget” to tip, some change people will remind you that they were the one who sold you the “lucky” quarters, so that “proves” they were partly responsible for your jackpot. For the first two years I played video poker, I didn’t practice this. As Stanford Wong said in Blackjack Secrets, “The problem with tokes, at least in my experience, is they are not cost effective. When you toke you give up value, but you do not receive any value in return.” I found Wong’s argument persuasive. I did tip when I received something of value. For example, if a change girl watched my machine while I answered the phone or visited the restroom, it was definitely of value to me, and I tipped accordingly. But to paraphrase a famous quote from the 1992 presidential election, a change girl saying the quarters she sold you were responsible for you winning is like the rooster taking credit for the sun coming up. I did tip floor people and slot hosts, however, in clubs I frequented. These folks have the power of the pen. They have the power to arbitrarily decide that I deserve a coffee shop comp, or a show ticket, or whatever. These people can give value to me, so I definitely remember them when I hit a jackpot. I do not tip them in front of others, however. It creates undue resentment to be seen tipping a higher-paid employee, while not tipping a lower-paid employee. Sometimes a machine will “swallow” a coin. If you mention this to a floorman you have ignored, he will replace the coin out of the hopper. If you mention this to a floorman you have been taking care of, he will replace the one coin with three or four. If you play nickels, this is no big deal. If you play $5 tokens, this will subsidize several additional tokes. I never actively encourage floor people to give me the extra coins. I do not believe that this is an ethical way to play. However, if an employee decides to drop a few extra coins into my tray occasionally as a form of “taking care of a good customer”, I smile and say thank you. Every dollar spent tipping is a dollar you cannot spend anywhere else. It’s a lot of fun sharing the wealth when you’re up $4,000. When you’re down $4,000, you’ll never see a change person come up and return a tip received on a previous weekend. I recommend you choose who and when to tip with as much consideration as deciding which machine to play. Choose the one with the highest payoff. It is important to recognize, however, that tipping is a very personal thing. Ask ten different people, and you’ll get ten different “formulas”. If it gives you a lot of pleasure to tip, go ahead. Be as generous as you wish. Receiving pleasure is valuable. When I played 25¢ machines only, slot attendants frequently ignored me when they weren’t actually selling me change. When I graduated to $1 and $5 machines, I became, all of a sudden, a much more attractive person for slot attendants to come over and talk to. These attendants were no fools. They knew that the tips on $4,000 or $20,000 royals could be sizeable. And who else to tip but my “friends”? When several attendants at each club come by more than once in an attempt to be friendly, it can be a time-consuming process, not to mention expensive if you actually hit a royal. I generally politely, but firmly, let the attendants know that I need to concentrate on the game, and that I am already down $5,000 in the past week. Even if I hit a $4,000 royal, I can be easily forgiven for not toking, or at least not toking very big, if they think I am still losing. I never let these attendants think that I’m a winner, or am even having a winning week. To do so will only cause resentment that I’m not “sharing the wealth”, and life is more fun without others resenting me. Explaining to minimum wage people that I make over $50,000 a year gambling while staying in luxury hotel suites and eating gourmet meals is a tad gauche, don’t you think?. Bob Dancer is America's best-known video poker writer and teacher. He has a variety of "how to play better video poker" products, including the software "Video Poker for Winners," Winner's Guides, strategy cards, his autobiography Million Dollar Video Poker, and his two novels, including Sex, Lies, and Video Poker. Dancer's products may be ordered at www.bobdancer.com or by telephone at 1-800-244-2224 M-F 9-5 Pacific Time.
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Classic Dancer We republish a classic Bob Dancer article every Sunday - often these articles are updated with new insights from Bob Dancer, the master of video poker writing. Video Poker Questions and Answers - May 4, 2008 More Answers to Questions About Video Poker Machines - May 11, 2008 Losing is a Major Part of Winning at Video Poker - May 18, 2008 Video Poker VS Blackjack - May 25, 2008 The Art of Tipping Slot Personnel - Part 1 - June 1, 2008 The Art of Tipping Slot Personnel - Part 2 - June 8, 2008 Putting Your Ducks In a Row - June 15, 2008 Luck and Skill in Video Poker - June 22, 2008 Strategy Adjustments in Video Poker - June 29, 2008 One Coin vs Five Coin - July 6, 2008 Video Poker Progressives - July 13, 2008 High Pairs versus Three Cards to a Rolal in Kings or Better Joker Wild - July 20, 2008 The Double Up Feature -- Does It Ever Make Sense? - Part 1 - July 27, 2008 Doubling Up -- Does it Ever Make Sense? - Part 2 - August 3, 2008 Did I Quit at the Right Time? - August 10, 2008 Money Management: What Does and Doesn't Work - August 17, 2008 "I'm Playing The Wrong Game" and Other Video Poker Fallacies - August 24, 2008 More Classic Dancer coming Sunday August 31, 2008. |
