Folksonomics

Have you ever noticed that the poker dealers at your local casino seem incredibly concerned about your personal welfare? They want to make sure you are happy and enjoying yourself. Good dealers will crack jokes and make you smile. They make you feel like you belong at their online poker table. They make you feel like they are your friend.

The unsavory truth behind this bonhomie is that the dealer is trying for your tips. Unlike the actual wages they make, the tips depend entirely on how much the players at the table like them. Everyone at the table should tip as part of good poker etiquette, but happy customers pay more. And happy, high rolling customers pay the most. They want these people on their side.

If you are more average Joe than Joe millionaire, don’t let the popularity contest bother you. The dealers have very good reasons for cozying up to the more cash comfortable clients. Many casinos have started to dock dealer’s wages in this economic climate. Their theory is that dealers make more than their income anyway based on tips. For a dealer who is feeling the financial squeeze, those tips can be the difference between going home with their normal income, and losing money at the table.