009's So You Want to Set the Dice!

Tipping is another key ingredient that belongs in the Dice Setters arsenal.

There are various ways of toking the table crew. Some of our members have indicated how they do it, in previous posts. In fact, Deadcat just posted a reply on where to find his article on tipping. Heavy also reminded us where to find his article on tipping. One of his points is when you are in doubt, tip once during each stick change as a rule of thumb.

The Mad Professor has some on going replies to the question and some of his past articles should be revisited. I especially like his suggestion that you tip only when you have the dice. This is the only logical way to tip. You want to be recognized for your tipping when it will do you the most good. Why tip when someone else is shooting? We want all the close calls to go our way when we miss that back wall.

Tipping after coloring up and preparing to leave the table, doesn’t make much sense. If you haven’t been tipping when you were the shooter, what good is it going to do you when leaving the table? You’re gone. Tipping while you have the dice might have prevented some of those, “hit the back wall” comments.

I don’t worry about playing a percentage of my current roll. My tipping is automatically done on all come-out rolls. This may seem like a lot, but it is not. You might throw a couple sevens and an eleven before establishing a point and then making the point. That means you have tipped $4 or $5 already, but keep in mind that you were winning money at the same time. If you throw a couple craps, you might want to hold back putting out that white chip till you establish a point.

I always make an additional odds bet for the crew when the point is four or ten. It cost me $2 for the PL and odds bet for the crew to win $5 if I make the point. You will find that the crew will be encouraging you to make the point. I don’t mind when the dealer announces that the crew is on the line. It serves two purposes. One, it wakes up the rest of the crew to the fact that someone is taking care of them. Second, it wakes up the rest of the players that there is some tipping going on and maybe they will take the hint to tip.

Tipping is a matter of choices. A few years ago I conducted a survey among the dealers, asking what type of tips they preferred. When I think about it now, the results were not surprising. The older dealers preferred a bird in hand rather than nine in the bush. This is to say they preferred a PL or place bet. The younger dealers leaned toward the hard way
bet and other proposition bets. The “two way hard way” bets hardly get any kind of recognition. They are tossed on the table from all sides and the stick person has all she or he can do to get the bets placed, let alone announcing each bet.

Tipping Makes Life at the Tables Easy

When it comes to tipping I realize that there are different strokes for different folks. What works for the locals in Vegas may not work so well on the Boats in the Midwest. Then there is the question how much is enough for a departing tip. Tossing a couple white chips on the table on departure can be embarrassing if you haven’t been tipping throughout the session.

If your session lasted two hours at a full table and you only saw the dice four times going point seven out, that would have been a $4 tip on a night you lost a ton. Are you going to tip on departure for having such a rough night? If you feel you have to keep up your image, go ahead and toss them a green one.

Then again the Vegas locals have the luxury of picking and choosing their place of play and have dozens of options on where they want to do their tipping. We Midwestern Boat players have only one option when we climb aboard a casino Boat. We must be doing something right because when we check in at the table the table crew, box and suit all greet us like family. Either they are welcoming us as suckers or glad to see some friendly faces.

You might find this conversation with one of the suits interesting. I had just colored up when one of the suits called me over and asked if I wanted our usual dinner comp. He then said can I ask you a question? I said go ahead, but that doesn’t mean I will give you an answer. He laughed and said, why do you always wait to play until you can play next to the stick’s right? I said that’s an easy one. It’s the shortest distant to the back wall. It’s easy to make my C&E bet. It’s easy to talk with the box and stick. I don’t need to be by the Don’t Come box. Playing from the end of the table is too much hassle hitting the back wall. I’m right handed and can reach out and clear the stick easily. From the left side of the stick I have a tendency to backhand the stick in the nose.

The suit chuckled and said he never thought of it that way. I asked him if I could ask a question. He said, sure. I asked him why the casinos insist that both dice hit the back wall. He related that it was casino policy to assure a random roll. It was my turn to laugh. I said that’s funny. All your dice setters strive to hit the back wall with both die to gain a favorable result. When one die doesn’t make it to the back wall, you are assured of a random roll. Your policy maker needs a refresher course in modern craps. He said he agreed on that. I thank him for the comp and jumped ship.

Keep track of you’re tipping and with a plan you will see you’re tipping is a small price to pay for a night’s entertainment at the crap table.

Charlie009
Copyright 2008