Tokes are a substantial part of dealer income in the United States and are usually pooled across a shift rather than kept individually.
The common form is not handing over a chip but betting for the dealer: placing a small wager alongside your own so the dealer wins when you do. It is sociable and it is also a bet, carrying the same house edge as any other.
Tipping conventions vary sharply by country. In much of Europe and Asia dealer tipping is far less expected than in Las Vegas, and in some jurisdictions it is prohibited outright.
Whether to tip at all is a genuine question rather than an obvious yes. In jurisdictions where dealers are paid a full wage, tipping is neither expected nor part of the compensation structure, and in a few it is banned to avoid any suggestion of favour. In the United States it is a real part of income and the convention is closer to restaurant service than to a gratuity.
Related terms in casino floor
- Commission — A percentage charged on winning bets that would otherwise favour the player.
- Push — A tie in which the bet neither wins nor loses and the stake is returned.
- Natural — A hand that wins immediately on the first cards dealt.
- Shoe — The box holding several shuffled decks from which cards are dealt.
- Cut card — A coloured plastic card placed in the shoe to mark where dealing stops.
- Penetration — The proportion of a shoe dealt before the reshuffle.
Where an entry quotes a number, that figure comes from the computed sections of this site rather than from another glossary, so the definition and the derivation cannot drift apart. Each entry links to the page where the number is worked out.