Ask Frank: Poker Tokes

Dear Frank,

I like to play poker in the casinos. I find playing in the limit games such as 3-6 to 10-20 that it seems almost impossible to overcome the house cut and the toking of the dealers. I understand that the dealers need some tokes to exist, but I think it gets out of hand. For example, I played a 3-6 game in California for two months. Some of the players would toke the dealers from one dollar to as much as five or six dollars per hand. Soon everyone around the table was a loser and the game tightened up to the point of being impossible to get even. So this does not seem to be common sense. I wonder if this is a way to get all the money out of the game faster. Can you give me your view of this?

Thank you,
Tom

Dear Tom,

The poker people see on television in these very popular series (which are really just highlights) give the false impression that many people can win at this game. That's not so, very few people win at the game because of the very things you state in your letter.

Overtipping and the rake from the house can really cut into whatever wins you have -- and your losses are all yours. I hate to tell you to be cheap but tip lightly until you know you have substantial wins over time. That seems the only way out of the dilemma.

All the best in and out of the casinos!
Frank

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