On Tipping: A Regional Guide

Tipping practices vary enough across regions that a short guide is warranted. We do not recommend rigid rules, but these are the norms our editorial board has observed across eighteen months of visits to partner venues.

In the Anglosphere, tipping is expected and is usually given as a 'bet for the dealer' — a single chip placed outside one's own bets, with the implicit instruction that a winning outcome is split. Some regulars tip at the end of the session instead.

In Southern Europe, tipping is discreet and typically given at the end of a longer session. A small envelope is more common than a chip; the amount is modest.

In East Asia, tipping is often built into the venue's pricing and is not expected at the table. Pressing a tip into a dealer's hand can be awkward; a well-timed gracious comment, addressed to the floor manager in the dealer's hearing, is a better equivalent.

In all regions, the right amount is the one that matches your session. A modest session gets a modest tip. A generous session invites a generous one. No amount of tipping obligates the dealer to do anything beyond their job — and no good dealer expects it to.

If you are traveling for the first time to a new region, ask a local regular or a host on the floor. We have yet to meet a host who refused a well-phrased question about norms.