Ask Daniel Negreanu his thoughts on any given topic and the GGPoker Global Ambassador will gladly respond. From pro sports to international conflicts, Kid Poker often speaks with honesty and transparency on a range of subjects. This week, he took to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to air his thoughts on high stakes poker players tipping, and he didn’t hold back on one player in particular.
“Actions Speak Louder Than Words”
“You pull out a wad of $100 bills and you dig to find two dirty $1 bills!”
This week, the PokerGO Poker Masters are coming to a conclusion in Las Vegas, Nevada. With eight events in total, qualifiers have also played their way to the felt, including Event #1 winner Spencer Champlin, who parlayed a $5000 ticket into the win and over $160,000 at the top of the tournament series.
Sitting down in a $10,000-entry Poker Masters event isn’t out of reach for as many players, then, with the satellite qualifier schedule taking place live too. But even so, most of the players are in for five figures. One near Negreanu was – in Kid Poker’s opinion – up to no good.
“Imagine you are a millionaire playing a $10k buy in at PokerGO Studio, you order two FREE Fijis from the cocktail waitress,” he recounted. “In your hand is a $5 bill, you go to your pocket and pull out a wad of $100 bills and in there you dig to find two dirty $1 bills. Waitress comes back with your Fijis and you hand her the two $1 bills.”
Negreanu didn’t stop there, calling out the light-tipper for his or her actions.
“Could have just sprung for the $5, but nah,” he went on. “You gain $3 in EV for your selfish self. I guess I should give the guy a little credit for not asking her to break a $1. Actions speak louder than words. You had a chance to make a difference for a single mother working her ass off to pay the bills, but you chose the dirty $1’s. Yes, this actually happened, and no I’m not going to publicly name the person, but if that’s you…”
Negreanu then shared the infamous ‘Shame’ meme from the popular TV series, Game of Thrones.
Who Could the Culprit Be?
Talk swiftly turned to who the culprit might be in the affair, with Kid Poker refusing to name the player, who he confirmed was ‘a pro’ not a businessman or businesswoman. Many commenters on X jumped to immediate conclusions based on the proximity of Negreanu being at the poker table with seven others at the time but with other tables close by at the PokerGO Studio, it is not inconceivable that Negreanu might have been looking at the table behind or beside him.
While all attempts to get Negreanu to reveal the player’s name have all been doomed, as the Canadian said that the player knows they are the culprit and that is enough, speculation is rife. Players at Negreanu’s table – before Kid Poker busted – have not responded.
Players such as Ryan Riess, Kristen Foxen and David Coleman have all kept quiet and the code of silence when an issue like this raises its head is standard. So is the player likely to feel shamed or is Kid Poker blowing the issue out of all proportion? Should tipping for free drinks be mandatory to high rollers, or optional to satellite qualifiers who may not be able to afford $5 a drink from their budget?
What is Tipping Etiquette in Poker?
Poker tournaments and poker cash games are notoriously difficult to police in terms of tipping. Tips are always made at the players’ discretion but tipping from either a winning pot in a cash game or from a result at the end of a poker tournament are commonplace. For food or drink orders, many players round up or tip considerably but what is the right approach to take?
Many players quote around the 4% mark for moderate winnings. Whenever this argument resurfaces, however, some professionals make the very valid point that after they’ve paid out backers, make-up and swaps, they are left with a lower total, so should they tip on the original payout or on the amount they are left with after settling up with either backers, investors, or people they owe money too?
It is a complicated question and no single answer provides the solution. What may be acceptable to some players – especially pros used to putting $10,000 buy-ins down for poker events such as the 2024 Poker Masters – could be out of the reach of others and maintaining a fairness and equality when inequal parameters exist at the start of the discussion is paramount.
One thing is for sure – if water is free and your registration fee goes towards food and drink throughout, any tips to a member of waiting staff in the tournament area will likely go directly to them.