Things that make me squirm.......

Tonight I pushed into a $4-8 LHE game. Nearly all of the players were regulars and well known to me. The two ladies in seats 1 & 2 were loudly discussing the toking practices of the player in the 8 seat. It seems that a previous dealer had pushed 8 a large pot and 8 gave that dealer 50 cents. These ladies were not in approval of that! A few hands later, I push 8 a decent pot. 1 & 2 pipe up and tell me to expect the ol' 50 center. Well nuts! I got $1! I casually mention, quietly, that I don't get too excited about a 50 cent tip, no tip at all, or a much more generous tip.It all averages out at the end of the night. 1 & 2 continue their chatter. A few hands later I deal 8 a high hand jackpot. 1 & 2 go into a tizzy and tell me that I might get a whole $2 this time. Well nuts! 8 gave me $10! $10 for dealing ONE hand of cards. That makes up for quite a few airballs/50 centers.
It is always nice to have a tip shill in your game, a shill who works in subtle ways. Given the choice between overt needling and no comment at all, I'll take the no comment at all approach.