The Complete Guide to Casino Etiquette

Roulette Tips and Etiquette

1. Know if you want to bet inside or outside.

When buying in at a roulette table, you will be asked if you’re playing inside or outside. Expecting this question and having your answer ready will prevent you from looking like a tool at the table for at least 3 minutes. Betting inside means you’d like to bet on individual numbers and you will need personal chips. The croupier will exchange your money for colored chips, usually of one dollar denomination. These chips will be specific to you, so he can tell bets apart on the table. Betting outside means you can use regular casino chips and play the colors, odds, evens, or positional bets. You can also play outside with your colored chips.

2. Don’t mix colored chips.

Each color has to remain specific to a person. So if that hooker you just met wants to place a few bets from over your shoulder, she’ll/he’ll need her/his own color. You can either put more money on the table and request a new color, or slide a portion of your chips to the dealer and request a color change.

3. Be careful around other people’s bets and keep an eye on your own.

I’m not suggesting that people at your table will intentionally mess with your bets, but with all that reaching going on in every direction it’s possible for chips to be knocked over. On the roulette table chip placement is very important. (For a comprehensive list of bets check out this list.) For example, if you played a $1 chip on 17 straight up and the number hit, the payoff would be $35. If during the betting your chip was hit and is touching the line between 17 and 18, it’s now a split bet and the payoff is only $17.

If you can’t reach the bet, slide the chips to the dealer and let her know where you’d like them placed. By doing so you can avoid both confusion and having your sleeve knock over someone’s bet of 10 chips.

4. Know when to place your bets.

There is a period of about a minute before each spin when you can place your bets. You can place as many chips as you’d like during this time and make any changes to your bets. Once the dealer passes his hand over the table and says, “No more bets,” you cannot add bets or change anything on the table. After the ball drops, he will place the marker on the corresponding number while he clears losing chips and pays out any winning bets. Whatever you do, god help you, do NOT touch your bet or even put you hand over the table while the marker is down. You can be accused of cheating and thrown out of the casino for doing this or, at the very least, scolded by the dealer. GASP!

Check out the video below for a crash course in roulette betting and play.
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Blackjack

1. Be polite when taking a seat.

You should always ask before sitting down at the table. You can’t ever forget that people are playing with real money and are often superstitious. It’s rare that you’d be turned away from table, but some players may want you to wait until the shuffle to sit down.

Also, be sure the betting square is open before sitting down. People often play more than one hand at a table, and that seat you’re hawking may not actually be open.

2. Know what kind of Blackjack you’re playing.

If cards are dealt to you face up, you’re playing a London Deal game. Do NOT touch face up cards. Because casinos are often noisy, a series of hand signals are used to make moves in blackjack. When your turn is up, pass your hand over the cards to stand. To hit tap or scratch the felt behind the cards.
If the cards are dealt face down, It’s a Nevada Deal game. You may touch the cards, but try to do so as little as possible. In some cases you may only be allowed to touch them with one hand. In Nevada Deal, place cards under your bet to stay. For a hit, scratch the cards on the felt.

3. Don’t touch your bet after cards are dealt.

Casinos as an institution are clearly very insecure and anxiety-ridden. As a result, they make rule after rule to prevent players from cheating. If any of these rules are broken, it seems punishment can always result in ejection from the casino. Add this rule to that list.

In an attempt to prevent adding or removing chips once you’ve seen your cards, you are prohibited from touching your bet. Don’t even create the possibility of a misunderstanding and keep your hands away from played chips.

4. Keep (negative) comments to yourself.

Depending on the group at the table, blackjack can often become a social game with players interacting and cheering on each other. Read the table when you sit down to pick up on the mood. If everyone’s sitting quietly, I wouldn’t want to be the one attempting to change that. If you find yourself at a chatty table, you should feel free to converse or not. In both cases, don’t be critical of other players actions or offer unsolicited advice. When the cards aren’t going your way or you don’t like a particular person’s play, it’s best to just leave the table.

Check out this video for more on playing blackjack:

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Finally, don’t be a afraid to ask a question. Dealers are usually quite helpful and only rank at 5.78 on the fatality scale when agitated.