Proper Etiquette in Vegas

At SlotsandCasino Online casino, we understand how gambling online offers way more freedom – you can wear what you like – even nothing, if you wish! ¬–¬ you can talk, shout and even swear all you want, and if you mess up a play because you don’t know the rules, you’re the only loser. But if you’re venturing out to a bricks-and-mortar establishment, we’ve put together a few tips to keep you on the straight and narrow, so you won’t earn any eye rolls, side eyes, raised eyebrows or shakes of the head.

Some of our tips, such as phone use, dress code and alcohol apply to many other social occasions, while others are rather specific to casinos, so we hope these will be helpful for your first few visits to an exciting destination like Vegas.

1. Don’t take photos on the casino floor

For privacy and security reasons, many casinos round the world do not like guests snapping away among the slots and tables. Confine selfies to the lobby or other areas of the casino and hotel.

2. Turn off your mobile while actively gambling

Not only is yacking on your mobile just plain rude when you’re at a table, it’s also distracting to other players and may disturb their concentration. There’s nothing more annoying than being forced to listen to someone else’s banal conversations. Just don’t be that person! Switch it off or set it to silent and you can always take a break from gambling and move away from a table to check your phone if it’s that important.

3. Adhere to the dress code

While some casinos in Las Vegas have a relaxed policy on dress (shorts and sandals may be fine, especially during the day) many others insist on ‘smart casual’ at the least, which means no jeans, button-up shirts and smart shoes for men. Women have more of a choice, but the same rule applies. It’s a good idea to to check with the casino before you arrive, and make sure you have packed appropriate clothing before embarking on your gambling getaway.

4. Don’t Drink Too Much

Whatever the event or venue, absolutely nobody likes a loud, boorish drunk spoiling other people’s fun. Besides not making particularly good gambling decisions, and ruining the atmosphere at a table by being disruptive, you may be quietly led away from the casino floor by burly men in dark suits and asked not to return. At least until you are sober.

5. Buying Chips at a table

Yes, there’s even a proper way to do this. Never hand the dealer cash. Instead, sit down and put it on the table in front of you. Croupiers are trained to multitask, so she or he will quickly notice notice and exchange your money for chips, announcing the amount as this is done, to ensure that all is correct.

6. Do not ask the Dealer for advice

The dealer is there just to facilitate the game and participate in his or her restricted capacity. It is bad form to ask them about what you should do as well as explain the rules of the game. The onus is on you to know the rules. Go find a quite corner and use Google to get advice on how to play Texas Hold ‘em Poker or whatever game you’re interested in.

7. Listen to the Dealer

If a roulette croupier says, “no more bets”, as he’s already started to spin the roulette wheel, he means it, so take it as an instruction, not as a challenge. If you’re unsure about exactly how the passage of play works, watch a good few rounds before joining in.

8. Handling Roulette chips

Each player at a roulette table will receive different colored chips so you’ll see where you’ve laid your bets and the croupier knows who to pay out for a win. Never move, or remove, chips during a spin of the roulette or hand of blackjack, and don’t touch other players’ chips. The croupier will place winning chips on top of your chips and you can decide to remove or leave them for the next round. Because roulette chips are a special, signal to the croupier that you want to leave and he will change your roulette chips for generic casino cash chips. The same goes for blackjack or craps.

9. Some poker and blackjack etiquette

If you’ve watched too many movies about poker players in saloons, you may have got the wrong impression about holding cards. There’s a simple rule: If the cards are face-up on the table, do NOT touch them. According to casino rules you may even forfeit the game. The same applies to chips: once you have made a bet, you are not allowed to touch your chips. That’s because in the past cheats have tried to remove chips when they had a losing. In any case, there are cameras everywhere in a casino. Even when the hand is over and is being paid out, wait until the dealer signals that it is okay to move your chips.

10. Tipping: do it!

It’s expected that you leave at lease a small gratuity for the dealer when you leave a table, or even after a great win on a game. It needn’t be big and don’t feel pressured to tip generously if you’ve had a good win. But why not? Dealers/croupiers spend hours on their feet, often having to deal with drunk and disorderly patrons and the pay isn’t fantastic. We can all afford to be generous if we win. Even losers who’v’e lost all their chips except for a few dollars can pass them on to someone who’d appreciate them.