Casino etiquette at the blackjack table

Before you sit down

• Read the sign. Every table has a small sign with the minimum bet, the maximum and the main rules. The payout is printed on the felt too. "Blackjack pays 3 to 2" is the one you want: the same game at 6:5 keeps 1.89% of what you bet instead of 0.53%.
• Find an open seat. A seat with no chips in front of it is free. Asking "Is this seat open?" is polite, since a player who stepped away leaves chips on the rail.
• Wait for the hand to finish. Dealers can't stop a live hand to change your money. Sit down, and buy in between hands.
• Minimums move. They usually go up at night and on weekends. The sign is what counts.

How do you buy in at a blackjack table?

1. Wait for the current hand to end.
2. Lay your cash flat on the felt, outside the betting circle. Never hand it to the dealer: dealers aren't allowed to take anything from your hand. Money changes hands on the table, where the camera can see it.
3. The dealer spreads the bills out, calls the amount to the floor supervisor ("Changing two hundred") and pushes you your chips. You can ask for a mix: "Some reds, please."
4. Your cash goes into the box under the table. The dealer can't give cash back. Chips turn into cash at the cage, the casino's cashier.

Want to bet before you have chips? Put the bills in the circle and say "Money plays." Most Las Vegas pits allow it, and you're paid in chips.

If you have a players card, hand it over when you buy in. The floor rates your play for free meals and rooms. It's optional, and it changes nothing about the cards. If you hear the dealer call out "Checks play," someone has just made a big bet and the dealer is letting the floor know. Nothing's wrong.

Where do your chips go?

Your bet goes in the betting circle in front of your seat. Everything else stays on the rail in front of you. Anything in or touching the circle can be read as a bet, so keep the two apart. Stack a bet with the bigger chips on the bottom.

Common chip colors Most casinos use these, but Nevada doesn't require them, so check the value printed on the chip.

Value	Usual color
$1	White, sometimes blue
$5	Red ("reds")
$25	Green ("greens")
$100	Black
$500	Purple
$1,000	Varies, often yellow or orange

Chips belong to the casino that issued them. Cash them at that casino's cage.

Blackjack hand signals

Every table is watched by cameras, and if there's ever a dispute, the video is what gets checked. That's why dealers go by your hand, not your voice. Say the word if you like, but always make the signal.

At a shoe game (cards dealt face up)

Most Las Vegas tables deal from a shoe, with your cards face up. You never touch them. These five signals cover every decision.

On a pair of fives, double and split look the same from across the table, so say which one you want.

At a hand-held game (one or two decks, dealt face down)

Single- and double-deck games are often pitched face down, and here you do pick up your cards: one hand only, and always over the table.

To	Do this
Hit	Scrape the corners of your cards lightly toward you on the felt.
Stand	Tuck your cards face down under your chips.
Double or split	Turn your cards face up, then put the matching bet beside the first.
Bust or blackjack	Turn your cards face up right away and lay them down gently. Never throw them.

What not to touch at a blackjack table

• Your bet, once the first card is dealt. Reaching into the circle mid-hand looks like changing your bet after seeing the cards, and the dealer will stop you.
• The cards, at a shoe game. Only the dealer handles them.
• Your winnings, until the dealer has paid you. Wait for the chips to be pushed to you.
• Anyone else's chips or cards, even to help.

Keep bags, phones and drinks off the felt. Drinks go in the cup holders on the rail.

How much should you tip a blackjack dealer?

There's no rule, and tipping doesn't change a single card. Dealers' base pay is low and most houses pool tips across the shift, so a small tip now and then goes a long way.

Two ways to tip

1. Hand it over. Slide a chip toward the dealer on the felt and say "For you."
2. Bet it for the dealer. Put a chip on the front edge of your betting circle, in front of your bet. If you win, the dealer wins it too. If you lose, it goes with your bet. Most dealers would rather have the bet: it puts them on your side.

How much is normal?

At a low-limit table, common habits are a $5 chip every so often, after a blackjack, after a good run, and when you leave. You'll see percentages quoted online, like 2 to 5% of winnings. Treat those as folklore, not a bill.

Drinks are free while you play. The server isn't: a dollar or two a drink is normal.

How do you color up and cash out?

1. Wait for the hand to end.
2. Push your chips toward the dealer and say "Color up, please."
3. The dealer counts them in the open, calls "Color change" to the floor, and gives you the same amount in fewer, bigger chips.
4. Take them to the cage. It's the only place chips become cash.

You can leave between any two hands; you don't owe the table a shoe. Plenty of players tip the dealer on the way out, and it's always remembered.

Table manners

• Phones: step back from the table to use one. A phone out during a hand gets a polite warning.
• Other players: don't coach them unless they ask. Their choices don't change your odds over time, whatever the table says about the player at third base.
• If someone grumbles at your by-the-book play, "I'm sticking with the book" is plenty.
• Ask the dealer anything. At a low-limit table they expect first-timers and will explain the sign, the signals, even the book's play. The decision is still yours.
• Strategy cards are legal at the table in Las Vegas. Keep yours on the rail. Here's the chart.
• Win quietly, lose quietly. The dealer doesn't choose the cards.

Your first hand, start to finish

1. Pick a table whose sign has a minimum you're comfortable with, and whose felt says "Blackjack pays 3 to 2."
2. Wait for the hand to end, lay your cash on the felt, take your chips. Hand over a players card if you have one.
3. Bet in the circle. Once the cards come out, hands off your bet and the cards.
4. Tap to hit, wave to stand. Doubles and splits go beside the bet, never on top.
5. Dealer shows an ace? You'll be offered insurance. The book says no.
6. Now and then, put a chip in front of your bet for the dealer.
7. Phone in your pocket, and a dollar or two to the server for each drink.
8. Done? Say "Color up," and take the big chips to the cage.
9. If the table groans at a by-the-book play, smile. The book is right, and the grumbling doesn't change your odds.

How we know: Ridotto's casino research, cross-checked across at least two sources per point, then audited independently. Main sources: Wizard of Odds, gambling etiquette; Las Vegas Advisor on laying cash on the table, toking guidelines and chip colors; Vegas Aces dealer training on hand signals and coloring up; casino.org on tipping; and Fred Renzey on other players' decisions. House rules vary from casino to casino; when in doubt, ask the dealer.