Casino Hand Gestures

There’s a lot to remember when it comes to playing in the casino, but one of the most important ones (at least in terms of etiquette) is knowing the correct hand gestures so you can let everyone know what you want to do. It can be hard to remember when you first get started, particularly with games like Blackjack, but once you get the hang of it these gestures are sure to make your time in the casino that much more enjoyable.

Starting with the well-known, it's likely you already know what it looks like in a game of poker when the players use hand gestures. Plenty of movies have had scenes with players crowded round a table and tossing chips into the middle, but there are a few finer points that are definitely worth knowing if you’re planning to play for real. If you’re the first to play you slide the initial stack of chips into the middle of the table for everyone to see. If you’re not first then it’s up to you to either slide an identical stack in to ‘check’ or to follow up with another stack to raise if you want to up the ante. When you’re all done, tap the table to show your sticking or, if the bet gets too high for your liking, you can slide your cards face down into the centre of the table to show you’re folding.

When it comes to other games like craps, the expected etiquette is pretty similar- if you’re playing craps you must hold the dice in one hand and aim for the back wall if you’re the shooter. When the dealer announces that the dice are out or for hands high, it’s very important you keep your hands free of the table. This isn’t just manners, it’s to make sure you don’t influence the game in any way by jostling the table or obscuring the dealer’s vision. It’s also accepted that if you want to pass the dice onto the next player you hand to your right, make sure the handing over is still in the dealer’s line of sight though!

While these may sound easy to remember, it’s not always so simple. Blackjack is one of the most popular games you can play and most people have some idea how the hand signals work for this game. But not everyone knows that there are different movements depending on if you’re playing with the cards face up or face down. While the motion to double down or split is the same, the movements to let the dealer know you want to hit is different depending on whether the cards or face up or face down. If they’re facing upward, you tap the table and if they’re not you scrape a finger on the table to get another card dealt out.

It’s the little things like this that can confuse newcomers so we’ve made sure that this infographic helps to explain it all!