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New Slots by Henry Tamburin
Mind Your Manners (continued)
Life lessons for gamblers, from novice to old pross

Craps
Always buy in to a craps game before the shooter gets the dice. Remember that the dealer cannot take any money directly from a player, so place your money on the layout and ask the dealer for chips. When you are ready to color up, wait for a pause in the action before you carefully stack your chips on the layout in front of you.

The number seven is an unmentionable number at the table so don’t even think about saying “it.” If you are a don’t bettor, never, ever cheer for the seven. If you are crazy enough to want to bet on the seven (it’s a prop bet with a very high casino edge), refer to it as “big red.”

When the shooter is ready to roll the dice, avoid leaning over the table or dangling your hands over the table area. If you do, the dice may hit your hand and veteran players believe this will result in bad luck. Likewise, do not throw money on the layout to buy in or talk to, touch, or jostle a shooter who is on a hot roll (again, experienced players believe this will break his concentration and the hot roll will come to an end).

If you are shooting the dice, avoid hitting other player’s chips on the layout or the dealer stack of chips, and make sure the dice hit the back wall. Don’t take a lot of time setting the dice before you toss them. If you want to set the dice, practice beforehand so that when the dice are given to you by the stickman you can quickly arrange them. Always keep the dice in full view of the dealers (never cup them or shake them below table level). If you toss the dice and one or both rebound off of the table, shout out “same dice” (experienced players believe that if new dice are put into play bad things will happen). Also, if a shooter loses on a throw of the dice and you win, it’s rude to gloat or comment on how they should have bet.

Try to avoid muscling your way into a crowded table. It’s also not a good idea to elbow your way to the left side of the shooter (so you will get the next turn throwing the dice).

All wagers from the Come/Don’t Come betting area toward the stickman and players are made by the player except the center proposition bets (that includes the come, don’t come, pass line, don’t pass, odds, field bet, and Big 6/8). If you want to bet on any of the point numbers, place your chip on the layout and ask the dealer to make those wagers for you (but be patient and wait your turn—dealers have a lot going on).

Always make your bets while the stickman has the dice in the center of the layout (not when he is pushing the dice to the shooter). If you want to make a proposition bet (wagers in the center of the layout), carefully toss your chips to the stickman with clear instructions on how much you want to bet and where (don’t haphazardly throw your chips in the center prop betting area where they can roll all over the place, but learn how to “spin” the chips on the layout so they won’t roll). If you are a don’t bettor, it’s best to position yourself next to either dealer so you can easily reach the don’t pass and don’t come betting areas (and remember never to root for the unmentionable number and never cheer when you win).

Roulette
Space is limited around a roulette table so don’t try to muscle your way in. Do not lean over another player to make your bets. If you can’t reach, ask the dealer to make the bet for you. (If you are at the far end of the table and want to wager on the popular split bet on 0 and 00, just place your chip(s) on the line that separates the “second 12” from the “third 12” on the outside bottom area of the layout.)

Special roulette chips are used at each roulette table. You must purchase them when you buy in. They are color coded so that each player has their own set of colored chips (that makes it easy for the dealer to know whose bet belongs to whom). Roulette chips cannot be used anywhere else in the casino and they can’t be converted to cash at the cashier, so do not leave the table with them—they must be cashed in and converted to casino chips at the table where you are playing. Also, do not use roulette chips to tip a cocktail waitress.

Do not pick up winning chips from the layout or start to make bets on the next spin until the dealer has cleared the table of losing bets, paid off the winning bets, and removed the marker off the winning number (this is the number-one faux pas in roulette).

Try to avoid waiting until the roulette ball is ready to drop into the bowl to place your bets. If you need help making bets, especially for those out of reach, ask the dealer.

Be very careful how you position your chips on the layout so there is no confusion what bet you are making—this is particularly the case for bets straight up on a number where your chip(s) should be placed in the center of the number’s square.

When you are finished playing, tell the dealer you want to color up. Stack your roulette chips neatly (in stacks of 20 chips) and let the dealer drag them across the layout. The dealer will count the chips and then give you an equivalent amount in casino chips, which you can use at other table games or take to the cashier.

Slots & Video Poker
If the casino is crowded, it’s common courtesy to play only one machine. Also, before you drop your first coin into a machine, be sure no one else is playing it (when the casino is not crowded players often toss coins into adjacent machines).

If you hit a hand-pay jackpot on a slot machine, after you receive your payoff from the attendant you should play off the winning combination (play one more spin). It’s also customary to tip a prompt and courteous attendant who brings you the money.

When you need to take a restroom break, you can “hold” your machine by either placing a coin bucket over the handle or on the chair or you can lean the chair against the machine. Likewise, if you are looking for a machine to play, avoid those which have been held by players.

If a player mistakenly plays “your machine” while you are on break, don’t get upset or abusive, even if they hit the jackpot. Yes, it’s upsetting if this happens, but the probability that you would have hit the jackpot if you had stayed and played is slim since you would have had to hit the spin button at the exact split second as the lucky player did (it was only at that split second that the machine’s internal computer generated the specific winning jackpot combination).

Finally, it goes without saying that you should keep your playing area clean. Don’t throw torn coin wrappers or cigarette butts into the coin trays. This seems trivial but it’s a nasty habit that too many slot and video poker players have developed.

Henry Tamburin is the author of six best-selling books including Henry Tamburin on Casino Gambling. For a free copy of Tamburin’s Casino Gambling Catalog, call 1-888-353-3234. For a free subscription to Tamburin’s Blackjack Insider Newsletter, visit his website at www.smartgaming.com.

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