Playing blackjack at the casino is much different than playing at home, but it doesn't have to be scary. Although you might not need all the rules for beginning blackjack players, you still might wonder just why players and dealers do things a certain way. Here's a look at the reasons for some things the dealers and bosses do things when:

The dealer wants hand signals - a hand signal is definitive, unlike verbal instructions, and can be seen from a distance.


The Pit Bosses and the Eye in the Sky can see a motion, they can't hear a statement. This reduces mistakes and cheating. Don't get mad that the the dealer wants you to wave-off any more cards when you get to 20. Just follow the simple rules and everyone will be happy.

The dealer rearranges your bet - the largest denomination chip always goes on the bottom. The dealer will fix that for you and then finish dealing. When you double down or split they will always move your extra wagers to their right. This is so they can always distinguish the original wager and the exact amount you first bet.

The dealer runs their finger over the top of your chips - dealers do this to make sure the stacks are the same height, and it proves this fact to other eyes.

The dealer asks for your chips when you try to leave - not because they want to count all your chips, but so they don't have to get a fill and replenish your chips. It's much easier to color-up your $100 in red chips and give you one $100 chip back.

The dealer says something and then just stands there - even though you are waiting. When you first trade your cash for chips and when you color-up your smaller denomination chips to larger chips, the dealer will wait for the Pit Boss to verify the transaction. Again, this is just a second set of eyes on the deal to keep mistakes out of the equation. Be patient.

The dealer stacks up your chips and then places them in little stacks again - so they can prove the stacks are 20 chips high.

The Pit Bosses seem serious - because they are working. It's not a holiday for them. If dealers make mistakes or players cheat, they get reprimanded and then fired. Fairly simple. They have several tables and players to take care of, so they can't be at your side every second. What are they watching for? Mostly mistakes, because players as well as dealers make them. If it wasn't a mistake, it was cheating, and that requires doing the most serious part of their job. If they are smiling and having a good time, they are probably experienced and comfortable with their abilities.

The dealer refuses to return any cash to you - even if you give them $120 in twenties and you just wanted to use $100. This is a standard rule in casinos that is used for several reasons. Some of those include reducing errors and getting as many chips to you as possible, as well as banking regulation Title 31 rules that restrict the movement of money beyond certain limits in a 24-hour period. It's easier to always follow a single standard, such as all cash tendered will be converted to chips, rather than have loopholes that can be exploited in any manner.

They make you double your bet on two hands - because there are only so many seats available and the casino doesn't want to tie-up all their seats at a low minimum when the next player might play much more per hand.

There are $25 or $100 Minimum Tables - and they are open but nobody is playing at them, and I'm ready to play with five buddies for $5 per hand! The same thinking as above, but higher limit players may want a table alone, and a single big player can account for the bulk of all the gaming income in the table games department for a single shift.

We have five players and they won't open more games for us - because they don't have dealers sitting in a back room waiting to deal. While a poker room may occasionally have extra dealers, other gaming departments rarely do. They open the games in groups as new dealers come in to work with Pit Bosses. You'll probably have to wait.

They won't let me play after just a few drinks - even though I'm not drunk. Sure, that's what you say now. If you are lit-up, you'll probably be stopped from playing, even though you think you are fine. Thank them and sober-up. It's done in your best interests.

They won't let me have the next card - because the dealer skipped me. Sometimes a mistake is made, and the next card that the dealer gave the guy beside you would have been perfect for your hand, but they won't let you have it.Learn acceptance! You'll never get that card. Every casino in the world will say "We can't backup the card." You either get the next card, or a card after the dealer finishes their hand. It would be way too easy to cheat if they could take the player's card from next to you and then give it back to you.

I though they couldn't back up the cards - but this is different. Every casino instructs their dealers to remove the used cards from play in a certain manner so if there is a question about the last hand, the cards can be backed-up perfectly to re-form the  hands.

They wouldn't even call the Sky for me - or show me the film of the hand. Yes, this is true. Because Pit Bosses and dealers do their job correctly 99-percent of the time, they may say "no, you lost, that's the end of it." and refuse to check the film at your request. That's because checking takes time, and if they are already sure, you are out of luck. As for seeing the film in question, that ain't gonna happen, no matter how much you argue. Not because it will prove you to be correct, but because it would lead to players wanting to see proof after every questionable hand and chaos would prevail. Honest.