Most of it is practical rather than social. Place cash on the felt rather than handing it to a dealer, who is not permitted to take it from your hand. Do not touch your bet once the dealer has called no more bets. Keep phones off the table surface.
Game-specific conventions matter more. In craps, roll with one hand, hit the back wall, and never say the word seven while a point is on. In blackjack, hand signals rather than words are what the cameras record, so tap for a hit and wave for a stand.
The one worth learning is asking before joining a game mid-shoe, which some players regard as disruptive even though it has no effect on anything.
Where the numbers come from
Related terms in casino floor
- Commission — A percentage charged on winning bets that would otherwise favour the player.
- Push — A tie in which the bet neither wins nor loses and the stake is returned.
- Natural — A hand that wins immediately on the first cards dealt.
- Shoe — The box holding several shuffled decks from which cards are dealt.
- Cut card — A coloured plastic card placed in the shoe to mark where dealing stops.
- Penetration — The proportion of a shoe dealt before the reshuffle.
Where an entry quotes a number, that figure comes from the computed sections of this site rather than from another glossary, so the definition and the derivation cannot drift apart. Each entry links to the page where the number is worked out.