As soon as you sit down at the blackjack table, you will need chips. Place some currency alongside the betting circle directly in front of you; the dealer will announce the amount to the pit supervisor and exchange it for distinctly decorated clay disks, setting them in front of you as he pushes your money through the slot in the table into the concealed drop box. All the tables carry $1, $5, and $25 chips, frequently colored white, red, and green, and some tables keep $100 chips, usually black. The dealer's rack also contains half-dollars, but these are used only for settling odd bets such as the three to two payoff for a blackjack on a $3 or $5 wager. If you want to change a largedenomination chip for smaller ones, place it alongside your betting spot and announce, "Change, please." Never place it in the circle as it may be mistaken for a bet. Although state regulations in most gambling locations prohibit the betting of cash, money wagers may be made in Nevada even though casinos there prefer the use of chips. Skillful dealers can add up the value of a stack of mixed chips in an instant because of the various colors; however all currency is green and the bills must be checked and rechecked. Casinos also realize that many bettors subconsciously do not place the same value on chips that they do on actual cash. Somehow, many people feel that once they give up their money for chips, it's not really their's anymore; subsequently, players find it infinitely easier to push out four green chips than to reach into their wallets and extract $100 bills. Most gaming locations have regulations that prohibit the using of chips from one casino in different casino. This practice used to be prevalent in Nevada. However, because junketeers, who were required to buy in for a certain sum in order to qualify for complimentary rooms, meals, and travels frequently reneged on their obligation to play at the tables by converting their chips to cash in other casinos, the interchange of chips between casinos has just about become a thing of the past. So be sure to cash in your chips at the casino cashier before departing the casino. As you stack your chips, you may notice one or two small signs displayed near the dealer. One often lists the casino's particular blackjack rules, and the other indicates the minimum and maximum bets in effect at that particular table. Minimum-bet size may be $2, $3, $5, $10, $15, $25, $50, and $100, but $2 and $3 minimums are often hard to find; the most common table size seems to be $5 or $10. Although maximum bets usually range up to $1,000, pit bosses have special signs available for high rollers, and $2,000 to $5,000 maximums are not unusual. Occasionally, the entire table will be roped off for a really big bettor. Table limits at online casinos generally range from $2 minimum to $2,000 maximum. All bets must be placed before any cards are dealt, and many will permit you to place additional wagers in adjacent vacant is. Procedures for betting more than one hand vary from to casino, so check with the dealer if this type of betting to you. Incidentally, when you have finished playing, the can't reconvert your chips into money, but he will be more than willing to change them for larger denominations. The term for that request is "Color me up." For cash, you must take your chips cashier's cage. |
