How to Prepare for Your First Casino Visit


How to Prepare for Your First Casino Visit

Visiting a casino for the first time

Photo by Chuma A / The Unsplash License

Visiting a casino for the first time can often be an overwhelming experience. After all, casinos offer a world of excitement: a wide selection of games, entertainment of all types (live bands, shows, special guests, and exclusive events), plenty of food and drinks, and often much more than that. 

But once you know the basics of how it all works — and if you practice playing the games beforehand — it quickly becomes an enjoyable and rewarding experience. And the more you prepare and learn about it all, the more you’ll get out of your visit. Here are some tips for how you can prepare for your first trip to a casino:

Know Casino Etiquette

Before going, it’s important to learn some simple etiquette tips to ensure that you’ll be comfortable on the floor and have a great first experience. First of all,

many casinos have a dress code

. For example, while casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City have a more casual dress code, casinos in Europe (like Monte Carlo) and Southeast Asia typically have a business casual dress code. In Atlantic City, you might be able to get away with athletic wear and flip flops, where as casinos in the UK and France might require slacks, a button-down shirt, and dress shoes. When in doubt, check out the casino’s website. If there is a strict dress code, you should be able to find information easily. If it’s not strict, it will likely not be listed.

Now that manner of dress is settled, it’s time to address behavior. This is extremely important because, naturally, good behavior will get you a lot further than bad behavior. So, what constitutes good casino behavior? Here are some examples: Don’t use your cell phone at or near any tables, and keep cell phone use to a minimum, even when you are away from other players.

Always tip staff and servers.

A bucket of coins on a seat means that the seat is taken — Don’t move it! Learn the games beforehand, particularly table games if you wish to play them.

prepare for your first visit

Photo by Steve Sawusch / The Unsplash License


Play Online Games

Another important way to prepare for your first visit is to play slots and table games on online sites before trying out the real deal in a casino. Sites like SkyVegas have a

wide selection available

(with new slots added frequently), so you’ll be able to get in plenty of practice beforehand.

Online, you’ll be able to practice poker, roulette, blackjack, slots, betting games, and many others. This not only helps you to get more comfortable with the games, but it’s also respectful towards other players and the staff — it would be disrespectful to expect to play when you have no idea what to do.

But besides having a fun time, you probably also want to play well. And your odds of playing well increase when you practice more, even at the slots. But if you’re determined to play blackjack, poker, or roulette in a casino, you’ll definitely want to

practice online and work on strategies

before playing in person. If you don’t, you’ll quickly tick off the staff and other players, and you might even be removed from the table.

Play Against Friends

Playing online will really help you to improve your skills, no matter what you’re playing. But if you’ve never played poker against a real person before, you might find playing in a casino to be a little more challenging. Host a game night with friends and try out a variety of games. You’ll get more experience playing with real people, and you’ll also be able to learn some of the most common tells. You’ll even be able to learn what your own tells are so you can work on them before playing against anyone in a casino.

The more experience you have with all of the games and entertainment that a casino offers, in addition to knowing how you’re expected to behave, the better your first visit will be. It will be less overwhelming, and you’ll be able to quickly settle in and have a good time. Good luck!