Las Vegas Blackjack Etiquette Sparks Heated Debate

The internet, once again, is fired up about the proper way to play blackjack.

Blackjack is arguably the most popular game you'll find in a casino, and every single major casino in Las Vegas often offers a few different variations of the card game.

It's also one of the few games in Las Vegas where people will get genuinely *LIVID* if you play in a fashion they don't like.

I have a lot of stories I could tell, and people online are in the same boat!

Blackjack etiquette sparks online debate.

Well, people are all fired up on Reddit about whether or not there's a proper way to play or if there's a proper etiquette to observe. The same debate went viral early in 2024, and it looks like people are coming back for seconds.

"This happened to me twice in a short trip. I'm a huge novice at blackjack but I'm trying to learn and try to play a bit but every time I make a bad play someone at the table starts yelling at me. One dude actually just stood up and got in my face. What gives? Why are blackjack players such jerks? How is someone supposed to learn," a Reddit user wrote in a now-viral post.

Oh boy. Nice and spicy just like I like it when it comes to gambling discussions and Las Vegas stories. Let's dive into a few of the responses, and hit me with your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com:

• My favorite is the guy who sits down playing $100 a hand at a $5 minimum table and then gets mad. Like wtf play at a $100 minimum table where other people have the same risk.
• Right? I can guess that people just wanna play with others and usually the big tables aren’t very busy but still it’s silly that people just wanna do that big flex for no reason lmao, and not get that people at the lower tables may run the risk of not being as ‘skilled’
• As a blackjack dealer, it is my job to control the table. When someone is acting like that , I will typically ask the person if they gave you the money to bet? Blackjack is you against the dealer. Since the cards are in random order you aren’t taking someone’s cards.
• I'm glad there are dealers like you. My worst experience was when a dealer sided with an aggressive player who was constantly in my face for playing tight (surrender my 16s against As, etc). They may have known each other from before or just had rapport, but the dealer emboldened that guy by making smirks and audible laughs directed towards me. Anyways, that player was up maybe 2k and started rubbing it in, and oh was it so, SO sweet when he lost everything within the hour. Still tipped the dealer, but that was a crappy night.
• Actual good blackjack players know that overall what another player does doesn’t affect your own play long term. These guys are idiots and are salty they’re already down $8000
• It’s so goddamn dumb because unless you are at the end of a shoe or playing some continuous shuffler game, your "wrong play" may get them a blackjack on the next hand and they won’t notice that. I loathe these blackjack police.
• All these responses are correct. It all comes out in the wash. Keep splitting queens.
• First, they are a**holes. That said. Your play affects them (edit to say from THEIR POV should have made that more clear). You hit and take the card the dealer would have busted on etc. F*ck um. Play your hand the way you want to play it. If they don't like the way you play, they are free to get up and move to another table. If they are being actually aggressive, tell the dealer to call security.
• Your play only affects them in a smooth brain superstitious gambler sense. In a deep shoe any new card has the same chance of being anything.
• That’s why I don’t play anymore. Every time I lose some a**hole has to say "Well you should have done X" And this has happened multiple times for years. They should mind their own damn business
• When I find myself at a table with one of those a**holes, I start splitting face cards to piss them off. When they leave, I tell the dealer why I did it. The dealers love that shit. My money, my entertainment.
• The dealer should tell him to back off.
• Ask the dealer for help. A good dealer will explain the proper strategy. Here’s your first tip: You shouldn’t be hitting every card in attempt to get to 21. Look at this way, if you have a risk of busting (going over 21) or the dealer does too, then wave it off and make the dealer take the risk of busting. And tip your dealer for their helpful knowledge.
• I can relate to this. I am not a novice player, but I have gotten dirty looks and comments too when making a play that "the book" would give the payer a 1% or less advantage which is hilarious. I understand why they get mad, but a good play or a bad play can either help or hurt them or the whole table. I call it gambling!
• If all the people who play Blackjack were the experts that they think they are, then they would all be wealthy professional gamblers. Of course they’re not, so that tells you all you need to know about their so called strategies.
• I’ve never played blackjack in Vegas because I’m too scared for this exact reason.
• Get your a** back to the $1 tables.
• They are angry because they are counting cards and betting heavier when the deck is rich in 10's. If you are hitting and soaking up 10's when you should be standing (e.g. your 14 against a dealer's 6), that is why they are angry. It could also be general dumb stull like splitting 5's or 10's.
• i would just stick to the 6:5 blackjack or continuous shuffle blackjack games. the players that are more likely to get upset with your play will be at the higher limit 3:2 games. please for the love of god stay away from 3:2 double deck blackjack
• There's a book and a strategy used collectively to beat the house. If you don't know your role or how to properly play, I would 100% ask you to leave. I also don't play $5 tables do that could be it.
• I had a guy that was an a**hole to everyone at a $5 table Didn’t like that people took wrong hits or stood incorrectly. He was being a proper c*nt to the dealer too. I was up a bit and put away what I won. So I decided to f*ck with him. I started splitting face cards. The dealer knew what I was doing and was enjoying it. I was actually winning. He left and I tipped the dealer $25.

As I've said before, and I'll say it again to remind everyone. What a person does at a blackjack has little to no impact on another player's cards and outcome.

For example, a player might think you took the dealer's bust card by not playing the correct strategy. A few hands later, he might hit blackjack. That doesn't happen if you don't steal the dealer's bust card. Everything would be off by a card. This isn't rocket science. It's gambling.

If people don't like the way you play, then they can leave. I have a buddy who doubles down on 12 all the time. Doesn't matter to me a bit. It's his money, and he's playing against the dealer - not against me.

The greatest blackjack story I have was back in 2022 at the El Cortez. We were on an epic run, and a guy sat down at our table with a ton of chips. I turned to him and asked, "Are you ready to ride the lightning?" He looked confused as hell, picked up his chips and immediately left. The run wasn't slowed down one bit. Let me know your thoughts on blackjack etiquette at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.