The Secret Codes and Casino Dealer Signals

Though these codes are not on the level of, say, what you’d see in a James Bond film, it’s still an interesting area of exploration. Secret codes and dealer signals fly around casinos all day and night, 24/7, 365 days a year. If you’re a new player, you’re probably going to look up at least once during a casino visit and ask yourself, “ Now what in the world does that mean?” But if you’re a casino aficionado, you’re probably already nodding and envisioning a series of knocks, claps and gestures that dealers make to communicate with players and their colleagues. Let’s dive into the world of secret and not-so-secret casinos.

Kinds of Codes

James Bond level codes aren’t the only kinds that are thrown around at casinos: There are also other kinds of codes that casino dealers use, and those are codes that make gameplay move faster: a kind of blackjack, craps or roulette language that dealers use to communicate with the players at their table. These codes are there to prevent cheating, too, and to make it hard for a dealer to influence the game in any way. There are a number of common ones that are often the same or at least very similar in many places all over the world.

Common Dealer Signals

Clearing Hands

This signal shows the casino staff and all the cameras that a dealer has empty hands and no way of putting anything down their sleeves or anywhere else. The dealer will usually signify this by raising their hands and clapping them once. They may instead raise their hands and show both the back and front, or shake out their hands and fingers to show that they are not holding onto any chips or cards.

Dealers will always clear their hands before touching themselves in any way or holding their hands behind their backs as play continues. They will also clear before they cover their mouths to sneeze or yawn.

Tapping the Table

If you’re enjoying a game of cards or roulette at a physical casino, you’ll likely have seen or heard dealers tapping on the exposed wood of their tables with a chip that they have been tipped. This is seen as a way of thanking the guest who tipped them, but in reality, it’s a signal to the casino security that they have tipped this chip and not stolen it. The chip is then placed in a safe box for storage until the dealer has finished their shift and is cashed out.

Clapping Before Leaving

Another reason for casino dealers to clap is to indicate that they are leaving their table. They may be going on break, shutting the table down or ending their shift. The clap is for the same reason that’s listed in the “clearing hands” section: to show security and guests that nothing is held or lodged in their hands or sleeves. Palms being turned around, hands waved, and fingers wiggling are also common.

Game-Specific Dealer Signals

Poker Signals

Whether you’re playing poker live online or in a brick-and-mortar casino, these hand signals will likely be used by you and your dealer.

Fold – Folding means that you’re removing yourself from the game, either because you don’t feel your hand can compete or because you’re no longer interested in playing. If you’re ready to fold, the appropriate gesture to use would be to place your entire hand face down on the table.

Call – Calling in poker means that you’re either matching the previous player’s bet. The appropriate gesture is to place your bet on the table in front of you in the form of a stack of chips. The value will be determined by the previous bet.

Raise – This goes hand in hand with the previous point as a raise not only matches the previous bet but exceeds it, driving the pot up even further. First, you do as above and place your “call” chips down in front of you or slide them toward the centre of the table. Then you add chips to the value of your raise.

Bet – If you’re the player opening the betting, you need to place chips to the value of your bet in the middle of the table and wait for the other players to match or raise as play goes around the table.

Craps Signals

Craps isn’t as gesture reliant as other casino games, but there are still a few that you should know.

Rolling the dice – Though this isn’t technically a secret signal it’s important to include because craps players, new and old, should always know. Only handle or roll the dice using one hand.

Passing right – If you don’t want to roll the dice in the current round, you can pass play along to the player on your right by opening the hand with the dice in it and holding them out, open palm, to the player immediately to your right.

Hands high – If a dealer calls “hands high” or “dice are out” during a craps game, all players must immediately lift their hands off of the table so that the dealer and casino security can see that they are not interfering with play or substituting dice.

Roulette Signals

As with craps, this is not a game with a wealth of hand signals but the ones that do exist are important.

No More Bets – If a dealer is ready to spin the wheel, they will signal “no more bets” by raising or waving their flat hand horizontally across the table. They will also communicate this verbally for extra clarity.

Hands Away – If the dealer calls “hands away,” all players must remove their hands from the table while losing bets are cleared.

A Secret Language

These code phrases and motions keep casinos and casino games running smoothly. Have you seen them in action?