5 Unspoken Rules That Texas Strippers Want People to Know

I recently went to El Paso to celebrate my cousin's graduation and decided to go a day early so my other cousin and I could eat some birria tacos and drink some agua frescas. (Do not call it spa water!)

My cousin got the idea to hit up a gentlemen's club, so I did my research and found one that had amazing reviews. But instead, my cousin decided to go to a...more notorious one. If you're from El Paso or have visited, then you probably know which one I'm talking about.

Although I didn't want to go, my cousin and I made a deal: I would go with him to the club, and he would go with me to a drag show so we could experience actual entertainment. (Spoiler: that didn't happen.)

I was in for a surprise as soon as we walked into the club. Many women were there enjoying themselves along with their husbands and boyfriends. Some were even family members just out to enjoy themselves.

They immediately patted me down and I was branded with a stamp of a unicorn. I guess because they're dreamy, maybe? I was on my phone the whole time and got the brilliant idea to ask one of the girls working table service (who didn't serve alcohol but you could request ice from her) if I could interview her about strip club etiquette for an article. She looked reluctant, but I told her I wouldn't use name and it was just so other people would know what not to do when they go to other strip clubs.

Rule #1: Make sure your bills are always given out nicely. I saw some men throwing their money at the girls, but not like how you see it in the movies. It seemed some men were angry and just chunking money. I even heard a wad of ones hit the back wall. Respect the women working, y'all.

Rule #2: Dry and crisp bills only. No one, not even a stripper, wants to be given money that is wet from alcohol, ice, sweat or from falling into the toilet. Crisp bills are also easier to pick up when the girls decide to switch dancing spots.

Rule #3: Hold onto you drinks. Dropping a drink could spell disaster and make the floor dangerous. Many bottles and glasses had been dropped before and everyone who has dropped a glass knows it goes everywhere. Glass can travel far, especially under tables and chairs. It can also get embedded in carpet, so when the dancers are making their way across the club they could slip on glass or worse -- have it stick into their shoes, which can transfer it to platforms and make dancing on them very dangerous.

Rule #4: Don't flip tables. The club I went to had many tables with chips in them from apparently being flipped by patrons who were not getting the attention they wanted from the girls. Some men get jealous of other guys if they're too focused on one particular dancer, which can make things awkward for everyone involved. Since this strip club was BYOB, some patrons don't pay attention to their surroundings and took down a whole table down by accident.

Rule #5 is the most important and obvious. Don't ask dancers for their phone numbers. They aren't there to date; they're there to work. Many of the girls that were working were actually working there to better their lives, especially with those El Paso gas prices.

So remember these five rules next time you go to a gentlemen's club and you probably won't be labeled a creepy table-flipping, drink-dropping guy with wet cash.