No cover at most places during the day, at night it varies wildly depending on events.

Drinks vary a lot at various Austin clubs. YR during the day is pretty reasonable, at night it's like 8 bucks for a J&C. LS is also pretty cheap.

I've never had any issues at any club in ATX in regard to opening a tab. That said, cash is probably the better choice to help keep your spending in check. Not once have I been charged "100 bucks" at any club for a random reason, even the vegas clubs.

As for the dancers it can be hit or miss. If they walk up and immediately ask for a dance that's probably all you are going to get. If they walk up and sit down and start chatting then you are probably on to something. Once she gets to the point where she tries selling a cabana or dance you can mention that you like to have "fun" or some other code word. You'll find out quickly if she's game. Don't mention specifics that's a good way to get in trouble. There is a certain amount of hit and miss here, but agree to an amount before hand and you should be good. The best thing here though is build up that relationship a bit and then ask about outside the club. Inside the club is fun a few times but it's not really comfortable or enjoyable as you both are always on the lookout.

The two best ways to succeed in a club is to make friends with a waitress that's in the know so to speak. Some waitresses are just that. They get your drinks and that's it. The key is to find the 2-3 waitresses that are connected in the club. There's 2 really good ones at P10, and one at the LS that i'm aware of that you want to connect with as they can bring you girls and know which girls to bring you.

The other way to succeed is get in good with the managers. Most of them are pretty cool and will absolutely look the other way if you get on their good side by either buying bottles or throwing them a tip here and there.

The key to strip clubs is being at least a semi regular and figuring the place out. Once you have that you are golden. I've lucked out a few times on first visits but it certainly wasn't common for me. In my experience probably 80% of dancers are up for extra stuff and or outside the club. You start learning how to spot the ones that aren't pretty quickly.

Pick a club, go there with no expectations other than to have a few drinks and see some beautiful ladies the first time and watch. The second time go back educated and have a really good time.