This is a little bit of an open subject.  Some will tell you every man for themselves and some will tell you to hide, …

There are a few tricks or recommendation I gathered over the years.

Avoid being on your cell phone if you are waiting behind a machine to play it. People get paranoid and think that you are recording them or something.  They see you pick their machine and hit it right after they couldn’t and that bothers them.  Like you know something they don’t. 🙂

If you are recording stats or plays it’s better to go to the bathroom or move to a distance to write on your phone or record a stat than do it in front of them.

Try to watch their play from a distance if you are waiting for them to leave a machine in a state playable for you.  See if you can sit at a machine no one plays across the room to watch from a distance.

Make friends while you play.  Cheer the person next to you.  Don’t be the person coming in and out without talking to your neighbors.  If you have free drinks then get them a drink.  Playing around friends will make it easier when you watch someone you know and talk to.  Other players won’t be so nervous.

If anyone ask you if you are up or down always tell them you are down. If they are up they will feel better than you and probably crack a conversation.  If they are down as well they will still want to crack up a conversation because you aren’t better than them. 

If you can try to find a place where you can watch and read a book for example or play a game on your phone that is within a distance but at the same time let’s you see if the machine gets free and the player leaves.