Question of the Day - 04 October 2021

 I have observed the very things that the person who posted this question has asked about. Whenever the dealer starts a new shoe and gets a blackjack first hand, I leave the table. This happens all the time. Secondly, the dealer seems to never bust and when they have a 2 or 3 showing they amazingly draw to a 21. This is not chance, but reality. If you don't believe it, then watch as you play and see how often these scenarios happen.

I would suggest that selective memory and confirmation bias are both much better explanations than cheating.

I've had this discussion before--it was debated in a previous Q of the Day.  Was the dealer dealing from the hand or a shoe?  I feel I was being cheated by a dealer who was holding the cards in her hand--a lot of unnecessary razzle dazzle (unnecessary hand motions) as she delt the cards.  I think the deck was stacked--face cards on bottom which she dealt to herself!  She beat me on every hand.  However, if the cards were coming out of a shoe, could the same result have happened?  It would take some really good sleight of hand to pull that off!  And the same from all of the dealers?  Seems highly doubtful.  Sounds like a long streak of BAD LUCK!

As Mr. Snyder said, yes, there may be SOME cheating going on, SOMETIMES, but I'm sure that it happens ALL the time from ALL dealers to the questioner. After all, this guy is so good that he could constantly beat the house edge if he weren't cheated. (Cheating probably is the excuse he uses when his wife wonders why he came home with no money)

Almost all of the casinos in CA use shuffle machines.  I have spoken to a couple of mechanics that work and maintain some of the shuffle machines.  They have all said that those machines can be programmed to place the cards in a specific order if programmed to do so.  Some of the shufflers can be set up to place the cards in a semi random order with the shuffle set up as if it was a slot machine,  with a predetermined outcome with a targeted house hold.  The programming done to simulate a slot type payout.  None of these mechanics have said that the casino they work at does this, though.  So I cannot say that it actually happens, I have no proof.  There is a Flush game where you are dealt 7 cards, and win based upon how many of the same suit, straight flushes, etc.  I saw someone in Laughlin bitch at a dealer that the shuffler was set up. as all the hands were dealt, whether someone was sitting at the spot or not.  The dealer always recieved the last hand.  I doubt they did that.

While i have seen my winning diminish in the last 60 years, I do not observe obvious cheating like I did in the mid 1960's right after Thorp's book "Beat the dealer" came out. Casinos did not yet have computers so they all thought every BJ player knew how to count cards and would bankrupt them. My brother played in nearly every casino in Reno head to head with dealers and i stood by and watched the dealer.  Every one of them cheated or would have a mechanic come in as soon as they saw my brother was counting and winning.  When I accused a dealer of dealing seconds her response was "so what?"  Once casinos got computers and figured out shuffling early or multi-decks would address card counters the need for dealer cheating pretty much went away. Now they have added 6-5 BJ and reduced double down, etc. Interesting you can get better BJ at local casinos now. as Snyder says there is little need or incentive for dealers to cheat today.  no need "rules" let them win anyway--dont play 6-5 BJ

The questioner seems convinced something crooked is happening. I don't think a Vegas casino or any other legit place would risk their license by doing that. There's no need to, the odds favor the casino and they'll come out ahead in the long run. But whether it's a run of bad luck or cheating dealers, if you aren't winning then stop playing at that table. Try other tables or a different casino. Don't continue playing there if you consistently lose, that's not fun and it's goofy to put yourself thru that.

Uh, did the OP mean Los Angeles?  or LV?  or LA (Louisiana)?  Didn't know there were casinos in Los Angeles.

As for "all dealers" cheating as described, remember the old saying, "Three can keep a secret...if two of them are dead."

Candy



  

I can't verify blackjack cheating but at our local casino in Wheeling WV there seems to be an unusually high number of 3's thrown at the craps table and this has gone on for YEARS. 

I dealt at Barona in San Diego a few years ago. I heard this all the time from players who played "hunches" instead of solid, BJ strategies or even counting. I couldn't count on both hands how many times they made a decision that altered the flow of the cards and let to them losing two or three hands before things normalized again, and then of course it is the dealers fault they are losing. I cant say this enough, Black Jack should be played for fun. You should have an entertainment budget and should stick to it. If you lose that, then leave. Do not go to the ATM machine, do not whip out $500/$800 more so you can "get your money back". This is all about self control and discipline more than anything else. I hope the author of this question takes my advice. Losing streaks happen, in fact they are unavoidable. stay away for awhile if this is happening to you.

Best answer, hands down.
Interesting, though about the Shufflemasters being able to pack the deck!
I'd like to see that whole scenario.

My wife and I were playing BJ at the fremont in downtown vegas. It was the last night of a 7 day visit. We were mostly lossing.The table was filled. The table minimum was $15. The dealer got 26 twenty ones in a row. I called the pit boss over and politely asked the boss to change dealers. I got the pit boss to watch the dealer to continue to get 15 more twenty ones in a row. I asked politely if he would change the dealer.The pit boss told me they do not change dealers because of play. I said that was a lie and then left the casino with my wife. I have seen a lot of streaks. It really made me angry. I was there to have a good time.

The poster wrote "L" period "A" period which is the correct abbreviation for Los Angeles and not for Las Vegas or Louisiana.

LA  without periods -- as in all state abbreviations -- is the abbreviation for Louisiana

Why would "LA" be an abbreviation for Las Vegas? It wouldn't. It isn't.

I think you're just posting to "hear your own voice" when you have nothing to contribute.

Recently was the anniversary of the terrible mass shooting in Las Vegas. I have never heard any final conclusion to "who and why" that did it. Was it just a lone wacko or was there more to the investigation that hasn't been told. What happened to the girlfriend of the shooter?

i'd like to ask anthony c. a follow up to kevin seamans statement of seeing 26 21's in a row followed by another 15...anthony, my good sir, you have played more blackjack than most folks. have you seen anything even remotely similar to what kevin s. stated regarding the loooong run of consecutive 21's ?? i believe that i don't believe the writer on this one. can i/we get an anthony c. quote on this or is he currently checking out a buffet or cheap beer special ??
p.s. anthony and andrew, love your podcast. you guys seem to be having a lot of fun with it. thanks for the added entertainment. go raiders...peace...

As mentioned by Brent, selective memory is likely the culprit. We remember the bad things then blow them up even bigger in our minds? Also, even mediocre card manipulation takes a lot of practice and not many can do it, especially under fire in a real-world situation. It wouldn't be easy to fill a casino with even partially proficient mechanics. If a dealer got 26 followed by 15 more 21s, that's 41 in a row. No, never seen that and would have to bet against it being a reality. I've never counted successive dealer 21s, but I'd say I've seen six or seven straight, or maybe 10 out of 11 or 12. Certainly 41, 26, or even 15 in a row would be very unlikely. I do know the most naturals I've gotten in a row. It's three, which I've done on several occasions. Never four, which is surprising.

[email protected] wrote above, "anthony and andrew, love your podcast. you guys seem to be having a lot of fun with it."

I second that. The combination of the relative newbie to Vegas (Andrew) and the Vegas veteran (Anthony) gives the podcast a unique flavor. It *is* a lot of fun.  

 The only thing wrong with it is that it's too short (only about 12 minutes) and too infrequent (once a week). Any chance eps could be longer and more frequent?

Scroll back up to the Question.  Whomever typed it wrote L.A.  

I know about L.A. referring to Los Angeles; LV being used often to indicate Las Vegas; and I know LA is the postal code for Louisiana.  Perhaps a typo by the LVA person who entered the question here, but I wondered.  Usually this would have been cleared up in the answer.  I did wonder if L.A. had casinos and if so was L.A. the area this was occuring in.

Go snark yourself off to somebody else.

Candy

1. The questioner wrote that he played at an "L.A. casino." That means Los Angeles. Period.

2. You wrote, ungramatically, "Whomever typed it wrote L.A."

IMO, using "whomever" or "whom" even correctly in informal online or IRL conversation is pretentious and stuffy and is usually done to impress others and sound erudite.

However when correct usage calls for "whoever" (as it does in your sentence) yet one misuses "whomever" (as you did) it's not just pretentious, it's not just pompous, it's laughably pathetic and a dead giveaway that the user ain't exactly a Rhodes scholar.

Selective memory is likely. I’m guilty of the same thing because I feel like sometimes I’ll sit at a table and seemingly can’t win against a dealer 6 and such. I’ve also tripled my buy in before, but when on those losing streaks you don’t ever think about the times you’ve hit a 16 and got a 21 either. 

thanks so much anthony for answering my comment regarding consecutive 21's. i am honored you took the time, effort and interest to respond. you are T.H.E. man !!!!

Appreciate the suggestions. The problem with longer posts is that most don't like them being too long, so we purposely try to make them run the length they have been. As to more frequent, you're on Andrew's bandwagon there. He'd do one every day if I'd cooperate. We'll increase the frequency soon.