Question of the Day - 03 May 2025

This is a common question and it's time to answer it again.

In reverse order, yes, it's normal for basic strategy players to lose more than they win. And since your husband is a hothead, that might make it worse; he could start steaming, playing aggressively to break even after a series of losses, which will cloud his judgment. And knowing basic strategy doesn't mean he plays every hand perfectly, especially if he's suspicious and trying to second guess the dealer or something. 

And no, it's highly unlikely that your husband is being cheated. 

"Mechanics," or cheating dealers, can control the cards to the extent that they can "stack" the deck or manipulate it in a such a way as to create or preserve a desired sequence of cards to be dealt. They can also deal seconds, which means knowing the value of the top card on the deck and dealing out the second card, saving the first card for themselves or confederates. The same is true with dealing from the bottom of the deck. Dealers can ascertain the value of the top and/or bottom cards if they're marked in some way or by sneaking a peek.

Marking cards and dealing seconds are fraught with risk for a casino dealer, though stacking the deck is essentially free of the risk of getting caught (the deck can be stacked wrong, which would cost the dealer his money, but not his freedom). Stacking can occur in all card games and can be done in many ways, though the most successful method is to use a skillful shuffle. Blackjack is one of the easiest games to stack, because in its simplest form, the dealer has to control only two cards.

About those two cards. These are known as the "key cards," the ones that have to be controlled during the shuffle, so they're dealt to the proper player at the proper time. Key cards might be an ace and 10. Obviously, if this natural blackjack can be arranged to go to a player of the dealer's choosing, it's not a question of if the dealer's "agent" will win, but how much.

So that's the first part of the long answer: A dealer needs a confederate in order to stack a deck (or deal seconds) for cheating purposes.

And here's the second part. Stacking the deck is a highly complicated process that involves identifying the key cards as they're dealt, picking up the cards in such a way that the key cards are in the proper position to be dealt after the shuffle, calculating the IBN or "in between number" of cards that have to be dealt in order that both key cards wind up in the same hand, controlling the slug that contains the key and IBN cards during the shuffle, and accounting for the burn card. 

Now, here comes the third part of the long answer –- in the form of a question. Why would a dealer go to all that trouble if there's nothing in it for him? If his agent has a $2,000 bet out, he's got plenty of incentive to stack the deck and deal him a natural, especially if the dealt cards are laid out just right on round after round before the shuffle. But to do it just to beat the players? That makes little sense on several levels.

With some exceptions, all dealers want the players to win. Winning players tip out; losing players don't. And tokes are the main source of income for dealers, who make minimum wage.

What about a cheating dealer taking off square players to cover his agent's winnings? When the agent wins a substantial amount of money, it naturally generates attention from the bosses. But if the dealer cheats other players to make up for the loss, the attention doesn't go away. The bosses will still focus on the winning player, possibly on the dealer too, if they suspect something's not kosher. The only thing the dealer accomplishes by cheating other players is increasing the chances of getting caught. The fewer moves a cheater makes, dealer or agent, the better the chance of getting away with it. Getting caught means jail time and a felony record.

Yes, it's tempting to think that a cheating dealer can make move after move on a table, but in real life, according to all the information at our disposal, it doesn't happen. In fact, the optimal result is when the agent wins so much money on the square that he and the dealer don't have to cheat at all. Of course, this is a rare occurrence, but it's the best possible scenario.

Finally, what about a mechanic employed by the casino to cheat the players? Yes, this did happen in the past, when a marginal casino could take off a high roller at will using a good card sharp. But in today's world, the casino doesn't have to cheat. A well-run joint has a million ways to beat the players legitimately and not risk its gambling license to eke out a few more dollars here and there using various nefarious methods. Besides, then the casino is in bed with the cheater and that's bad for both.