How Can Casinos Tell When Someone Is Card Counting?

In your answer to the question about Beat the Dealer and what books you recommend for the current blackjack scene, you wrote about the "cat and mouse game between the casinos and the card counters," "the adversity that comes with being a blackjack pro," and the "brutally honest perspective on the highs and lows of professional blackjack." I couldn't help but wonder, if card counting happens inside someone's head, do the casinos read their mind? In other words, how do the casinos know when someone is counting cards?

The casinos have various methods by which they can "pick off" card counters, then bar them from playing blackjack or ban them from entering the building altogether.

The most common are:

*Databases. It's become more common, as the first line of defense, for casinos to look up a player in a database (primarily SIN or OSN). If they see you winning, betting big, or fluctuating bets, a casino often asks for a players card or ID, so they can see if you're a known undesirable ... a.k.a. "not a sucker." They might do this before ever watching your playing decisions or anything else: "Let's just check the database to see if he's in there."

*If someone looks like he or she is counting cards. This is the classic case of a casino cutting off its nose to spite its face. Plenty of wannabe card counters or straight-up gamblers have been backed off, because the casino thinks they're a threat, even if they aren't. We've heard of more than one gambler with six figures worth of losses over several years of poor "card counting," but plenty of casinos had backed him off simply because the guy was trying to count. It might be that a guy is just winning too much and the casino panics.

*Analyzing your play in real time. If a casino suspects you of card counting, it may deploy a floorman or surveillance operator to watch you. If you play properly and change your bets along with the count (by counting along with you or running your play through counter-catcher software), they'll then determine if they want your play or not. Remember, if you can play with an advantage based on observable information, the casino can observe that same information to decide if you're playing with an advantage.

*Analyzing your play after the fact. Sometimes a casino reviews a player after he's left, especially if you hit them for a big score, for example, any player who wins over $5,000, $10,000, or $20,000. Plenty of players get out with a big win and without a backoff, only to be turned away on their next visit.

This is all part of the cat-and-mouse game. In his book The 21st Century Card Counter, author Colin Jones talks about forms of "costly" camouflage and "free" camouflage to try to avoid casino detection. But at the end of the day, casinos don't want winners, so dealing with backoffs just comes with being a profitable player.

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Comments

Mufasa Thedog Nov-21-2024

Who's the Author?

Who wrote this answer?  The answer is written in the first person, i.e. "to me", "I", "in my book".  But we don't know who "me" is.

Kevin Lewis Nov-21-2024

Camouflage

One of my most profitable sessions ever was at the old Castaways (R.I.P.). I wound up sitting between two friends who were betting $599 to $1509 a hand. As this was a dust joint, they drew a LOT of attention--and they were winning. So I started spreading 1-8 green--damn the torpedoes--and I got no heat at all. The two big bettors weren't counting and in fact, were playing badly. But they got backed off, and I didn't.

sunny78 Nov-21-2024

hey

Hi Kevin.

Scott Nov-21-2024

OCEAN PRIME IS STILL OPEN!






 Ocean One is different from Ocean Prime. Please adjust          
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jay Nov-21-2024

The player tells

In blackjack - you are presumably playing basic strategy. 
This means that you are not making random decisions as to
When to hit or stay. You basically follow “the book”.

So the only real decision the player makes is how much to bet.
If you’re counting cards you are essentially determining if the remaining cards in the shoe are rich with 10’s or low cards.  One favours the house the other favours the player. The size of the count really determines how much favour… 

Theoretically a counter would sit playing table minimum  (flea betting) while they wait for the count to become in their favour. At which point you bet heavily.  Ie swing your bet from $10 to $400 per hand. This triggers all the flags for the house.  Often counters will use the Mr. Big scam where the counter plays table minimum and when the count goes to the player they covertly signal their heavy better who does the drunk walk up and starts playing heavy.
They do the hit and run.

Question of the Day - 21 November 2024

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