Gambling establishments have employed numerous strategies to put a halt to card counting, a practice that some players use to gain the upper hand in games such as blackjack. Although not considered illegal in many jurisdictions, card counting is seen as an unfair advantage and is discouraged by casinos.
Let's delve into how casinos, both physical and online, deter this practice.
Does A Casino Care If You Are Counting Cards?
Casinos do indeed take note if you are counting cards. Although it's not against the law in many countries, including the UK, it does violate some casinos' terms and conditions.
The technique of card counting involves keeping a record of high and low cards remaining in the dealer's deck, a skill requiring significant practice and experience.
Casinos view this as an unfair advantage and are quick to act against players who employ this method.
Do Casinos Kick You Out For Card Counting?
While card counting is not illegal, it is considered unacceptable in the casino world. Renowned card counters have been asked to leave casinos on numerous occasions. When you register with a casino, both online and in-person, you agree to their terms and conditions. One of these rules usually pertains to card counting, and if you're suspected of counting cards in blackjack, you could potentially face a ban.
How Can Casinos Tell If You're Counting Cards?
Casinos have devised various ways to spot card counters. Some hire former card counters to identify card counters in the game. Another method is having a friendly dealer who engages players in conversation – a tactic that can disrupt the concentration needed for card counting.
Moreover, casinos look for the typical betting patterns of card counters. For instance, suspected card counters would bet low if they believe a hand won't work in their favour and bet high when it's advantageous. Using these tactics, along with surveillance technology, casinos can spot card counters.
Can You Count Cards in Online Casino?
There are two primary forms of blackjack in online casinos: live and online blackjack. Live blackjack involves a real dealer streamed to your device, while online blackjack is a fully automated game played against a Random Number Generator (RNG). Card counting is possible in live blackjack, as you can see the cards being dealt and shuffled. However, with the deck reshuffling after every hand in automated online blackjack, it becomes almost impossible for card counters to track the cards.
How Do Online Casinos Stop Card Counters?
Online casinos have implemented measures to prevent card counting. One such measure is continuous shuffling using a Continuous Shuffling Machine (CSM), which is an automatic shuffler and dealing shoe. The CSM shuffles the cards with the remaining decks after each round, making it nearly impossible to count cards.
Many live blackjack games use multiple decks in a shoe, and the dealer doesn't use the full shoe before switching to another. Additionally, another dealer is often shuffling cards in the background for the other multi-deck shoe so it can be switched out quickly. This makes card counting difficult as the dealer running the game is still dealing whilst cards are being shuffled, resulting in too many things for the card counters to focus on at the same time.
Online casinos also reserve the right to ban players suspected of card counting, thereby deterring potential card counters.
In conclusion, while card counting is not illegal, it is very much frowned upon by casinos. As the gambling landscape continues to evolve, card counters may find it increasingly difficult to practice their strategy, both online and in physical casinos.