Card counting is a very controversial technique often used in blackjack. It is not exactly illegal, but it gives players such a big advantage that many casinos prohibit it on their premises. Since casinos are private property, they are within their writes to throw out and ban players who are caught card counting. How do casinos catch card counters? This write-up takes a look at some of the means casinos use to this end.
One of the most important anti-card counter measures is so simple that it has come to be taken for granted. This would be the now-widespread rule prohibiting players from standing on the sidelines for the early parts of a game and then joining in the middle. Card counters would often do this, because it gave them an opportunity to calculate odds, and then join game play at an advantageous time without “wasting” too much money at the beginning portion of the game.
Of course, there are also some more “high-tech” ways casinos try to combat card counters. One of the foremost is the use of automated systems to scan card values just after the deck is shuffled. “Intelligent” shoes have also been made to scan and record the values of cards taken out of shoes to ensure that game play is closely monitored. This way, dealers do not have such an arduous time dividing their attention between “regular” dealer procedures and keeping an eye out for card counters.
A related concern to catching card counters is to make sure that banned card counters stay out of the casino for the designated period (one year in most Nevada casinos, for instance). It is not unheard of for banned players to try to return to a casino too early. They then try to avoid detection by giving out different names and changing their appearance and/or manner of play. However, many of the best casinos scan their clientele with facial recognition technology to make sure that banned individuals do not manage to slip onto the premises. Still, this issue is rather controversial, since many card counters say that their propensity (and ability) to slip into casinos where they have been banned is highly exaggerated.
It is possible that blackjack casinos are overreacting to the “threat” posed by card counters. According to some online sources, an entity known as Griffin Investigations was once fairly popular among casinos seeking to bar card counting. However, some blackjack players sued the company for libel—and won. The company is now closed.
It can also be argued that card counting should not be banned. After all, if a player is allowed to bring a strategy card, as happens at some casinos, why should he/she not be allowed to do card counting? Furthermore, if actual official legislation does not make card counting illegal, maybe laws should be introduced to protect players’ right to use this technique.
The debate concerning card counting is evolving and becoming more complex, particularly with the spread of online gambling, where, of course, detection of card counting would be quite a different matter. This controversy is, not surprisingly, why some people become fascinated by blackjack in the first place.