After the release of the glorious book by Professor Edward O. Thorpe about the advanced method of Counting Cards in Blackjack, everyone wanted to try it. This book became extremely popular at that time, so Blackjack fans swept it off the shelves of bookstores. This excitement frightened the casino owners, who were afraid of going bankrupt, and began to actively fight against the counters. This is how the story began.
How Do They Identify the Counters?
Since the 60s, casino owners have been actively fighting against those players who count cards while playing. Dealers who notice the counter may take this person out of the game or even out of the casino. How do they identify the counter?
The counter is easy to notice. This person is discreet, attentive, and slow. When the dealers detect these people, the security service puts them in control. The counters are blacklisted, and their photos are posted throughout the casino. Those who are under suspicion are no longer allowed in the real gambling establishments as well as some of the best Canadian online blackjack sites. However, casino owners have gone further:
- They increased the number of card decks in the game up to 8. Since the dealer is inconvenient to hold a large number of cards in his hand, there is a device called a “shoe” (rectangular plastic container for cards). Counting so many cards has become more difficult.
- Dealers insured the game by dropping the remaining cards into a special box after each round. It has become a huge problem for the counters, since they will no longer see the remaining cards, and the calculation starts from scratch.
So, if you don’t have a unique visual memory or you are not a character of the “Raining Man”, it will be almost impossible to count cards in the casino and remain unnoticed.
The Computer Will Not Allow You Counting Cards
According to the BBC, a Scottish student developed a computer program to combat Counting Cards in Blackjack in 2009. The system uses cameras in the casino to remember played cards and analyze the betting strategy of the players. The new method also makes it possible to identify errors of the dealer issuing the cards.
The system is based on the fact that the computer counts the cards as well. Then the program analyzes the betting strategy of the players at the table. If the bets of a player are close to the optimal strategy calculated by the computer, it is considered that the player also counts cards.
To Count or Not to Count?
After reading this article, some will ask themselves: is it possible to learn counting cards and remain unnoticed? It is possible, but it is useless. There are many tutorials on the store shelves, as well as training on the Internet, but such “authors” and “couches” will earn much more from selling lessons than they will win in a casino. For several decades, Counting Cards in Blackjack has been relevant. Now it’s useless.