Shoe with Camera?

#1
I live down in St. Petersburg Fl, and I have just started into the world of BlackJack. I gamble on a ship off shore. The BJ tables use an optical camera to read weather or not the dealer has a BJ or not. In Vegas I saw that they used a Mirror in the table. The other night I noticed that it looked like there was a camera in the front of the shoe, built into the table. Can anyone explane this to me? One more Question, Does the casino control weather the shoe favors them or the players, or is it all chance?
thanks Jay
 

KenSmith

Administrator
Staff member
#2
MindPlay?

This could have been the MindPlay system, which tracks all the cards dealt. In addition, the chips themselves have electronics embedded to track betting amounts. It's a system designed to track player's betting more accurately, both for comp purposes and for detecting card counters.

So far, the system hasn't been very successful. It's expensive, and not all that reliable. It's also been involved in a lawsuit alleging that the casino used the device to preferential shuffle. That is, shuffle away player-favorable situations.

You can read more about the device at the manufacturer's website:
(Dead link: http://www.ballygaming.com/sds/mindPlay_products1.asp)

As for your last question, the only control the casino has over the game favoring the players or the casino is the shuffle. If we assume that the shuffle does a decent job of randomizing the cards (or at least can't be manipulated by the dealer intentionally), then the game is random. I think that's a safe assumption.

However, casinos have sometimes been known to use the preferential shuffling I mentioned above to alter the odds of the game. If you're playing a game where the shuffle point is indicated with a separate 'cut-card' in the deck, that eliminates this concern.
 
#3
cut card

Yes they do ues a cut card. They all so ues those auto shufflers. Like I said I am new to playing BJ, I've played like 5 times in vegas, and about 10 times here on the boat. I like BJ because of all the fun talking to the other players.
Now if I can just get a little better!!! :D
thanks
Jay
 
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