Dealer says to you : "you're a card counter!"

[Ganken]

So I'm playing this weekend, still trying to get my basic strategy to be reflexive, playing at a 5$ min table. No bet fluctuation. Literally NONE. After I won a double, the dealer looked at me and said "I know what you are - you're a card counter." I looked back at him and said something like like that guy in the movie? and he said yeah and nothing else.

Later on he picks up one of his cards and looks at it. one of the other people at the table lookat him asking what's wrong. he goes someone's bending my cards and when i find out who it is, ...they better watch out (or something to that effect) then he looks directly at me. I smiled and played a few more hands before cashing out.

Any advise you guys have for diffusing situations like this? Is that something that a dealer will say jokingly or did he genuinly think that I was counting (I wasn't!)

Thanks

 

[ScottH]

So I'm playing this weekend, still trying to get my basic strategy to be reflexive, playing at a 5$ min table. No bet fluctuation. Literally NONE. After I won a double, the dealer looked at me and said "I know what you are - you're a card counter." I looked back at him and said something like like that guy in the movie? and he said yeah and nothing else.

Later on he picks up one of his cards and looks at it. one of the other people at the table lookat him asking what's wrong. he goes someone's bending my cards and when i find out who it is, ...they better watch out (or something to that effect) then he looks directly at me. I smiled and played a few more hands before cashing out.

Any advise you guys have for diffusing situations like this? Is that something that a dealer will say jokingly or did he genuinly think that I was counting (I wasn't!)

Thanks

If you're not counting you have nothing to worry about. Just play it off like you did by making a reference to a movie or something.

He was probably just joking around with you since you won your double down...

 

[TENNBEAR]

After having won with my max bet four hands in a row the dealer said "it looks as if we have is a card counter here". Knowing she was refering to me I simply replied, if that is what made you bust four times in a row, I am all for it. All the players at the table got a big laughf out of my comment. She ( the dealer ) never said anything else about counting the rest of the session.

 

[darrislance]

Dealer Knowledge?

A few months ago I was in an unfamiliar casino and I found a tasty DD game. Since I was in unfamiliar territory I sat down and asked the dealer what the house rules were. He replied, "Why, are you a counter?" I was shocked, almost to the point of speechlessness. I felt like my cover was blown before I even played a hand. I ended up playing a few hands sticking strictly with BS before I bolted.

I've heard several dealers refer to BS or "the book", but rarely have I heard them mention card counting. My question is: Are dealers taught to detect APs and CCs or is their knowledge just simply based on experience?

 

[MartyAce]

Dealers are the first line of defense in a casino against cheaters or even counters. Are they trained to know your counting and go tell someone? I know some places that the dealer is trained to count the cards and whenever it gets high he reshuffles automatically.

Most dealers though dont do this. And If my experience is right most dont care if you are counting. I was at a $25-$500 dollar table varying my bet quite a bit without heat and the dealer was sitting there talking to me about card counting. Of course I never gave him any reason to believe I was counting or confirm that I knew anything about it, but he was just casually talking to me about his trip to this other casino where a few buddies and him won some good money counting. He even said you cant win unless you count.

I dont think I really answered anything here, but the only real thing the dealers have to do is annouce when your bet gets to a certain level, if its a smaller place they will probably annouce black action with $100 dollar bets.

The pit boss and the eye is usually the ones who are going to catch you counting or try to do anything about it. Dealers just listen to what they are told to do by the pit.

A side story a recent casino I was in last week I was able to vary my bet from 1-16 units with zero heat. It was a 4 deck game with about 75% pen, and the dealers were very friendly and I was chatting with the pit boss all the time. Made about 80 units there in a very short time and I was gone.

 

[tribute]

Nosey dealers

After playing BJ for many years, I have never heard a dealer comment to a player about his/her skills. I believe the dealer's job is to serve the customer and perform their job duties. I know it is a difficult task sometimes, putting up with rude, obnoxious, or drunk players. As I understand, it's the pit boss or floorperson who turns up the heat on suspected AP's.

 

[bluewhale]

I know some places that the dealer is trained to count the cards and whenever it gets high he reshuffles automatically.

It seems to me that this practice should be illegal. Shuffling only when the count is pump up the house edge quite significantly. I think if casino's do this, then they should have to have it stated in the rules that they shuffle on a count of X higher.

 

[halcyon1234]

Tell her "yup". Then start counting out loud, and ramping your bets like hell. Win a crap ton, and bolt. =)

 

[ihate17]

Ganken

Forget about it.
You are flat betting, win a nice double and the dealer is making a joke, trying to bond with you, not saying but meaning, hey you won a double, perhaps throw a toke out for me.
I know dealers who count when they deal and I know dealers who do not count when they deal but count when they play. Perhaps way less than 5%, but they exist. Most do not care when they are dealing. They basically want to get the day over with the toke box filled and let the pit and eye worry about that other stuff.
A dealer will have some trouble with management if he pays too often on losing hands, lets someone cap a bet on him, or is just plain sloppy on any of the many procedures a casino may have. A dealer will not get into trouble if he did not catch a counter on his table, not his job! Some, those looking to move up the casino food chain, or those who can recognize a counter and are pissed he did not toke, might inform the pit to watch the player, but if they had not, there would be no penalty to them.

Finally, an over-reaction by you to a statement like the dealer made, could be the worst thing you could do. Take it like a joke, tell her you trained Dustin Hoffman in playing blackjack in Rainman and then call the next few cards out of the shoe. Your there to have fun, so enjoy the joking.

ihate17

 

[Walt]

You're a counter!

Obviously in your case Ganken, the dealer was joking. I have heard dealers make similar comments to players who make multiple card 21's.
My personal experience with dealers has been from one extreme to the other. I've had them converse with me about how a counter came in and made a big score or how counting doesn't work. I had one dealer tell me the only way to win was to count. She then offered to put me in contact with someone that could teach me! I've had a couple of dealers that would tell me it's a good time to take a restroom break (generally these were guys hustling tokes). BTW, don't take that break.
I've even had a couple that were counting as they dealt. I once asked one why, and she said she had nothing else to do all day. I've had a PC that was watching the game tell me that it was time for a big bet! I said, "you think so", and put it out. Then thanked her for the tip when it won. Guess I need to work on my "act".

 

[EasyRhino]

I can think of three ways to react to this:

1) Act confused. Have the dealer explain card counting to you.

2) Go immediately bitter and sarcastic and say "yeah, it's pretty obvious because I'm always raising my bet before I get a blackjack".

3) Agree, and claim godlike powers over the table.

A few months ago at a local joint, when I ramped a bet and caught a natural, the player next to me called me a cheat (we had just been discussing cheaters somehow). So I immediately began to promise "cheats" to other players at the table over the next several hands.

 

[halcyon1234]

I can think of three ways to react to this:

2) Go immediately bitter and sarcastic and say "yeah, it's pretty obvious because I'm always raising my bet before I get a blackjack".

Do you mean "before you(the dealer) get a blackjack"?

 

[EasyRhino]

Do you mean "before you(the dealer) get a blackjack"?

Well, in Ganken's case, he wasn't ramping bets at all, so he could have been extra sarcastic about it, whichever way.

... Often, if I, or another player, drops the bet, and then catches a natural, I'm likely to make a rueful comment about it.

 

[rounder13]

Tell her "yup". Then start counting out loud, and ramping your bets like hell. Win a crap ton, and bolt. =)

omg thats so damn funny.i love it.

 

[callipygian]

3) Agree, and claim godlike powers over the table.

This is a key misconception about card counting that should be repeated as often as possible outside of places seriously discussing card counting - "card counting means you'll never lose."

You can even use the "fact" that, if anyone could actually predict what cards would come out, they'd become insanely rich in just an afternoon, and since people don't get insanely rich off the casino, card counting must be bullsh**.

 

[HarryKuntz]

So I'm playing this weekend, still trying to get my basic strategy to be reflexive, playing at a 5$ min table. No bet fluctuation. Literally NONE. After I won a double, the dealer looked at me and said "I know what you are - you're a card counter." I looked back at him and said something like like that guy in the movie? and he said yeah and nothing else.

Later on he picks up one of his cards and looks at it. one of the other people at the table lookat him asking what's wrong. he goes someone's bending my cards and when i find out who it is, ...they better watch out (or something to that effect) then he looks directly at me. I smiled and played a few more hands before cashing out.

Any advise you guys have for diffusing situations like this? Is that something that a dealer will say jokingly or did he genuinly think that I was counting (I wasn't!)

Thanks

I had this said to me in jest (i think) once, my response was "I don't need to count the cards, I already know there's 52 per deck" :laugh:

 

[callipygian]

"I don't need to count the cards, I already know there's 52 per deck"

I said this once before Bringing Down the House was published, but I figure that pretending to be that ignorant of card counting now that BDTH has been published and 21 became a popular movie is overboard now.

 

[HarryKuntz]

I said this once before Bringing Down the House was published, but I figure that pretending to be that ignorant of card counting now that BDTH has been published and 21 became a popular movie is overboard now.

I don't think either were that popular in my part of the world, most people have never heard of BDTH and 21 will soon be forgotten. The average civilian (here at least) really is that ignorant. The more time you've been in the game, the more you take other peoples basic knowledge for granted, it winds me up when somebody asks me about BJ and hasn't even heard of BS.

 

[Beefcake]

I had this said to me in jest (i think) once, my response was "I don't need to count the cards, I already know there's 52 per deck" :laugh:

I usually go with "I can't even add my hand correctly half of the time, so I sure don't know how those guys can supposedly keep track of all the cards..."

 

[rollem411]

On the rare occasion a dealer notices me counting, they mostly don't seem to care. I usually have small bets out for them in + count situations so as long as you both are making money, it's all good. I've only been half shoed a couple times, and it's not the dealer you should be worried about...It's the pit crew and the eye in the sky. After all, it's not the job of the dealer to point out suspected counters.