Casino tactics against card counters

Thunder

Well-Known Member
Aside from the obvious half shoe, flat betting, comp reducing tactics casinos take against counters, would it be fair to say that some of the other less noticeable ones are changing dealers at the table a couple of times in one shoe?
 
Aside from the obvious half shoe, flat betting, comp reducing tactics casinos take against counters, would it be fair to say that some of the other less noticeable ones are changing dealers at the table a couple of times in one shoe?

How would changing dealers have any effect on a card counter?
 
How would changing dealers have any effect on a card counter?

By burning multiple cards at a time. A local joint did this to me about 6-8 months ago. The shoe was just starting to warm up really nice and boom, new dealer who burns about 6 cards. Less than 5 minutes later, tap tap, new dealer who burns about 6 more cards. I sit there in disbelief. With about 1/2 deck left to play we switch again and this dealer takes another 6 cards or so. Everyone at the table is just going crazy about this. A guy asked the pit boss why they kept doing this, he responded, just a precautionary measure. I picked up my chips and left.
 
How would changing dealers have any effect on a card counter?

Well, they could change to a dealer that deals seconds, but in most places those days are long gone. A more common tactic is to bring in a fast dealer (usually Asian) in an attempt to speed up the game and confuse or intimidate a counter, especially a novice or new counter. This shouldn't work as the players really decide how fast the game flows.
 
If they're going to burn all those cards, they might as well do it with the one dealer. It's blatant cheating either way, just like preferential shuffling.

And certainly moving to a faster dealer is likely to backfire. I wish they did that to me every time!
 
Bjc

By burning multiple cards at a time. A local joint did this to me about 6-8 months ago. The shoe was just starting to warm up really nice and boom, new dealer who burns about 6 cards. Less than 5 minutes later, tap tap, new dealer who burns about 6 more cards. I sit there in disbelief. With about 1/2 deck left to play we switch again and this dealer takes another 6 cards or so. Everyone at the table is just going crazy about this. A guy asked the pit boss why they kept doing this, he responded, just a precautionary measure. I picked up my chips and left.

Very. very interesting...where you jumping your bet at this time?

Were you being watched by a CC?

CP
 
another tactic on double deck

I am at this casino with excellent pen on its double deck game.
Their procedure upon bringing in a new dealer is to kill the stack and shuffle.
A certain pit seems to be watching the game very closely.

A new dealer comes to the table and the pit holds her back when the count is negative.
A new dealer comes to the table and the pit sends her right in when the count is positive.

Other pits do not do this at this casino so after seeing this enough times I no longer play this pit.

ihate17
 
I am at this casino with excellent pen on its double deck game.
Their procedure upon bringing in a new dealer is to kill the stack and shuffle.
A certain pit seems to be watching the game very closely.

A new dealer comes to the table and the pit holds her back when the count is negative.
A new dealer comes to the table and the pit sends her right in when the count is positive.

Other pits do not do this at this casino so after seeing this enough times I no longer play this pit.

ihate17

I really hope gaming puts a stop to this cheating. Wow.
 
Form of preferential shuffling

I really hope gaming puts a stop to this cheating. Wow.

Gaming has never done anything about preferential shuffling, and my guess is they would never do anything about this, but this did not happen in Nevada. It was at an Indian casino.

ihate17
 
Indian Casinos can, as sovereign nations, do as they please,
and YES, there have, in fact, been well documented cases
of Indian Casinos cheating the public - primarily in California.
 
That's cheatin'...

I am at this casino with excellent pen on its double deck game.
Their procedure upon bringing in a new dealer is to kill the stack and shuffle.
A certain pit seems to be watching the game very closely.

A new dealer comes to the table and the pit holds her back when the count is negative.
A new dealer comes to the table and the pit sends her right in when the count is positive.

Other pits do not do this at this casino so after seeing this enough times I no longer play this pit.

ihate17

Pretty nast there ihate17. Go back in and flat bet, wait for count to go south then do something to cause a shuffle. Play and repeat until they get sick of it, lol. J/K as I am sure you don't want to play games with "the man", could ruin a good game for you on another pit or somewhere else.
 
Just play different shifts and pits

Pretty nast there ihate17. Go back in and flat bet, wait for count to go south then do something to cause a shuffle. Play and repeat until they get sick of it, lol. J/K as I am sure you don't want to play games with "the man", could ruin a good game for you on another pit or somewhere else.

After I caught on to what was happening I kind of studied the pit involved. He took a position where he could see every card and may have been counting down the stack. Forcing a shuffle might not work.
I played other shifts without similar incidence.

Being an Indian casino with competition perhaps 45-60 minutes away and being in an area where I had no immediate plans to return too, I played a long session. I left shortly after a real good run during a positive 6D shoe. A new dealer comes in during the shuffle, wishes me good luck with a big smile and cuts the shoe in half. The Indians were telling me to take my profits, do not get greedy and just leave now, so I obeyed.

ihate17
 
By burning multiple cards at a time. A local joint did this to me about 6-8 months ago. The shoe was just starting to warm up really nice and boom, new dealer who burns about 6 cards. Less than 5 minutes later, tap tap, new dealer who burns about 6 more cards. I sit there in disbelief. With about 1/2 deck left to play we switch again and this dealer takes another 6 cards or so. Everyone at the table is just going crazy about this. A guy asked the pit boss why they kept doing this, he responded, just a precautionary measure. I picked up my chips and left.

WOW. That is a fresh one. Can you give any specifics as to where this went down? I kind of like to see that Casinos are being creative.
 
Best specific I will give is Midwest tribal casino. Typically they only burn 1 card, they couldn't have been more "obvious" in what they were trying to say.
 
Listen to this one!!! omg, it was so rediculous.

So im at this casino, that knows my name, my alternate name, my vehicles, liek they got me down, idk how they do it, but they do.

So i walk in, and I walk up to a BJ table, and security comes to me, and say, sir, your gogin to have to check that, you cant have your helmet on the gaming floor, which is total bs, because iv carried my helmet into every casino on the east coats, including this one hundreds if not thousands of times.

So, annoyed by abadnoning a shoe, i walked with them to check it, and i asked why, they sayed, our boss upsatirs said you cant have it, so i asked who, and they told me, and i knew who it was cause iv met her before!!!

so i played like one shoe, and was watched closely, then opn my way out, they asked me to wait because their boss wanted to talk with me, i was liek **** that, and i left.

They wernt gogin to give me my helmet back untill i met with her at first, i had to pick it up and just take it, which i was in my right to do, and they didnt stop me.

But i was kinda shocked by the whole thing. BUt at the same time, i was impressed because, by forcing me to check my helmet, they effectively removed me from the gaming floor for about 30 minutes, which within their rights, effectively stopped me from playing.
 
Last edited:
burn card rally

I have been to eastern casinos that do the relief dealer mix up play. The first relief comes and burns a card and then the real relief shows up and burns another. Finally they miraculasly get it right as to who is suppose to relieve who with the third one. I find it comical but they made a point to me if no one else at the table. This is a nice way of telling an ap to watch out we are watching the table. The firse time it happens you think nothing of it but the other casinos do the same act too.
 
Actually, sometimes it is not about you

I have been to eastern casinos that do the relief dealer mix up play. The first relief comes and burns a card and then the real relief shows up and burns another. Finally they miraculasly get it right as to who is suppose to relieve who with the third one. I find it comical but they made a point to me if no one else at the table. This is a nice way of telling an ap to watch out we are watching the table. The firse time it happens you think nothing of it but the other casinos do the same act too.

Not saying this was your situation but I was in a remote Indian casino that had limited parking and employees were not allowed to park nearby so most took a casino bus from nearby towns.
In this situation you get an employee bus leaving just before your dealer is supposed to get taped out. They tap her out early with someone just coming on shift or a dual rate so she can make the bus. Then a minute or two later when the relief dealer comes in they push the sub. So you get 3 dealers in perhaps two or three minutes.

ihate17
 
It happens

I would agree with you but they are sister stores. I have a good memory about things that happen and if you do something when I'm around I usually remember that it happend before. Yes I'm slightly paranoid but I think that's a good thing to a degree.
 
Back
Top