Of all the questions I've been asked as a croupier, this one seemed to pique everyone's curiosity the most, 'Have you ever caught anyone card counting?' But, of course, as a casino dealer working at high-class establishments in London, that's the sort of question that many greenhorns routinely asked me. They'd never been to bricks and mortar casinos before and had no idea how to play blackjack.
Card counting gained notoriety, at least partially, thanks to Ben Mazrich's 2002 bestseller – Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. Hollywood later made this groundbreaking story of a group of well-organized blackjack cheats into a blockbuster starring the inimitable Kevin Spacey and a talented cast of up-and-coming actors. The film – 21 – was released in 2008, and it detailed the exploits of blackjack card counters as they took on Vegas for millions of dollars.
In the story, the M.I.T. students work together to count cards, helping one another cash in when the count is correct. Some of the team members assume the role of spotters. They place the minimum bet and keep score (known as the count). The other players assume the role of big players who come on over to the tables and place substantial wagers once they receive a signal from the spotters. Remember, card counting is about relative advantage. When the advantage is in the player's favour, it's time to bet big. When it's not, it's better to back away.
You may be wondering if I'd read the book? That was a question that many visitors asked me. Had I watched the movie? Is that how it went down? I sincerely doubt that there is much credibility in how film studio portrayed the story to viewers.
Anyone trying their luck in a high-end casino, especially in a small private members club in London, would stand out like a sore thumb. In one of the casino establishments I worked at, there were two roulette tables on the main gaming floor and two card tables. The casino used one of them for blackjack.
The private members club was very picky about who was invited to play. Only a select few were chosen. Dealers, supervisors, hosts, managers, and casino staff routinely outnumbered players by a ratio of 10 to 1. Based on this reality, it would have been impossible for a renegade group of con artists to pull off a card counting scam. It's the stuff of fairytales and legends – it's not rooted in reality. At least not at the posh London casinos that I worked at.
Occasionally, players will try card counting, but it's challenging to count cards at the casino successfully. As blackjack croupiers, we are trained to identify card counters, but it was never an issue if players lost. In the ten years that I hosted blackjack games, I only came across two players banned from the casino for counting cards. The reason they were banned: they were consistently winning. It's not the card counting that's the issue; it's the fact that players are benefiting from it. That gives you an idea that it’s pretty tricky to make a success of it.
The most common form of cheating in blackjack games is lying. There are five ways that I noticed players lying in an attempt to win money playing blackjack:
BLACKJACK CHEAT #1: PRETENDING THEY DIDN’T WANT ANOTHER CARD
It's no surprise that players get pretty miffed when they ask for another card and then bust. So naturally, some players will say they never asked for that card in the first place. Players routinely try this manoeuvre even after tapping the box requesting another card. Sometimes they will verbally request another card. Then, if the card is unfavourable, they deny that they asked for it. If dealers took players at their word, blackjack casinos would fold. If you've read my recollections of how players in Mayfair cheat on roulette, you'd know how big a problem this is.
There are many variations of this. For example, a player may be waiting to see what the blackjack dealer has before deciding whether to request another card. I recall this particular case. A gentleman (hardly a gentleman), he was a cheater extraordinaire – got a three when he asked for a card. I drew a ten on the ten hole card that I was holding. This hand total amounts to 20 for the dealer. My hand beat both his hands. I posted the losing bets, and I put away the cards.
Only then – after he had considered the state of the game – did he claim that he never wanted a card in the first place. He reasoned that if I took the three and then drew the ten, I would bust with 23. He assumed that he would be paid for both boxes. Believe it or not, this type of ruse often got away scot-free in Mayfair.
BLACKJACK CHEAT #2: PRETENDING THEY WANTED ANOTHER CARD
I have a mate named Jack who has a pet peeve: He states that the worst thing he has to go through is when a player has a hand like 17, and naturally, they don't want to hit on 17. But if the dealer has a 10-value card, they pull an Ace, the dealer has blackjack, suddenly the player claims they wanted a card on 17. So, the player would have had 18, and the dealer wouldn't get blackjack – quite the lie.
BLACKJACK CHEAT #3: PRETENDING THEY WANTED TO DOUBLE DOWN
The practice of doubling down, or simply doubling as it's commonly known, is a separate bet whereby the player takes one final card. If you win on a double, it pays out substantially more than if you simply hit the same hand value. So naturally, players who see they could have won more if the card dealt to them claims that they wanted to double down. Isn't it uncanny how this routinely happens after the fact!
BLACKJACK CHEAT #4: BETTING OVER/UNDER THE TABLE MINIMUM VALUE
Some blackjack players are always trying to gain an advantage wherever they can. They will deliberately bet over/under the table minimum, hoping that the dealer won't see. Why? If you get under the table minimum and you lose, it should be a no-bet. The player would then request their money back. However, if they bet under the table minimum and win, they want the full value of the winning bet paid to them. A blackjack player who places a bet over the table maximum value may request the difference to be returned if it loses.
BLACKJACK CHEAT #5: USING “WRONG” CASINO CHIPS
Whenever a blackjack player decides to modify their bet, it's best to verbally confirm that's what they want to do. If the blackjack croupier doesn't acknowledge this verbally, and the bet is within the minimum and maximum required limits, the player may decide to capitalize on this. Let's take an example of a player betting C$300 a box on blackjack. That's three chips valued at C$100 each. Next, that player decides to bet C$225. Perhaps that bet is made of 2X chips of C$100 each and 1X chip of C$25 at the bottom of the stack. As a blackjack dealer, you need to verify what they want to do. Look at the chips. Count the chips. Confirm the modified bet.
If you don't confirm the bet value and they have played C$300 per hand, they will expect to be paid out for C$300 for that hand. However, there's an angle if the blackjack player goes the other way. The player bets C$150 per hand instead of the usual C$100 per hand. Remember, the incorrect chip is often hidden or obscured at the bottom of the stack. If the player loses that bet, they will want the extra C$50 back, but if they win, they want to get paid for the full C$150 of the bet they placed. Some players get so unruly that they may demand the entire losing bet be returned to them!
Samantha Rea is a London-based journalist and former croupier. She can be found tweeting here
