When it comes to using questionable tactics to win in blackjack, much of the attention has often been put on the players, who’ve used everything from chip placing to cards in their sleeve to cheat the house. Even card counting is sometimes construed as cheating by novice blackjack players (though it’s not).
In any case, it’s not always the players trying to pull one over on the casino, because casinos have also been known to use certain tricks on blackjack players. Some of these tricks are blatant cheating methods that are rarely used today, while others are more subtle tricks designed to keep people playing the game and spending money. With this being said, here are some of the most common casino tricks used against blackjack players.
Removing Cards from the Deck
Before we launch into the first way that casinos cheat in blackjack, it should be stressed that this method is rarely used by casinos today because of the severe consequences by gaming regulators. With that out of the way, some casinos have/will remove one or two 10-value cards from the shoe, which increases the house edge. The reason why this affects the house edge is because less 10-value cards reduces a player’s chances of getting a blackjack, which also reduces the amount of times they can get 3:2 payouts (or 6:5).
Subtle Tricks
While this isn’t cheating per say, some casinos use a number of psychological and subconscious methods to cheat players out of money. For example, dealers are instructed to deal as quickly as possible to get more hands in, which exposes players more to the house edge. Another well-known trick involves offering blackjack players free alcoholic drinks to dull their senses and promote poor play. Finally, casinos offer fewer low stakes tables so that players are forced to play mid and high stakes blackjack, which leads to more casino profits.
Slight of Hand
One final blackjack cheating method that casinos have used to defraud players involves dealers and slight of hand tricks. Going further, some dealers are so skilled that they can slip a player a bust card without anybody even noticing. Now it should also be noted that dealers rarely have anything to gain from doing so, and very few casinos would ask their dealers to do such a thing.
Long story short, the majority of casinos out there today are regulated by powerful gaming authorities that have no tolerance for cheating of any kind. The only casinos you really need to watch are the remote ones that seem to have little regulation.
1. They hide the progression of time
"Making gamblers lose track of time, such as by not having clocks on the walls, or windows to the outside world of sunsets and sunrises." As another user points out, shopping malls use this same tactic. — Ann Litz
2. They make sure everyone sees a win
"If someone wins big, everyone on the floor will know it, because there will be flashing lights, and noises. Casinos will leave these flashing lights and noises running until their staff turn up and administer the win ... anyone coming onto the floor sees and hears evidence that 'other people are winning.'" If they can win, why can't you? — Mark Harrison
3. They put opportunities in your path
Everywhere you go in Vegas, there's an opportunity to gamble — especially in hotels. "As [guests] walk back and forth past all the bells and lights and flashy accoutrements," explains a Quora user, "they're tempted to throw a coin in here and there, and many times stay and play for a while." — Richard Litz
4. They provide 'free' perks
"I have a couple of friends who boast about the 'free' rooms, food and other stuff they get from the big Vegas casinos ... it is their losses that pay for the complimentary stuff." — Steve Black
5. They use chips rather than cash
"Chips are innovative form of money that hold good only for the casinos. Once the players change their money into chips, most of them tend to spend completely rather than going back and getting the remaining cashed." — Akhilesh Saklecha
6. They know you won't do the math
One Quora user who used to live in Reno, Nevada, explains that casinos love to advertise their payback rate, or how much money people aren't losing in their casinos. While billboards reading "97.8% payback rate, highest in Reno!" must be technically accurate by law, she mentions that people forget something important: "That average payback rate includes when someone wins Megabucks in their casino. It includes when there are slot tournaments and someone wins a car. If someone hits a million dollar jackpot, how many dollars did they have to take 2.2 cents from to make that happen? (The answer is just short of $45.5 million) But no one does that math." — Erin Painter Baker
7. They regulate camera use
"Never allowing a camera in a casino, unless it is to show someone winning. This means that every movie, every TV show, if it wants to include footage of the casino, shows happy young people winning." While it's hard to stay on top of smartphone cameras, photographers with more obvious equipment might run into snags with security. — Fred Landis
8. They give you the illusion of control
Gamblers get to choose what casino they visit, which games they play, and which moves they make, which can make them overly confident. "Gamblers do not think that [they] are average," explains one user. "They are under the illusion that they are going to be different; they are going to win ... The more choices that they are given, the more that these choices appear to be complex and involve skill, the more that gamblers, especially pathological ones, will believe that their bets will win, even though bets on average clearly will not." — Timothy Takemoto
9. They offer free drinks
"Drunk people take more risks than sober people, and there's nothing like a paid up bar tab to make you feel like you have extra cash to burn." — Christian Cipriani
Rules
The game is played using six decks, which are reshuffled after each hand.
Dealer hits on soft 17.
Player Blackjack pays 3 to 2.
Any other winning hand is paid 1 to 1.
Insurance pays 2 to 1.
Split up to three hands.
Surrender any first two cards.
Split aces receive only one card.
No re-splitting of aces.
A split ace and a ten-value card is not a Blackjack.
Betting
Click on a chip to place a bet.
Additional clicks on the chip interface will add to the wager.
To remove a bet, click on the chip in the betting circle.
Minimum amount to bet is $1 while the maximum is $500.
Card Values
Card suits are irrelevant.
Cards 2 to 10 have face value.
Jacks, queens, and kings are worth 10.
Aces have a value of 1 or 11.
Win or Lose
The Player wins when he holds a score that is 21 or less, but greater than the Dealer’s final total.
Achieving a score of 21 or less when the Dealer’s final score exceeds 21.
An ace and any ten-value card together on the initial deal is called a Blackjack.
Blackjack pays 3 to 2, providing that the Dealer does not also have Blackjack.
A Player and Dealer Blackjack on the same hand results in a tie, known as a push.
Any winning score of 21 after a split is paid 1 to 1.
Button Descriptions
Deal - Used to start the game after you have placed your bet.
Hit - Used when you want to be dealt another card. Players can hit as many times as they like unless the total of the cards equals or exceeds 21.
Stand - Used when you want to keep the hand dealt to you. This automatically happens if you hit 21 or double down.
Double - After being dealt the first two cards a Player can decide to double down. The bet on the hand is doubled and one additional card is dealt to the Player.
Split - Used to split the first two cards dealt into two separate hands when they match. You can have up to three hands at one time except when you split two aces. Then, only one additional card can be dealt for each hand. A hand total of 21 after splitting aces is considered 21, not Blackjack.
Surrender - If a Player decides to surrender, they get 50% of the bet and the other half goes to the house.
Rebet - When a hand is complete, you have the option to rebet the amount previously bet.
Insurance - If the Dealer is showing an ace, the Player is offered a supplemental bet called insurance. A wager of exactly half of the original bet is placed on the table. If the Dealer has Blackjack, the house pays the Insurance bet 2 to 1. If the Dealer does not have Blackjack, the Player loses the insurance bet, and the Player's initial bet is then settled by comparing his cards with the Dealer's. If the Dealer and the Player both have Blackjack, the game is pushed and the Player gets the amount won by taking insurance, called even money.
Glossary
Bust - When either the Dealer's or the Player's cards equal more than 21.
Push - When the total of both hands are the same and fall between 17 and 21, neither hand wins.
Requires
A standard deck of cards (no Jokers)
2 to 4 players
game play
Deal four cards to each player and deal four cards to the middle and spread them in a line, face-up. The traditional way to deal Casino is two-by-two, to each player and the middle.
The first turn goes to the player to the left of the dealer and continues clockwise. Each player makes a play with one card from his hand in an attempt to capture as many cards as possible. The player must turn the card he plays face-up and place it on the table in view of all players before it is used to build or capture. The possible plays are as follows:
Capturing a card by pairing: A card from the player's hand matches the rank (number) of a face-up card in the middle. The player places his card down and then collects the matching pair for counting at the end of the game.
Capturing cards by combining: A player can capture numerical cards (Ace to 10 — not face cards) in combination if the value of the cards adds up to the value of a card in the player's hand. For instance, a player with an 8 could capture a 6 and 2.
Capturing cards by pairing and combining: A player can execute the above two moves simultaneously if the middle cards support the maneuver. For example, if a player has a 9 and the board shows a 5, 4 and 9, then he may take the combination (5 and 4) and the pair (9) at once.
Building: A player may build a combination on a middle pile by adding one of the cards from his hand, if he has the card that the new combination will add up to. For example, if there is a 2 in the middle and a player has a 6 and 8 in his hand, he can place the 6 on the 2 and declare, "building eight." The player who does this may not capture the cards from this build until his next turn. If any of the other players has an 8, he may steal this build before it gets back around to the original player. Face cards cannot be part of builds.
Building on builds: A player may build upon another player's build if he has a card that will total the value of the three cards in the build. In the above example, a player with a 9 and Ace could build Ace, 6, and 2 and declare "building nine." Similarly, the player must wait a turn to capture this build if no other player does first.
Trailing: If a player cannot capture any cards, or for strategic reasons wants to lay off a card, he may play a card face-up in the middle. Other players may then capture or utilize this card.
The dealer replenishes the hands of the players after each round, but not the middle cards.
objective
There are multiple ways to score points in Casino. Generally, capturing many cards is a good way to end up with many points. Points are scored for having the following in your card pile:
Majority of cards (27 or more): 3 points
Majority of spades (7 or more): 1 point
Big Casino (the 10♦): 2 points
Little Casino (the 2♠): 1 point
Aces (each): 1 point
For the first two benchmarks, if no one achieves the minimum number, the points are not awarded. The first player to reach 21 points is the winner.
There are three general categories of casino games: table games, electronic gaming machines, and random number ticket games such as Keno and simulated racing. Gaming machines, such as slot machines and pachinko, are usually played by one player at a time and do not require the involvement of casino employees to play.
Random number games are based upon the selection of random numbers, either from a computerized random number generator or from other gaming equipment. Random number games may be played at a table, such as roulette, or through the purchase of paper tickets or cards, such as keno or bingo
