The casino is going to do everything in their powers to eliminate blackjack card counters from its midst. When there are millions and millions of dollars at stake why wouldn’t they?
Trying to cut down on Blackjack Card counters could mean there is a lot less money walking out of the casino. There are also fewer secrets of Blackjack out there able to do damage.
Casinos have all the power and their countermeasures against Blackjack card counters have definitely made a difference and made it harder for card counting to operate.
When card counting first came into vogue the initial countermeasure was increasing the amount of decks. The more decks the much harder it is to count cards.
Automatic shuffling is another countermeasure against Blackjack card counters. How is a Blackjack player meant to keep track of the count where there is no count to be kept track of? By putting the discarded cards straight back into potential play, there is no way a person could keep track of the count. The casino has the luxury of changing the rules and the Continuous Shuffle Machines are definitely that. In online blackjack this isn’t even a question. Every hand starts with a brand new shuffled deck.
Other rules which were introduced as countermeasures against Blackjack card counters were to change the Blackjack payout from 3:2 to 6:5 as well as giving the dealer the option of hitting on a soft 17.
Taking down a card counter’s name and photo poses a huge problem for the Blackjack player in question. How will he count cards if every casino has his photo up and won’t allow him inside?
Apparently there is a blacklist consisting of all the well known blackjack card counters. The list is known as the Griffin Book and if you are in it you may find it very difficult to play Blackjack, let along count cards.
Ultimately the casinos are free to impose whatever countermeasures against Blackjack card counters they like. It’s their casino and if they don’t want card counters to operate so be it regardless of whether its fair or not.
David Hackman - News Reporter