Blackjack Card Counting

Card counting is a strategy in blackjack that gives a player an overwhelming advantage over the house. When a blackjack player counts cards, they track the cards in their head and can have a general idea of what card the dealer is going throw out next. This can be an advantage to the player because this turns the table on the house and puts them against the odds.

Blackjack Card Counting History

Card counting began gaining notoriety in Dustin Hoffman's Academy Award winning performance in Rain Man in the 1980's. He played an autistic gentleman with a talent for numbers and his brother, played by Tom Cruise, used his ability to count cards and take Vegas to the cleaners.

Is Card Counting In Blackjack Illegal?

Contrary to popular belief and definitely what casinos do not want you to know, is that card counting is not illegal in the United States. There are absolutely no rules or laws that prohibit card counters from playing blackjack in any casino in the United States. However, a casino has the right, because they are private property, to kick out any players they assume might be counting cards. They can even go as far as banning certain players from entering their casinos because of the advantage they would certainly have. They are in the business of making money and it's hard to argue with their logic. Is it fair? Now that's another question.

Because money is involved, casinos pull out all the stops in order to identify card counters and get them out of their place of business immediately. One of the simpler ways a casino will thwart card counters is to add more decks to the game. This will make it more difficult for a player to count cards, but they will not ultimately kick a player out if they are just adding decks to the game. They will also instruct the casino staff to engage the player with conversation in order to throw off their concentration.

However, they will detect card counters by incorporating computerized scanners that can identify a counting system. Casinos have state-of-the-art surveillance rooms and cameras in order to recognize card counters that could possibly be lurking in their casino. They have even gone as far as using photo books and facial-recognition technology to sniff out card counters when they enter a casino and prevent them from playing at their tables.