Lesson description
Mr Blackjack covers the legalities behind card counting and what the casinos will do if they catch you in the act.
In any casino worldwide, it is not illegal to count cards. Using your brainpower to count and make informed decisions to get the best-desired outcome will never be illegal. That's just being skilled.
Law enforcement will never be able to arrest you. Card counting is considered a skill because you're making calculations using probability.
You're keeping a true count of all cards being played in the game, tracking Aces, and deploying basic strategy all in your head, to influence the odds of the game in your favor.
Card counting has a negative reputation because people confuse it with cheating, which is illegal.
As long as you are not marking the cards, bribing dealers, or using any external devices, like mobile apps, what you are doing is perfectly legal.
However, the casino can refuse service to you for any reason. All casinos are listed as private property thus they can tell you to leave or impose rules on you should you want to stay and play.
For example, this could happen to you if you get caught counting cards. Some security guy with an earpiece will tap you on the shoulder and ask you to go for a talk in a public space.
It won’t be like that scene in Casino with the hammer and the hand. They will ask you if you are counting cards. You don’t have to tell the truth. They will then give you two options.
They will ask you to leave and say, 'We won’t book your action,' or they will force you to flat bet for the entire shoe.
This means if you start betting $50 a hand, you have to maintain that bet for the entire shoe. You can’t vary your bet at all.
This renders card counting less effective because you need to vary your bet when the shoe is hot.
The first time this happened to me I was shocked. I had only been playing for a few hours. I wasn't sure what to do, so I kept playing flat bet for an hour and then left.
I played dumb and didn't let on like I knew what he was talking about. If this ever happens to you, do whatever feels right.
Don't panic, stay calm, and let them know of your intentions and ask to go back to the tables or leave. The decision is yours. Card counting is not illegal.
