Not long after I learned my counting had a spin off into "magic", I became very interested in other tricks with cards. A few of them are outlined in sections on cheating in the numerous Blackjack books I have read. I next learned how to deal "seconds". You keep the top card in place and give the players the second card. Then I learned the front and back "peek". This is a way of seeing the top card by squeezing the deck. See an Ace or a 10? Deal seconds until you get to yourself. Then I learned a few false shuffles. These are ways of moving the cards around without changing their order or location. I can keep a few 10's and Ace's out of play by making sure I know where they are and wipe out a counters advantage. Palming, the double lift, I began to enjoy my new skills.
It is hard for a casino to cheat you, but it can happen. Play in larger clubs and watch the dealers hands carefully. If s/he is paying far too much attention to the deck, this is a solid clue. Cut the deck in different places if you can to prevent the dealer from putting big cards near the top of the deck before the cut to keep them out of play. If you don't want to learn a few tricks of your own, even just a short browse through a magic book on card tricks at the library can sharpen your eye to protect yourself in hand held games.
The $imple Hi-Low count which values the 2 3 4 5 and 6 cards as +1 and the 10's and Ace's as -1, 7 8 and 9 cards as 0, provides an easy count for players of all skill and betting levels. Though there are more advanced counts to use, they offer only a slight improvement in overall income. By trying a harder count you can lose the 1.6% advantage the Hi-Low can have all together by trying to achieve a 1.7% advantage. If you become an expert with the Hi-Low and want to use a better count, think carefully. Remember to Keep It $imple. This is why I use the Hi Opt II and not the Uston APC.
"Card pros count more than money: Three Casino Windsor players charged with cheating at play readily admit they were counting cards and tracking aces. But they maintain their "strategy" was not a method of cheating.
THE STRATEGY
Professional card players pretend to be ordinary gamblers, because casino operators do not want them in their establishments. They wager large sums of cash on behalf of their "investors" who employ them to play at casinos across North America.
"Key girls" are responsible for tracking aces and then secretly signalling to their partner, the "big player". The "big player" keeps a running count of the cards that have emerged and places bets.
The three are highly skilled individuals, who can be likened to players in professional sports, according to their lawyer, Don Tait. In no way are they altering the game Tait told provincial division judge Saul Nosanchuk. Mr. Z, of N.J., Ms. D, of Mich., Ms.C, of Penn., were arrested May 28, 1994 as they sat at Casino Windsor blackjack tables. They were searched and eventually charged under the Criminal Code with cheating at play.
The setup is that the "key girls," responsible for tracking aces and keying in on them, secretly signal the "big player,"the person playing the cards, who is also responsible for keeping a running count of the cards that have emerged. The three, who aroused the suspicions of a casino manager, were monitored for two days before they were arrested. The casino suspected the three were using a computer to help them keep count, but police found only a solar calculator and some beads that were used to keep track of how often they were correct on their calls.
Crown attorney Denis Harrison said the keying of aces is an attempt at "altering the element of chance." This allows the players to develop a system that enables them to predict the cards that will be dealt. That, he argued, is cheating.
He said the system using three people at the table - one playing and the other two looking for key cards - is "akin to using a device." "Why are they using two key girls and one big player?" Harrison asked. "Because one person would find it very difficult, if not impossible, to follow the aces" while concentrating on the play at the same time.
In this case the 30-year-old Mr. Z was placing bets. As part of the team he was responsible for counting cards. That's done by assigning a number, -1, 0 or +1, to the cards that are played. Casino Windsor plays with an eight deck pile.
Ms. D, 57, and Ms. C, 29, were the two key girls responsible for keying in on aces. One of the women would memorize the three cards - "steering cards" - that followed the ace. If the system was working - which would have depended upon several factors, the most important being how they were shuffled by the dealer - they would have been able to predict when the ace emerged based on the cards that came out before it. Then, the signal would be given that the ace was on its way and that the bet should be pushed up to the maximum that the table allows."
What they were doing was watching what followed a players Ace's, 10's, and Blackjack's. Why what followed them? Because when the dealer picks them up these "steering cards" will come out before these Aces. The cards in the deal after the pick up can precede the highly concentrated Aces and 10s by one hand, giving the players a chance to make larger bets before these cards come out. The next time you see a player split Aces and get 10s or another Ace to go with them, watch what follows, then keep track of what part of the deck they were in.
To learn more about "steering cards", otherwise known as "signature cards", contact
