One might think that small casinos with only a pit or two, or maybe even just a handful of games, might be immune to some of the tactics of card counters. Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily true. There are many card counters who make their living from preying on smaller casinos and counting on the fact that they won’t have the resources or the know-how to detect them.
They’re able to do that because oftentimes, that is the case. My goal of this article is to give you some quick tools to level-up your advantage play detection and prevention.
What Not to Do
First, it’s important to note that low limits don’t necessarily deter card counters. A table maximum of $100 will still attract plenty of card counters willing to sit there and earn $40 an hour or so in expected value. That might not sound like a lot to some executives, but for a small casino, that could negate the theoretical win of a handful of $5-$10 players.
Second, it’s also worth noting that tactics like shallow cuts and frequent shuffles do more harm than good. Remember that when it comes to casino gaming, time and motion are the king and queen of the floor. The more we shuffle, the more time we spend shuffling, the more time is spent not dealing and getting those decisions per hour.
So, I’d strongly advise you not to use those types of tactics, as they can cut into your profit margins by affecting not just the card counter, but all the players who are not playing with an edge as well. This is something we don’t want to do. We want as many decisions as possible from those players (without running them over, of course).
What to Watch For
Without further ado, I’ll give you some things to watch for from the players who might be looking to attack the blackjack tables of small casinos.
This might seem like a strange one, but watch for systematic buy-ins. What does that mean exactly? A lot of gamblers will buy in $100 and when they lose, they’ll buy in another $50, or maybe another $200. Card counters don’t usually do this. They’ll often use the same buy-in amount for each transaction, so their finances are easier to keep track of.
You’ll see them buy in $200 every time, or $400 every time. It’s much easier to keep track of their wins and losses when they don’t have to guess or figure out how much they bought in which time.
You’ll also be likely to see some structuring if they start to approach the CTR thresholds. That is when their systematic buy-in amounts might be affected. Card counters hate being asked for ID or to verify information. If you’re suspicious of a player and they begin to structure their buy-ins to avoid the CTR threshold, that may be a red flag.
If you’re not well-versed in card counting, you might think that counters play systematically (like their buy-ins). While this is true, the system is much more complicated than most people think. While yes, they do stick to a system, the system itself is constructed of varying play.
What I mean by this is you’ll see them play their hands one way when they start or when they have low bets around the table minimum, let’s say $10. They’ll play very differently when they’re on a high bet of $200.
When they’ve got low bets out, you’ll see them make unconventional plays like hitting a busting hand when the dealer has a bust card, like 14 against a dealer’s 3 for example. On the flip side, when they have high bets, you’ll see them make different types of unconventional plays. For example, you might see them double on a soft 19 against a dealer’s 4 or stay on a 15 against the dealer’s 10.
Another unconventional play would be if you see them refuse insurance when they’re betting low but taking insurance when they bet more. Remember that the total of the hand is insignificant to whether a card counter takes insurance.
What Not to Worry About
I wanted to add something here that you likely won’t encounter in a smaller casino: team play. We’ve all seen movies and read books about teams and how they can pick apart casinos with advanced team play tactics.
You likely won’t see this if you operate a small casino, especially if it’s in a remote location or far away from other casinos. Teams of counters are unlikely to travel and be seen together in a smaller location for a myriad of reasons.
On the contrary, you’re more likely to encounter a single counter, bankrolling himself or playing on a team bankroll but operating alone. They’ll want to be low-key, unassuming, and not attract attention to themselves. That is the objective when playing smaller casinos.
As I stated earlier, they’ll rely on the fact that the casino won’t have the resources or know-how to detect and back them off. My hope is that this article has given you some tools to make sure that isn’t the case when they step into your small casino. You’ll be ready!
