eli5 how do casinos determine if someone is counting cards?
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I count cards as a hobby. In my career, I’ve taken about $20k from casinos.
I’ve only been asked to leave the premises five times. Professionals have lost count of how many times they’ve been backed off. Four of my five times, it was the eye in the sky that caught me. The casino simply doesn’t have the resources to track every card on every table, so instead they watch player behavior. Most of the time, card counters are betting the bare minimum at the table, but when the advantage shifts to the player, they start betting larger.
Generally, what happens is the eye takes note that you were playing the table minimum. When you suddenly start playing with much higher stakes, the casino notices. They may review the footage to see where the count was when you changed your bet. If the count became positive enough for you to bet larger at the same time you pushed out a larger bet, they’ve caught you.
Sometimes this happens quickly, other times they’ll be oblivious for hours, days, weeks, or months. Once you’ve mastered the skill of counting itself, card counting becomes an art of deception. You have to be covert enough to actually get time at the tables before you’re made to leave.
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