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Why is counting cards such as bad thing?

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by hondo, Sep 18, 2014.

  1. hondo

    hondo Well-Known Member

    Ben Affleck, way down in this interview, says he counts cards and casinos won't let him play blackjack.

    http://www.details.com/culture-trends/celebrities/201410/ben-affleck-david-fincher-gone-girl

    We've all seen Rain Man.

    Now I don't go to casinos (none near me) but I understand the basics of casino games. Isn't counting card simply having a good memory? How do casinos even know, and aren't they just punishing you for being a good blackjack player?
    Wouldn't it be the same thing if they kicked someone out of the sports book who was winning because he could remember how many times the Lions covered at home or how poorly a kicker in a dome team did on grass?
    I know casinos aren't in business to lose money but how they've been able to A. tell if someone was counting cards and B. boot them out for it.
     
  2. JakeandElwood

    JakeandElwood Well-Known Member

    Well, no, it's not intellectually honest. But it is against the rules.
     
  3. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Whose "rules"? It isn't illegal. Using a mechanical device to do it is illegal, but the counting itself isn't.

    I'm always a little skeptical when I hear these stories anyway. Probably half or more of the people playing blackjack are "counting cards," and the casino does fine.
     
  4. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    I liken it to playing Words With Friends against someone who looks up words in the dictionary. Even though having a dictionary at hand doesn't guarantee them a victory, after a getting beaten often enough, you're going to stop playing that person and find someone who doesn't have a Webster's handy. The casinos don't want to play against Affleck because he beats them too much.
     
  5. Steak Snabler

    Steak Snabler Well-Known Member

    It's not illegal. But casinos reserve the right to refuse service to anyone who is costing them too much money.
     
  6. RecoveringJournalist

    RecoveringJournalist Well-Known Member

    I've always kind of taken it as a bullshit answer which is an attempt to make them seem smart.

    "The casinos are scared of me."
     
  7. Buck

    Buck Well-Known Member

    It is not illegal, but the casinos simply refuse to let counters play. It's a policy for the business, not a law.
     
  8. Spartan Squad

    Spartan Squad Well-Known Member

    I feel card counting itself isn't something casinos care one way or another about because honestly how can casinos prove it? I think it's when you're counting cards in collusion with others that get's your hand broken.
     
  9. Buck

    Buck Well-Known Member

    Casinos lover stories about card counting and winning techniques.
    Rubes read 'Bringing Down the House,' buy a strategy book and head to the tables to clean up. Casinos love it.
     
  10. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Twenty years ago, I bought a book like that, Buck. (It was way before Bringing Down The House.)

    I still follow that system. So I "count cards." You wouldn't be able to tell by looking at the results.

    The only variable I can pinpoint that contributes to success is, Take what you can but don't press it. The times I've won the most are the times I've played the fewest hours.
     
  11. Buck

    Buck Well-Known Member

    I follow basic strategy, and I can plus/minus the shoe a bit when I'm in practice and playing a lot.
    But like most people who try this, I'm prone to mistakes and lapses in concentration - which are costly.
    And I don't have the roll to absorb large bad swings.

    I understand what I'm doing, but to the casino I'm still a rube.
     
  12. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

    About all I do is try to figure if the deck is running 10-value rich or 10-value poor at a given time, for the purpose of my initial bet. If you do that to figure out whether to go against the book and not hit on 12 against the dealer's 7, then you're going to be chasing your tail.
     
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