Grand Online Blackjack Book

Grand Online Blackjack Book * Blackjack card counting * The History of Blackjack *

Blackjack Dealers Who Case

If you and another player can case the deck, what would prevent a dealer from doing the same--- and using the information to shuffle away decks favorable to the player or continue to deal decks that are unfavorable?

Probably very little, although dealers who do so are uncommon.

Such practice would not deceive a case0down player; his casing presumably would coincide fairly well with that of the dealer if both were proficient.

The expert would soon notice the 'coincidences' in which unfavorable decks seemed to persist to the last card and favorable ones were promptly shuffled.

Casing by the dealer would have a devastating effect upon the non-expert. The good basic strategy player would unwittingly be playing against a 10-poor deck most of the time.

The innocent bad player would be largely deprived even of his small chance for a lucky winning streak. When viewed in this way, casing by the dealer is a subtle form of cheating.

Some casino personnel may think the player who cases is cheating. That idea is patent nonsense. The game of casino twenty-One is formulated in a manner that offers the player options in his play and thus the use of whatever skill he has.

The game is also formulated to give the dealer no options. The control of the dealer over when to shuffle does not disturb this arrangement if the time is elected in ignorance, but if the decision to shuffle is based upon a knowledgeable appraisal of the remaining deck, it is cheating.

It has much the same effect as the practice of those casinos that have been caught removing a few cards from the deck. It seems unlikely that casing by the dealer would be interpreted as of the law by the Gaming control Board, but the possibility bears some thought.

Some casinos do ask their dealers to pay attention to Aces and to vary their shuffling tendencies accordingly near the end of the deck.

However, some may have not noticed the practice to be very commonly or skillfully employed. Even so, some dealers without the ability to case may nevertheless take impromptu advantage of an unusual deck composition that comes to their attention.

For example, one of the most blatant premature shuffles a player have seen occurred recently when he was watching a head-on game between a pathetically bad player and a very ordinary dealer.

On the first hand after the shuffle, this player received two 5s, and the dealer showed some low card--- a 3 or 4. The player should have doubled down, but instead he drew, receiving another 5.

With his hand, he should have stood, but he drew again--- and got the fourth 5. The fact that he won with this foolishly acquired 20 is of no relevance to this anecdote.

When the dealer eventually turned up the hand and saw all four 5s at once, he realized that the four worst cards in the deck, from the player's standpoint, would be missing on all subsequent deals.

Ergo: he shuffled without dealing another single hand, against an obvious incompetent who had no idea of what was happening and who had practically no chance of beating him anyway.

Apparently, this dealer could not case a deck, but virtually any dealer knows the importance of 5s, and when all four of them stared him in the face at once, he enthusiastically shuffled them back into the deck to deprive his na�ve opponent of a temporary, unrecognized advantage.

Grand Online Blackjack Book

Grand Online Blackjack Book * Blackjack card counting * The History of Blackjack *	Blackjack Dealers Who Case If you and another player can case the deck, what would prevent a dealer from doing the same--- and using the information to shuffle away decks favorable to the player or continue to deal decks that are unfavorable? Probably very little, although dealers who do so are uncommon. Such practice would not deceive a case0down player; his casing presumably would coincide fairly well with that of the dealer if both were proficient. The expert would soon notice the 'coincidences' in which unfavorable decks seemed to persist to the last card and favorable ones were promptly shuffled. Casing by the dealer would have a devastating effect upon the non-expert. The good basic strategy player would unwittingly be playing against a 10-poor deck most of the time. The innocent bad player would be largely deprived even of his small chance for a lucky winning streak. When viewed in this way, casing by the dealer is a subtle form of cheating. Some casino personnel may think the player who cases is cheating. That idea is patent nonsense. The game of casino twenty-One is formulated in a manner that offers the player options in his play and thus the use of whatever skill he has. The game is also formulated to give the dealer no options. The control of the dealer over when to shuffle does not disturb this arrangement if the time is elected in ignorance, but if the decision to shuffle is based upon a knowledgeable appraisal of the remaining deck, it is cheating. It has much the same effect as the practice of those casinos that have been caught removing a few cards from the deck. It seems unlikely that casing by the dealer would be interpreted as of the law by the Gaming control Board, but the possibility bears some thought. Some casinos do ask their dealers to pay attention to Aces and to vary their shuffling tendencies accordingly near the end of the deck. However, some may have not noticed the practice to be very commonly or skillfully employed. Even so, some dealers without the ability to case may nevertheless take impromptu advantage of an unusual deck composition that comes to their attention. For example, one of the most blatant premature shuffles a player have seen occurred recently when he was watching a head-on game between a pathetically bad player and a very ordinary dealer. On the first hand after the shuffle, this player received two 5s, and the dealer showed some low card--- a 3 or 4. The player should have doubled down, but instead he drew, receiving another 5. With his hand, he should have stood, but he drew again--- and got the fourth 5. The fact that he won with this foolishly acquired 20 is of no relevance to this anecdote. When the dealer eventually turned up the hand and saw all four 5s at once, he realized that the four worst cards in the deck, from the player's standpoint, would be missing on all subsequent deals. Ergo: he shuffled without dealing another single hand, against an obvious incompetent who had no idea of what was happening and who had practically no chance of beating him anyway. Apparently, this dealer could not case a deck, but virtually any dealer knows the importance of 5s, and when all four of them stared him in the face at once, he enthusiastically shuffled them back into the deck to deprive his na�ve opponent of a temporary, unrecognized advantage.