Is this anti-card-counting measure the say-all-do-all for some casinos, or is it really the definition of “backfire?”

In my recent travels providing Table Games Protection Training at casino properties, I have unexpectedly learned of an anti-card-counting measure taken by more than just a few casinos. They call it the “5-times rule,” by which, for the entirety of any blackjack session, players cannot bet more than 5 times their previous bet, regardless of what the table maximum is and what the true count is. Casinos implementing this “simple” rule justify it by claiming that it affords their Table Games Staff the lack of necessity to learn the ins and outs of card counting, and will chase most card counters away and render those who persist much less effective.

Yes, it may chase some card-counters away, but who else might it chase away? I, for one, would worry about the legitimate high rollers who like to bet with wild hunches resulting in huge bet fluctuations being chased away. And these people you cannot count. Take, for example, the new, unknown high roller who walks into your casino, sits down at a $25 to $2,000 BJ table and makes an initial bet of $25. Then he decides to bet $200 on the next hand for whatever reason. It could be because of a bet progression system, a hunch, or a simple non-counting observation such as noticing that no aces were played on the previous round.

Now the floor supervisor comes over to him and says, “I’m sorry, sir/ma’am, you can only bet $125 this hand.” And the person looks at you bewildered, and you really don’t know what to say besides the obvious, “I’m sorry, that is casino policy.” I mean, after all, you’re not going to come out and say it’s a card-counting deterrent policy, right?

So, the player grunts his disapproval. If he’s not a card-counter, he might stay and keep playing, adjusting his betting strategy to avoid another confrontation with the pit. He might leave because he’s just pissed off. But the big problem here is that you can never really gauge the damage this causes in terms of loss of big-action play. You can never know how many high rollers you advised of the 5-times rule who, even though they did not immediately leave at that moment, never came back to your casino and are now playing at one down the road without that bet-halting policy. You can never put a figure on that lost revenue.

My take on this is that instead of relying on this simple but complicated policy, it’s wiser to just train your Table Games and Surveillance staff to be able to adequately count cards and/or get the card-counting detection software to do it for you. Either way is not a difficult measure.

Personally, I prefer that, regardless of whether or not you have the software, a fair percentage of your people on the floor and in Surveillance should be trained to count cards well enough so that they can make the determination if players are high rollers with quirky betting patterns or real card counters. I tell attendees at my Table Games Training classes that anyone can be adequately efficient in basic card counting, which in most cases is enough to identify counters at the tables, by simply studying the how-tos of the running count, the true count conversion, the card-counting betting strategies, and even the counting hand-play strategies, for just 20 minutes per day for one month, and even take the weekends off.

Easy enough, in my opinion. And if the hand-strategies scare you off…relax! Did you know that card-counters, even the most sophisticated ones with the most effective bet and hand-play strategies, stick with the basic strategy plays 80% of the time?

All it takes is a little work and dedication.

Poll on whether or not the 5-times-your-bet-limit anti-card-counting policy is smart or foolish:

https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/richardmarcusgameprotection_tablegamesprotection-cardcounting-gameprotection-activity-7206300392018636800-hxtx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

#tablegames #cardcounters #gameprotection #casinos #tablegamesprotection