I worked for a casino in security dispatch. We called skilled players at the tables "advanced players," and they would be banned for being good enough to win. Literally, our security staff and surveillance team would monitor and follow them in order to identify them so that the casino could bar them from playing. It disgusted me.
Yeah! Who do they think they are, saying that winning money is only okay when they do it and not you? Are they going to go bankrupt if too many people know how to count cards just right? Those security people need to be punished for assault.
Imagine that unfair attack on people on a nationwide scale without casinos. That is what January 6, 2021 was. Banning people from gambling for being too good at winning blackjack is like banning people from voting for not voting for Donald Trump. Nobody should try to overturn a free and fair election, OR a free and fair victory in blackjack.
@@jimfiggers9755 That's kind of the point though, isn't it? The whole thing is super questionable, because essentially it's just a scam. You're not getting anything out of the deal really, they're just slowly taking money from you.
I worked at a casino as well as surveillance, and it felt less like they were just being "Good enough to win" and instead breaking the rules of the game. It is against the rules of the casino to count cards. If a person still counts cards, they are breaking the rules, and so ir is in the casino's right to backed them off. However, at least at my casino, we never backed someone off if they were just doing well. It was if they were counting cards, pinching their bet, capping their bet, or other things that were against casino rules.
I'm a professional card counter and this video is for the most part accurate. One thing that's off is that not all casinos will wait until you're winning before they stop you. I've been kicked out plenty of times while I was losing money.
@@noahmay7708 It's very easy to catch a card counter. My bets were increasing as the small cards left the shoe and the odds tipped in to my favor. Sure, this may be a coincidence once or twice but my bets were growing every time the odds tipped in my favor every time. Card counting at blackjack is considered to be the lowest skilled and usually the lowest paid form of advantage play amongst the skilled gamblers because casinos are very quick to catch you.
@@gamermapper I ended up making about 100k after a year and a half or so before expenses. After expenses I think I made around 70k. The hourly wage ended up around $30 / hr after taking in to account expenses and travel time. The quality of life is pretty bad too. It's not uncommon for professional BJ players to live in their cars. I even knew a guy that had jugs of piss in his van.
Having spent some time as a casino dealer, I can tell you for certain that the counters who don't get greedy, even if the casino knows you are counting, they will let you win some nights as your success drives the play of others. They have to let some of the exciting stories happen, card counters, sometimes, are a necessary evil. If it's a group, they will stop you, if you are there all day every day, they will stop you, but if you go 2 nights a week and send the tourists home with a story... you good...
Problem with that though is you are not goanna put up enough volume for your strategys to work over time. For these card counting schemes to work you gotta put at minimum 40 hours a week into playing perfect advantage play blackjack to even realize your .5%-1% edge.
@@ajvaronos5916 You could hit multiple casinos a week, which is what most people do. Casinos owned by different companies are not as likely to ban someone who switches places because they are spreading the loss
@@bobbirdsong6825 This guy said that if you only went 2 nights a week. You would literally have to play 20 hours each day for card counting to be truly profitable. Remember there is variance involved so yes you can play by the book but sometimes you just won’t get the cards 🤷🏻♂️
@@ajvaronos5916 Most people just hit a bunch of casinos. I have 25 casinos within a 100 mile radius of me. If I rotate between them every time I get a backoff (which is every 8-15 hours) I would get a minimum of 200 hours of play before I have to return to the first casino that backed me off By that time they've forgotten all about me.
It is also worth noting the high levels of training the dealers, pit bosses, and servers get specifically to make card counting harder. The dealers deal fast and collect cards faster, they are always moving their hands, and, most importantly, they are obnoxiously friendly...all in the hope that they can distract you just a little bit. Next time your play BJ, notice how the server who takes your drink order will stand directly behind you, forcing you to turn around 180 degrees to place an order or collect your drink. Very clever stuff.
As a card counter I have met one dealer in my life that knows to hit a 12 against a dealer 3. Dealers don’t get training for what to look for. They barely even know how to play the game.
@@TheIbney00 they are well trained. maybe the casinos you frequent don't do proper training for their dealers, but dealers are at least taught the basics of card counting. and if security catches you counting, you get a one year ban.
@@skylen6464 Oooh a one year bans got me shivering me timbers! I play in Vegas but I've played all around Nevada. I'd say about one in 5 dealers I play against know to hit a 12 v a 3. Do with that what you will.
I've gambled once in my life. I went to a slot machine and put in a $100 and lost it all straight up. My friend next to me was playing on a similar machine and won $400. At that moment, I realized that gambling is not for me and I should never do it again. I'd just go to the casino every now and then to just hang out with friends for drinks and to have fun. 10 years later and I'm still mad that I lost that $100.
That’s a $100 life lesson! I’ve had a few of those in different parts of life. You are a wise person to pay attention to the lesson, most people don’t.
@@hassan55055 unless your card counting or something simular, no. but drinking makes you more of a reckless gambler and also makes you care less about losing.
I used to be a card counter. Such a stressful job. I was being banned, yelled at, and etc by casino employees. Now I play poker. It’s not as stressful. I’m pretty good at both games but poker is more stable. Blackjack is more math and concentration. Once you’re banned from one casino in town, most likely they will let other casinos know. And don’t even get me started on how hard it is to find a good game.
Live Roulette Single ZERO mate Yeap if you are skillful and in control.and having multiple strategies; but you need a Teacher to teach you dude.@@khaelkugler
@@aidenhenrie4736 Being a country and being a part of China don't contradict. 'Country' and 'sovereign state' are two different concept. Macau is a country, not a sovereign state.
You know, as long as you're gambling, you get free drinks in casinos (at least in Vegas). The one and only time I went to Vegas, and with only putting $20 down on a blackjack table, I stayed at the table for about 6 hours (just luck and having fun), got completely pissed, and then still picked up $16 of my original $20 when I left. $4 for 6 hours of fun and banter and drinks? Sounds like a win to me :)
Some players have analyzed the odds and determined that, if they played with proper strategy/bankroll, they could make a net profit on condition that they included perks in their formulas. Mind you, such players don't really cost the casinos money (the retail cost of perks is higher than the actual cost). As long as gambling is your preferred vacation activity, it's possible (though a bit risky) to recreationally gamble and have the costs be competitive with other vacation choices. Of course, this requires you to be very careful about which casino you select.
You get beer in a bottle. Can't water that down. However, they aren't too watered because they want you to get sloshed and make bad decisions. Also, they aren't free if you counting tipping. Don't tip the waitress, don't plan on continued service. Everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE, in Vegas has their hand out for a tip. Good manners means you tip the dealer, waitresses, door guy, guy in bathroom handing towels, the cabby, the valet, and on, and on... you will be bled dry on tips, or despised for being a cheapskate... you don't win in Vegas
Shout out to this Greek guy I met at university, when I said I studied computer science he was like "so you're good at maths right?" I said I'm decent, which led to him explaining about counting cards. I've never been in a casino, I don't really fancy going unless it's just for the purpose of a huge celebration type thing that I otherwise would've spent the money on more alcohol. Anyway he taught me about counting cards, and explained how him and his mates have been kicked out of casinos for it and I just thought that was wild. Yeah, they don't want to lose money, but if that's not a sign that the casino always wins then I don't know what is.
Most people go (or should only go) to a casino for an evening's entertainment. If they win then great (any winnings will simply pay for another night out at the casino). If they lose then they've had an evening out in the same way as a trip to the theatre.
The house doesn’t always win, but they are the biggest winner. Better to be the owner of a casino, as profit margins are awesome outside of a pandemic or a recession.
@@YEETMAN-dt9mb My dad used to own a casino and one of the regulars suffered from dwarfism, so he had a bit over half of a normal persons length. For some reason the guy decided to stop playing normally together with one of his friends, so my dad threw them out. Counter-Strike 1.6
There are ways for a blackjack card-counter to not only be tolerated, but even encouraged by the House! They all boil down to helping the House, so the table makes more for the House, even if you also make more for yourself. This means you must 1) maximize your information and 2) manage it well. Maximizing information is simple: Sit at the Dealer's right hand, a position called the "Wheel" seat. In each round, by the time your turn arrives, you will have seen more cards than anyone else at the table. This makes sense when you consider that the shoe is shuffled only between rounds, and never in the middle of one. Oh, and never lose your count. No matter how many free drinks you've had. Managing your information is harder, but also simple if viewed as a sequence: 1) When the odds are in your favor, refrain from placing monster bets. This not only pleases the House, but it also keeps other players in the game. Psychologically, big bets tend to make other folks less likely to keep playing. 2) "Keeping other players in the game" means there must be other players at the table! So you must have a full table. Fortunately, the House likes full tables. 3) Tables fill when everyone there is having fun. Since the Dealer is generally quiet, this means you must know how to make a table "fun". I'm good at this. First, I walk the floor right after shift change, looking for two things: 1) The pits with the best Pit Bosses (a subject for another time), and the best tables, no matter what pit they're in (also a subject for another time). Second, after picking my table I work my way to the Wheel seat (if it's not already open) while doing lots of "table talk". Good blackjack table talk is a cross between being a sports commentator, a carnival barker, and a comedian, including lots of self-deprecating humor. When people are laughing and enjoying themselves, they bet more and pay less attention to the game itself. They're there for the entertainment, and you just made yourself part of providing that entertainment. Table management only starts with table talk: You also need to manage who is at the table by "pushing away" those who are sucking the table's energy and/or not betting (yet another subject for another time). About 20% of the time I wind up with a table stacked 3-4 deep with folks watching the action. For me, there is no better feeling than playing such a small stage. However, I also treat it as a responsibility: If the table is having fun, I'm not going to leave just because I'm drunk, tired or broke. Which means I've played past dawn many times. In fact, my favorite days of blackjack ended when, after morning shift change, "my" table was filled with casino employees. Making them happy is my small thanks for the hard work they do. I count cards because I want to stay in the game longer, and I like the challenge. I go to the casino with a bank I expect to leave there, simply as the price of the entertainment. I also get the cheapest room at a casino I like. I'm not rich, so my bank has to last for the entire trip, be it a day, weekend or week: I count cards so I can take the occasional risk, and can afford to do "stupid" things to amuse and entertain the table. When you have a good table, the House takes notice. Suddenly, your free drinks are coming from the top-shelf instead of the well (though this can also happen when you lose money, so pay attention). While the Dealer will always hold your seat for a restroom visit, the Pit Boss may offer to hold it so you can go eat (quickly!). If you are staying at that hotel, your room may get upgraded. On a few occasions, I was moved from a different casino! I always keep my bags packed in my room, just in case this happens. There are other things the House will do to show their appreciation, but you get the idea. Sometimes the magic doesn't happen immediately or quickly. Either you get a "dead" table, or you walk into an empty blackjack floor because of the Million Dollar Poker competition going on at the other end of the casino. It is important not to move on too early. I will sit at the Wheel of an empty table and make minimum bets while chatting up the Dealer and Pit Boss. If I can get them laughing, it acts like a magnet to anyone nearby, and the table is soon filled. It helps to think of blackjack as shared social entertainment, more like craps than than poker. The thrill comes from folks sharing an experience, more than from the cards or bets. Helping make that thrill happen makes the House happy. The House doesn't mind if you get paid while they get paid!
Yeah, that attitude, to expect to loose the money in the casino is probably the healthiest, because then you won't bet money, that you can't afford to loose, keeps you away from destructive gambling addiction.
So casinos are basically cheating, to stop players that are actually good at a game. Because what else would you call changing the rules, when someone is winning too much?
@@TheNickBasso Too rational for risk and exhilaration? Sounds pretty boring. Truth is, the more you gamble, the more you're going to lose. An occasional seat at the blackjack table can provide great entertainment if you know your limits, but the casino industry is definitely vile, predatory, and evil.
Card counting doesn't give you a significant advantage and can be thrown way off by too many factors. /in blackjack, the # of players at the table, number of decks used, hand shuffle/ auto shuffler, has someone split cards, is someone playing two hands, what the dealer can stay on(16 or 17). Also if people are playing stupid, like taking cards when they shouldn't, hitting on 19. Casinos don't ban people for nothing, looks bad for business.
Ha ha ha ha. I love to hate the logic of people who say "It's not illegal when I do it, because (insert self-centered likelihood excuse here)." They sound like Donald Trump saying the election was stolen from him just because there happened to be more people who were voting fairly against him. March 7, 2022, 3:59am
Calling them "Gaming Companies" is just buying into their propaganda. It's not gaming, it's gambling. They want you to call it gaming because it has less of a negative connotation.
Casinos don't gamble, so they aren't gambling companies. They supply games, so they are a gaming company. The players are the ones that gamble. I have worked in casinos, and they are one of the most honest businesses in the world. You want to know how much of an advantage the game has? They'll tell you. How to play perfectly? Some have the flash cards in the gift shop and they'll let you have it at the table. Why lie and be shady when the numbers in your business model virtually guarantee consistent profit?
@@tmtmtlsml Predatory tactics are still predatory. Casino saw how the tobacco industry failed and changed their tactics. Instead of denying 'addiction' and 'financial problems' etc. etc. they embrace it and try to play moderate. They fund research, advertisements, and studies. Going the route of "lets come to an agreement where you can still play without these problems." Denying what's obvious is bad PR(Tobacco industry) where as embracing it and pretending to address it is way better. It still just serve to distract and placate any public backlash. All their effort to make themselves look better and honest is just a facade because the industry is predatory by nature.
@@tmtmtlsml If the players who are using casino services are gambling then casinos don't provide gaming services, they provide gambling services. They are gambling companies.
I live in Vegas. I have a certain friend who is one of the most intelligent idiots around (had a math degree, really ambitious). He learned to card count... He started to make some profit, then got greedy and wanted to do it full time, meaning that he wanted to get profit per hour greater than his hourly wage (which was already in the $60-ish per hour range pre-tax). Which is to say he made it so completely obvious that he was card counting that he got booted from a few casinos that he played at, heh Moral of the story is that if you do card count, don't get greedy and don't make it obvious
1. Casinos make MOST of their gaming revenue from slots... Random advantage players are irrelevant to them, the only problem players would have to be whales. 2. Casinos are heavily focused on becoming entertainment destinations, you can't beat a casino with a 1% edge... They'll make money off of you if you just stay inside and keep on buying food, drinks, and shows. 3. The biggest existential threat to the casino industry is a lack of foot traffic.
You're mixing up 2 very different populations. Your statement is correct for the masses. However professional gamblers don't actually spend a lot of money on food and drinks are typically free at the table. Of course professional gamblers don't drink much to begin with as alcohol disrupts their work. Professional gamblers can and do make money with a ~1% edge as when betting large sums of money that ~1% is a significant amount. You would be correct however in saying that the amount of professional gamblers is negligible compared to the masses and with only a ~1% edge trying to defend against them isn't worth it if it disrupts the profits from the masses(by shuffling more often for example).
It’s true that “random advantage players” don’t take a significant percentage of the house’s revenue but they definitely aren’t “irrelevant”. They are easy to spot and they are shut down as a matter of principle. The casino knows that every professional card counter got his start as a “random advantage player” so they are highly motivated to curtail the amateurs as well. Start varying your bet and watch how fast you got tapped on the shoulder.
I don't play but went to a local 'Indian' casino with my then-GF and watched her play $20 in minimal slot bets while I mooched free coffee and soda. A man and woman sat at the machines nearby. The man loaded $200 into each machine and quickly pushed the 'maximum bet' button. Within 5 minutes of sitting down, both machines were in 'positive' territory... the first machine was up about $100 and the other was up about $35. They pushed the 'cash-out' button and got up to leave and I complimented them. The man explained they are local and do that pretty much every day with only a few small losses. He made a point of telling me they are rarely in the casino more than 15 minutes.
There is also something to be said about actually counting the cards and trying to be effective at it. It is very difficult for a person to both pay attention to bets, their cards, the environment around them in a casino, the dealer speaking to them, and be able to count the cards without some sort of tell (tapping their finger, mouthing numbers etc.) as most people would need some sort of way to focus on counting while being able to play the game. Dealers and pit bosses are trained to lookout for people doing things like that.
I don't know how it is now, 'cause I'm using an ad blocker, but from what I remember the more you press skip the less they are inclined to let you skip the next time around.
@@colonelluccaaureliano It's missing a unit of time. To say that they make x dollars per square foot is meaningless unless they state per second, per annum etc.
I've always avoided the games where card counting was even an issue and instead focused on Poker where you're not playing against the house. You're playing against other players and the house gets it's cut regardless who wins. I used to go to Vegas for poker vacations pretty often because I could reliably win enough at poker to cover the full cost of my vacation and still have a bit of spending money left when I got home. This was mostly possible because you used to be able to get a decent hotel room as well as good food and entertainment fairly cheap with the expectation being that you'd lose enough money in the casino to make up for it. But the price of the hotel rooms in particular went up so much that it just stopped being worth it anymore. I will probably never go back now.
It also doesn't help that room prices go up 10 times on the weekends. It's insane. You can get a room on a Wednesday night for like 40 bucks, but for Saturday night it's like $400.
3 years ago some guy tried that in an upscale Philippine casino. He killed some people, but fucked up so BADLY that he ended up killing himself to avoid capture
I'm positive he stole my video! I can't believe it... Please just watch like 30 seconds and tell me you agree... ua-cam.com/video/5_pZfDii1fk/v-deo.html
It was my understanding that casinos take no risk with poker...they simply facilitate a game between players and take a small percentage cut of every pot..thats why its the only game that isn't wildly unbalanced and worth playing if your any good
@@scubasteve3778 Dealers downs are typically 30 minutes. Time rake is normally for the higher limit games or Pot Limit Omaha games which hands take longer, so they would profit less raking per pot.
Being “any good” doesn’t make poker “worth playing”. You either have to be *better* than several other players at the table, or else be entertained by the game.
Also, lots of people bet until they run out of money (or what they're willing to lose). So they stop while they're behind much more than the statistical average 99.5% return they would reach after a very large number of bets.
@@ryanthood well as long as the gamblers arent card counting, it doesnt matter when they stop betting. That .5%/2% advantage isnt going to disappear because someone stops early. Same is true for the card counters.
By the book and flat bet. I once saw a guy break down at a $10 table. After he lost his initial $200 bankroll he started slamming bennys on the table each hand trying to win it back. The guy was losing his mind and his money. He became so aggitated that security had to step in. It was honestly sad to watch. He turned a $200 loss into a $1000 loss in about ten minutes. I'm also fairly certain its pretty common. Its not the first time I've seen someone chase the dragon like that.
The house doesn’t really have an “edge” in poker. Because the house isn’t risking or playing. What they have is a rake, which means if a hand grows to a certain size, they take a certain percentage of the pot. It’s basically a tax on every hand that goes to the poker room to have dealers, cashiers, etc.
@@paulapple6575 I thought maybe he could mean video poker, too, but 3%+ wouldn't get much play from the knowledgeable video poker crowd. Non-savvy players are more likely to be playing slots. Jacks or Better paying 9/6 has a house advantage slightly lower than blackjack. There are even a few VP games that have a slight player advantage if played perfectly, though they tend to be only in Las Vegas off the strip.
@@bloodgain I had a hair dresser in Vegas once who told me she could earn a profit on video poker through comps. Didn't think that's true, but you seem to say it is?
I was 10 when a taxi driver told me that he knows someone who lost all their money in the casino. He told me and my mom the exact percentage and hours it'll take for you to win or hit the jackpot. After hearing all that i dont want to set foot inside of it. Shout out to him. Hope he's living good.
Sam, thank you for making a video on this topic. As an advantage player myself, I’d say you did a good job explaining the basic concepts of counting. Especially considering your range started all the way down at the rules of the game. A couple of things you missed. 1. Why high cards are valuable to the player -Blackjacks. BJ pays 3/2 for the player when it only pays 1/1 for the dealer. An abundance of high cards means an abundance of 10’s, which heightens the probability of you winning a hand which pays 150%. 2.No mention of true count. -I don’t blame you because in an entry level video you’ll probably lose people. But it’s important for people to know that a running count of +4 after the first deck of a double deck game is better than +15 after the first deck of a 6 deck game.
You only forgot one thing: you always need to convert the running count to the true count because it's the true count that actually gives you an advantage. You do this by dividing the true count by the number of decks already discarded. So even though you do get higher numbers of running count as the end of the shoe approaches, they are not as high as you made them appear. Other than that, very good research and very nice video indeed. Thanks for being awesome :)
Beating casinos is easy, just make sure you have a high luck start (remember to wear the naughty nightwear and get the luck implant first) and save before you start betting in case things go wrong.
What's considered cheating in a casino isn't actual cheating, it's just strategies that the player can use to outsmart the casino, like counting cards.
Sure. Those where rule of law is not that important. Think some Nighclub backroom or tijuana drug dealer bar. I guess nobody talks a lot about cheating there....
@@organa1626 Real cheating does go on at casinos. In many jurisdictions it’s a felony. “Strategy” within the rules of the game is not cheating or illegal but of they tell you to leave the building at their discretion without giving a reason. You can be arrested for trespassing if you don’t comply. Casinos keep local police very busy “trespassing” undesirables for a myriad of reasons
@@organa1626 exactly there really is no " cheating " when it comes to a casino but the house has their own rules and if they think your breaking one your outta there
You should expand on how to further beat the casinos. By having team play, like the MIT Blackjack team. Basically, have one person do the count, and always bet the same. Then if the count gets high, signal a team member to come over. That new player pretends to be a "high-roller" and bet big right from the start. This way, the casino can't suspect card counting, unless they start seeing the same players again and again.
@@Perisa79 You should watch the film, then you will get it. basically, if they realised he was betting big from the start, and the whole group were counting, they might reshuffle the deck for example or close the table or something, which will basically erase the advantage the group got by counting over the whole evening. But if they pretended to be a high-roller, big bets would look normal.
Casinos: profiting off of addictive personalities and gullible people then throwing a fit when someone outplays them. We all knew a kid like that in school didn't we? One who changes the rules whenever they start to lose.
I count cards and I have only been pressured once. Most of the time I don’t bet nearly enough - or vary my bet by large enough amounts - to arouse serious suspicion. I win most of the time and it’s a fun way to exercise the skill and come out a few bucks ahead at the end of the year.
I don’t know if this is still the case, but previously Sam from Wendover was attending school in Edinburgh. Last time I checked, although the U.K. also has an embarrassing clown as a national leader, it has not devolved into the same level of fascism as we are being subject to here in the US (until January 20, 2021). So, unless the white panel trucks are being operated by a resurrected Scottish Ted Bundy who fancies male victims, he’s probably safe for now.
I can't believe that there's 51 casinos that are licensed in Las Vegas alone. And to think they can actually make more than a single nation by themselves. It was so interesting to learn about how casinos worked. Thanks for the video.
unless you have Elon musk money you can't buy a casino. in the uk the only time I've heard someone "buying a casino" was a Grosvenor casino for £500,000,000 and that was just for the grounds/land not the casino itself.
I have a big... BIG... BIIIIGGGGG... muscles!!! HAHAHA!!! What did you think I was going for? That's so DIRTY of you! GAGAGAGA!!! I am the funniest UA-camr ever! Maybe that's the reason why I have TWO (!!!) HOT (!) GIRLFRIENDS. Thanks for being alive, dear seb
Key line: "casinos will change the rules when they notice a player is winning." The rules and laws governing casinos are designed to benefit the casinos. You can never "outsmart" the casino in an over the top Hollywood way because they will just change the rules (some might call that cheating) to make sure you will always lose, or at best just barely win.
A key point left out is that depending on the count, you can change the strategy on when to hit or stay. For example, normally you would stay on a 12 with a dealer 4 (14 estimated), odds are that you could get a 10 value and bust, but greater odds that the dealer would bust. If the deck was very low on high cards, better bet would be to take the hit.
The funny thing about this comment is... the slot machines these days are so high tech... they are basically big screen with IPAD resolution quality. You will be amazed if you haven't seen one.
DROP THE TOP Your scam attempts to make people watch your low quality videos is incredibly easy to see through considering your video was uploaded a day afterwards. Try harder next time, nobody wants to watch your stuff.
I remember my high school macro economics teacher was dealer at a casino and one day he saw us playing blackjack in class after finishing our work. He called us out for playing it wrong and decided to teach the entire class the economics of casinos and how to win/card count at blackjack. Probably one of my best moments in high school.
The thing that gets me about casinos.. youre walking into an extremely luxurious building where everything is perfect. I mean, foes that fact alone not prove what a scam the entire thing is? The house always wins
The house doesn't 'always' win. They just win at least slightly more often than they lose. That's all it takes. Add in the extra expenses, and they rake in the money.
I'm a casino dealer of 2 years. I also play blackjack myself. I'd say your chance of regularly winning, even while counting cards, is slim to none. Many will disagree, but with continuous shufflers, and 8 deck shoes, and people who cant control their betting, I'd say 8/10 people lost. Almost everyone loses, because they do not stop playing. Greed is why the casino wins. I've seen people buy in for $50, win $1,000 and give it all back within 2 hours.. greed is why the casino wins
It all sounds good until you understand that most successful card counters do so as a full time job. For the average person that only visits a casino a few times a year as part of a vacation, card counting would likely make them very little money, if any. True card counters make their money by spending several hours every day playing blackjack. Some days they lose more than they started with while the next day they earn a profit. Ideally, by the end of the week they've turned a profit. Its a rather monotonous way to make a living. Most of us would rather jab a pencil through our skull than to spend every waking moment in a casino Thats not to say trying a little card counting on the next trip to Vegas wouldnt be fun to try. But dont expect to break the bank.
One item missing that casinos on the strip employ. Most of them decrease the payout on a blackjack to 6:5 instead of 3:2. It might not seem like much but in a typical hour I would expect to hit 3 or 4 blackjacks. Even if you're playing a $20 table, that small adjustment costs a player like me $16 each time I hit a blackjack, or $48 to $64/hour. That gives the house a much larger advantage and I typically avoid the casinos that do this. Also there's the side bets. You can sometimes play these for as little as $1 to $5 but the casino advantage on these is 5% to 18%. A lot of players like these because there's the chance you could hit it big, but they should always be avoided.
What you don't mention is 5 failed businesses out of the 500 businesses he currently owns is a 1% failure rate, which is insanely low. Thanks for proving Donald Trump is an unbelievably good business man, I'm glad you agree.
A guy I worked with was a part time card counter. He won pretty big in Canada once, like $65K. In Vegas he would disappear from the group, then reappear a day later with $4 or $5 thousand in chips. He did all-nighters and traveled to a lot of countries where gambling was legal, but he lost his buy-in more than once and in the end never really made so much that he could quit his regular job.
A Blackjack Dealer here: the weapon against card counting is really simple and he mentioned it only shortly: shuffle machines. In Germany and Austria, Im not aware of any casino that does NOT use them.
CONTINUOUS shuffle machines will do it. These are always shuffling the cards, so there is never any advantage. Regular shuffle machines shuffle a shoe of six decks only once every five decks. So, once a card is used, it will not be used again for a while. Those can be counted into.
People who live outside of the Atlantic City market don't know the full story of this. The casinos in Atlantic City failed after Donald Trump sold them, not before. They continued to use his name on them for years after he had nothing to do with them. Their failure wasn't because they were run poorly, but because Pennsylvania legalized gambling (Philadelphia market gone) and tribal nations built casinos in Connecticut that were closer to NYC. Atlantic City was frozen out by geography. Trump, seeing the writing on the wall, actually got OUT of the business just before it collapsed - in other words, he made the exact RIGHT moves.
I'm positive he stole my video! I can't believe it... Please just watch like 30 seconds and tell me you agree... ua-cam.com/video/5_pZfDii1fk/v-deo.html
"Automatic shuffling machines aren't widespread." Former dealer here, in Australia they are literally everywhere. And in the few tables where they deal from a shoe (usually in the VIP) they will make it so you have to play the exact table minimum every hand if they suspect you're card counting (which is actually extremely easy to spot).
There are many important topics that aren't covered in this video that have to do with counting in Blackjack. First is that it is rarely the Pit that will be doing any work to stop card counting, it is almost always the Surveillance department. A larger Casino will not only have automatic counting software and chipped check (wagering chips) readers for the tables which makes card counting analysis automatic, they will also have a database of known card counters that includes their last known locations, vehicles that they are driving, photo's of their appearance and a list of the aliases they have used in the past. Even if it is a person who is counting at a Casino for the first time, the Surveillance department will watch previous shoes dealt to make a determination if the person is counting. It only takes one positive (numerically) shoe to determine if the wagers are following the count, though one shoe isn't enough to prove the person is counting. For a smaller Casino, even with a less than desirable Surveillance department and lack of proper equipment, there are still many simple deterrents to card counters. Card counting a shoe of 6-8 decks does not work if the Casino limits the wager spread to a maximum 8 times the minimum wager and cuts the shoe to 2 decks remaining before a shuffle. If the Pit Supervisor instructs a Dealer to cut the deck in half on the next shuffle, that is a very good sign that they know your counting. A Casino that will allow a table's limits to be $10 - $1000 without a continuous shuffler deserves any losses they take. On a side note, almost no Casino will offer to let a known card counter keep playing if they "flat bet". Card counters have to make a living too and too many of them are not above cheating in any way they can to avoid having to work a 9 to 5 for a living...
It's understandable why players wouldn't trust a CSM, I mena technically casinos are rich enough to have it tampered with, plus no one trusts the house, to begin with, since there has been lots of scummy cases. I remember when someone won like a major jackpot on a machine, only for the casino to have someone say there was an issue with the machine itself. Plus casinos do have the money to buyout statements in their favor.
The 0.5% advantage for the casino you talk about is the theoretical advantage if all players play the perfect strategy without card counting In reality, most players do not. This makes blackjack highly profitable for a casino.
Great video. Helped me understand how card counting works. Also, this was a very professional looking video. My OCD caused me to notice one thing and this is just an observation. At the 8 minute mark, you say the player advantage is 1.182% but 1.128% is displayed on the screen. At 9:33 in the video you repeat the statement and the number displayed matches what you say. I reiterate, great video. Just maybe a little more diligence in post.
I've always assumed that casinos to can spot suspected card counters by counting the cards themselves. The cards are always played in a way that their cameras can see them, so there may even be automated ways to count them.
For the interested the four best games you can play in casino are (in no particular order) Blackjack, Baccarat, Roulette, and Craps. The worst are Kino, Big six wheel, and one arm bandits (aka slots). Poker is also a good option but depends on which version, but Stud and Texas Hold’em are usually your best bets.
As someone who works in a UK casino, this was an interesting look at card counting. Flat betting is a fairly common counter to card counters, and being "backed off" (player is unable to play blackjack) is also rarely used at some venues. Thankfully, I don't need to worry about this much since the club I work at uses a continuous shuffler and no more than about 2.5 decks are out at any one time (from a 6 deck shoe). Just wanted to mention that some of the footage used in the video is a little strange: 7:48 is spreading cards on a 3 card poker table 8:31 looks like an amateur setup based on the chips and the way dealer collects the cards (even trainee dealers are better than that!) 8:59 is either a large buy-in or a very strange way to pay out. Also, where are the dealer's cards? 10:19 is a 3 card poker shuffler (you can see it in the felt too). I know it can be hard to visualize an auto-shuffler though 10:29 is some of the worst procedure I've ever seen! Money always comes first in a casino, and keeping the cards in place helps prevent any disputes (all the players lost this one) 11:45 - Big buy-ins followed by small bets are very worrying to casinos as this tends to be a sign of money laundering. For example, buying in at a table for $2,000 but only playing $10 per hand will get eyebrows raised and proof of income demanded. As always, loving the videos and hope we can keep learning new things together for a long time to come!
What's the logic behind labeling big buy-ins and small bets as money laundering? I think that's what makes more sense in order to maximize playing time
@@MHNK77 If I had $100,000 in dirty money, I could buy $100,000 in chips, then use the chips as money to buy things. Or, I could sell the chips for cash. Whoever gets the chips can just walk back into the casino and cash the chips. The money is now completely clean, with no connection to the original crime or criminal. Launderers don’t want to just buy chips and leave, as that is very suspicious. So, they gamble a bit. They also don’t want to lose a bunch of money to the casino, so they make small bets.
Nice video ,good contents,Everybody wants to earn and many end up loosing the ones they have ,there are other means of investing and making huge profits within a short while also,we all just have to invest wisely than loosing out.
You are right,I truly go with this,sometimes salaries can afford the life we want that why most of us engage in this and sometimes we want more. What’s your means of earring
The book about the MIT counting team that started this all is called Bringing Down the House. It's well worth the read of all the methods they attempted to get around the casinos. The biggest thing not discussed here was team play, one person sits at the table always betting the same and keeping the count. Another playing the high roller would join the table when it's hot, play for a bit, and then move on. It prevents the casino from detecting the change in a bet. But eventually they catch on, even using facial recognition to ban players across a group of casinos.
I tried counting cards a few time at my local casino. Only time I was able to keep up with the speed of the dealer was when I had a dealer who was probably 75 years old and as slow as molasses. I don't recall it paying off anyway. I think blackjack is tons of fun, but I'd rather take $20 and find a table with no one else there and let it ride every time and hope I win 4 hands on a row and come out with $320
When you think you've beat the system and can take advantage of a flaw or mistake in a rigged system The casinos: *_that's where you are wrong, kiddo_*
And that's why the winning move is to not play. Either that or engage in a russian roulette where the revolver is fully loaded. Btw, that profile pic and your name are perfect xD
That was the easiest explanation of card counting I’ve ever heard. I already knew and practiced mathematically optimal plays but I never really got the idea of card counting.
Doesn't work for good counters. They count as the cards are being dealt. And, unlike the video, most count in pairs. So a deal of K-6 is just zero, not 1, -1. The hardest part about counting is all the distractions and trying to make it look like you're not actually counting. And realistically, the ones who count well are making more like $30-40/hr, not $110. so they can keep under the casino radar. There are things counters can do to not look like counters, but they also reduce the advantage of counting.
Casino tactics I've personally experienced in Vegas: - They close all the low and medium stakes Blackjack tables for "cleaning" and "maintenance" (when I was up $600 after several hours) - Lots of talking and questions to distract me - Having a second dealer prepare a new shoe in advance, then switch it in randomly
Technically, in Poker, players are not playing against the house. The 3.5% is the average estimated "rake" (aka. comission) taken by the casino in every single hand. So Players make money vs other players using their knoweldge of the game, and take into account that they have a 3.5% "comission" to pay. So the "softer" the table, the higher the edge a player has over other players - so the higher the incentive there is to stay, play hands and pay 3.5%. If the table is full of good players, the incentive is greatly reduced because the general winrate would be lower due to the increased level of the players at the table. But bottom line, regarding poker, casinos actually only make a flat % of money on basically people trying to win against other people, and their revenue depends solely on the volume of players and hands played and is therefore not impacted by luck or streaks.
I only play poker because I don't have to force bet like they do in slots or table games. If I get a shitty hand in poker I can throw it away for free unless I'm big or small blind. You HAVE to bet in order to play blackjack or a slot machine.
Ryan Shead I care. Also why would you even bother to post this? Did you just want to ruin a persons day when they were just trying to provide useful information?
if u won a 160 usd instead of losing ur 80, most likely you would have took a different path with ur life, be grateful that you have lost the 1st time u went there buddy.
I worked for a casino in security dispatch. We called skilled players at the tables "advanced players," and they would be banned for being good enough to win. Literally, our security staff and surveillance team would monitor and follow them in order to identify them so that the casino could bar them from playing. It disgusted me.
Yeah! Who do they think they are, saying that winning money is only okay when they do it and not you? Are they going to go bankrupt if too many people know how to count cards just right? Those security people need to be punished for assault.
Imagine that unfair attack on people on a nationwide scale without casinos. That is what January 6, 2021 was. Banning people from gambling for being too good at winning blackjack is like banning people from voting for not voting for Donald Trump. Nobody should try to overturn a free and fair election, OR a free and fair victory in blackjack.
@@jimfiggers9755 That's kind of the point though, isn't it? The whole thing is super questionable, because essentially it's just a scam. You're not getting anything out of the deal really, they're just slowly taking money from you.
True it’s not their money they should get a fucking life . Pathetic
I worked at a casino as well as surveillance, and it felt less like they were just being "Good enough to win" and instead breaking the rules of the game. It is against the rules of the casino to count cards. If a person still counts cards, they are breaking the rules, and so ir is in the casino's right to backed them off. However, at least at my casino, we never backed someone off if they were just doing well. It was if they were counting cards, pinching their bet, capping their bet, or other things that were against casino rules.
I'm a professional card counter and this video is for the most part accurate. One thing that's off is that not all casinos will wait until you're winning before they stop you. I've been kicked out plenty of times while I was losing money.
How did they know you were counting?
@@noahmay7708 It's very easy to catch a card counter. My bets were increasing as the small cards left the shoe and the odds tipped in to my favor. Sure, this may be a coincidence once or twice but my bets were growing every time the odds tipped in my favor every time.
Card counting at blackjack is considered to be the lowest skilled and usually the lowest paid form of advantage play amongst the skilled gamblers because casinos are very quick to catch you.
@@funandgames2339 Out of curiosity what are the other forms of advantage?
DId you win a lot of money out of this?
@@gamermapper I ended up making about 100k after a year and a half or so before expenses. After expenses I think I made around 70k. The hourly wage ended up around $30 / hr after taking in to account expenses and travel time. The quality of life is pretty bad too. It's not uncommon for professional BJ players to live in their cars. I even knew a guy that had jugs of piss in his van.
Having spent some time as a casino dealer, I can tell you for certain that the counters who don't get greedy, even if the casino knows you are counting, they will let you win some nights as your success drives the play of others. They have to let some of the exciting stories happen, card counters, sometimes, are a necessary evil. If it's a group, they will stop you, if you are there all day every day, they will stop you, but if you go 2 nights a week and send the tourists home with a story... you good...
Problem with that though is you are not goanna put up enough volume for your strategys to work over time. For these card counting schemes to work you gotta put at minimum 40 hours a week into playing perfect advantage play blackjack to even realize your .5%-1% edge.
@@ajvaronos5916 You could hit multiple casinos a week, which is what most people do. Casinos owned by different companies are not as likely to ban someone who switches places because they are spreading the loss
@@bobbirdsong6825 This guy said that if you only went 2 nights a week. You would literally have to play 20 hours each day for card counting to be truly profitable. Remember there is variance involved so yes you can play by the book but sometimes you just won’t get the cards 🤷🏻♂️
@@ajvaronos5916 But you can play less than 6 hours each day switching casinos every 2 days, right?
@@ajvaronos5916
Most people just hit a bunch of casinos.
I have 25 casinos within a 100 mile radius of me.
If I rotate between them every time I get a backoff (which is every 8-15 hours) I would get a minimum of 200 hours of play before I have to return to the first casino that backed me off
By that time they've forgotten all about me.
It is also worth noting the high levels of training the dealers, pit bosses, and servers get specifically to make card counting harder. The dealers deal fast and collect cards faster, they are always moving their hands, and, most importantly, they are obnoxiously friendly...all in the hope that they can distract you just a little bit. Next time your play BJ, notice how the server who takes your drink order will stand directly behind you, forcing you to turn around 180 degrees to place an order or collect your drink. Very clever stuff.
As a card counter I have met one dealer in my life that knows to hit a 12 against a dealer 3. Dealers don’t get training for what to look for. They barely even know how to play the game.
@@TheIbney00 they are well trained. maybe the casinos you frequent don't do proper training for their dealers, but dealers are at least taught the basics of card counting. and if security catches you counting, you get a one year ban.
@@skylen6464 Oooh a one year bans got me shivering me timbers!
I play in Vegas but I've played all around Nevada. I'd say about one in 5 dealers I play against know to hit a 12 v a 3. Do with that what you will.
I am starting to get the feeling that Sam is short on casino stocks
Economics Explained I am to
Economics Explained Lmao😂, nice seeing you here. I am gonna watch you extreme economies video next.
Sam is probably gonna go for horse racing gambling next.
I just came from your video 😂
I just finished your 'Are the "Extreme" Economic Systems Totally Pointless?' video and got sent here where I am also subscribed.
I've gambled once in my life. I went to a slot machine and put in a $100 and lost it all straight up. My friend next to me was playing on a similar machine and won $400. At that moment, I realized that gambling is not for me and I should never do it again. I'd just go to the casino every now and then to just hang out with friends for drinks and to have fun. 10 years later and I'm still mad that I lost that $100.
As long you had fun, that’s all matters. Gamble only what you can handle. Play slow and get as many drinks possible
That’s a $100 life lesson! I’ve had a few of those in different parts of life. You are a wise person to pay attention to the lesson, most people don’t.
@@henrylam92 wouldn't drinking get u a lower probability of winning
@@hassan55055 unless your card counting or something simular, no. but drinking makes you more of a reckless gambler and also makes you care less about losing.
@@joshm9843 Thats what i am trying to say. youll lose money if you drink. so might as well dont drink or gamble at all
Sam has ended his friendship with airplanes, gambling is his new fix now.
Noooooo
probably because airlines are dying nowadays
Love the profile pic 😂😂
We can only hope
Nah he just watched Moneyplane and got his wires crossed.
I used to be a card counter. Such a stressful job. I was being banned, yelled at, and etc by casino employees. Now I play poker. It’s not as stressful. I’m pretty good at both games but poker is more stable. Blackjack is more math and concentration. Once you’re banned from one casino in town, most likely they will let other casinos know. And don’t even get me started on how hard it is to find a good game.
Can you reliably make money from poker? I used to think it possible until getting into it and seeing some ridiculous coolers.
Live Roulette Single ZERO mate Yeap if you are skillful and in control.and having multiple strategies; but you need a Teacher to teach you dude.@@khaelkugler
Doesn't seem like much of a "job" if you aren't providing something of value in return.
@uumuu scams are absolutely jobs. Sure, you can claim otherwise, but if you do you're invalidating, like, half the economy
@@uumuuthey were providing something of value, they were reducing the profit of gambling companies.
If you level up your luck to max level, you should be fine
Nice seeing you here
Or for modest games level your luck to 6 and only gamble while wearing your most seductive pajamas
Damn that must of been where I went wrong. I wasted all mine in Vitality because I was scared of Covid.
It only goes up to 40% in your favour
well i only won like 70% of the time but eh, i still won alot of cash
0:33
Ironically, some small countries are basically just casinos
Macau
@Graham Turner Macau isn't a country, it's a part of China
San Marino
@@aidenhenrie4736 It's a part of China the same way Hong Kong is. It runs itself more or less completely independent from China.
@@aidenhenrie4736 Being a country and being a part of China don't contradict. 'Country' and 'sovereign state' are two different concept. Macau is a country, not a sovereign state.
You know, as long as you're gambling, you get free drinks in casinos (at least in Vegas).
The one and only time I went to Vegas, and with only putting $20 down on a blackjack table, I stayed at the table for about 6 hours (just luck and having fun), got completely pissed, and then still picked up $16 of my original $20 when I left.
$4 for 6 hours of fun and banter and drinks?
Sounds like a win to me :)
Very smart. Don't go to casinos to win big bucks, go for the cheap drinks ;)
Some players have analyzed the odds and determined that, if they played with proper strategy/bankroll, they could make a net profit on condition that they included perks in their formulas. Mind you, such players don't really cost the casinos money (the retail cost of perks is higher than the actual cost). As long as gambling is your preferred vacation activity, it's possible (though a bit risky) to recreationally gamble and have the costs be competitive with other vacation choices.
Of course, this requires you to be very careful about which casino you select.
And are the drinks good?
You get beer in a bottle. Can't water that down. However, they aren't too watered because they want you to get sloshed and make bad decisions. Also, they aren't free if you counting tipping. Don't tip the waitress, don't plan on continued service. Everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE, in Vegas has their hand out for a tip. Good manners means you tip the dealer, waitresses, door guy, guy in bathroom handing towels, the cabby, the valet, and on, and on... you will be bled dry on tips, or despised for being a cheapskate... you don't win in Vegas
@@tuanoful I forget the name of the ones I was having. Some kind of apple-y cocktail. Yes, tasted great and did the job :D
Shout out to this Greek guy I met at university, when I said I studied computer science he was like "so you're good at maths right?" I said I'm decent, which led to him explaining about counting cards. I've never been in a casino, I don't really fancy going unless it's just for the purpose of a huge celebration type thing that I otherwise would've spent the money on more alcohol.
Anyway he taught me about counting cards, and explained how him and his mates have been kicked out of casinos for it and I just thought that was wild. Yeah, they don't want to lose money, but if that's not a sign that the casino always wins then I don't know what is.
How to beat a casino: don't give them your money.
Just don't go to one.
S m e r t
Most people go (or should only go) to a casino for an evening's entertainment. If they win then great (any winnings will simply pay for another night out at the casino). If they lose then they've had an evening out in the same way as a trip to the theatre.
Better yet, legislate them out of where you are.
The house doesn’t always win, but they are the biggest winner. Better to be the owner of a casino, as profit margins are awesome outside of a pandemic or a recession.
Disappointed that ejecting a card counter isn't called "Counter Strike"
And then the card counter goes on the global offensive.
So underrated
@@YEETMAN-dt9mb My dad used to own a casino and one of the regulars suffered from dwarfism, so he had a bit over half of a normal persons length. For some reason the guy decided to stop playing normally together with one of his friends, so my dad threw them out.
Counter-Strike 1.6
@@Sphagetti__ Oh. My. God. I love you
@@danielschmidt2683 Hahaha love you too
There are ways for a blackjack card-counter to not only be tolerated, but even encouraged by the House! They all boil down to helping the House, so the table makes more for the House, even if you also make more for yourself. This means you must 1) maximize your information and 2) manage it well.
Maximizing information is simple: Sit at the Dealer's right hand, a position called the "Wheel" seat. In each round, by the time your turn arrives, you will have seen more cards than anyone else at the table. This makes sense when you consider that the shoe is shuffled only between rounds, and never in the middle of one. Oh, and never lose your count. No matter how many free drinks you've had.
Managing your information is harder, but also simple if viewed as a sequence:
1) When the odds are in your favor, refrain from placing monster bets. This not only pleases the House, but it also keeps other players in the game. Psychologically, big bets tend to make other folks less likely to keep playing.
2) "Keeping other players in the game" means there must be other players at the table! So you must have a full table. Fortunately, the House likes full tables.
3) Tables fill when everyone there is having fun. Since the Dealer is generally quiet, this means you must know how to make a table "fun".
I'm good at this. First, I walk the floor right after shift change, looking for two things: 1) The pits with the best Pit Bosses (a subject for another time), and the best tables, no matter what pit they're in (also a subject for another time). Second, after picking my table I work my way to the Wheel seat (if it's not already open) while doing lots of "table talk".
Good blackjack table talk is a cross between being a sports commentator, a carnival barker, and a comedian, including lots of self-deprecating humor. When people are laughing and enjoying themselves, they bet more and pay less attention to the game itself. They're there for the entertainment, and you just made yourself part of providing that entertainment.
Table management only starts with table talk: You also need to manage who is at the table by "pushing away" those who are sucking the table's energy and/or not betting (yet another subject for another time).
About 20% of the time I wind up with a table stacked 3-4 deep with folks watching the action. For me, there is no better feeling than playing such a small stage. However, I also treat it as a responsibility: If the table is having fun, I'm not going to leave just because I'm drunk, tired or broke. Which means I've played past dawn many times. In fact, my favorite days of blackjack ended when, after morning shift change, "my" table was filled with casino employees. Making them happy is my small thanks for the hard work they do.
I count cards because I want to stay in the game longer, and I like the challenge. I go to the casino with a bank I expect to leave there, simply as the price of the entertainment. I also get the cheapest room at a casino I like. I'm not rich, so my bank has to last for the entire trip, be it a day, weekend or week: I count cards so I can take the occasional risk, and can afford to do "stupid" things to amuse and entertain the table.
When you have a good table, the House takes notice. Suddenly, your free drinks are coming from the top-shelf instead of the well (though this can also happen when you lose money, so pay attention). While the Dealer will always hold your seat for a restroom visit, the Pit Boss may offer to hold it so you can go eat (quickly!). If you are staying at that hotel, your room may get upgraded. On a few occasions, I was moved from a different casino! I always keep my bags packed in my room, just in case this happens. There are other things the House will do to show their appreciation, but you get the idea.
Sometimes the magic doesn't happen immediately or quickly. Either you get a "dead" table, or you walk into an empty blackjack floor because of the Million Dollar Poker competition going on at the other end of the casino. It is important not to move on too early. I will sit at the Wheel of an empty table and make minimum bets while chatting up the Dealer and Pit Boss. If I can get them laughing, it acts like a magnet to anyone nearby, and the table is soon filled.
It helps to think of blackjack as shared social entertainment, more like craps than than poker. The thrill comes from folks sharing an experience, more than from the cards or bets. Helping make that thrill happen makes the House happy. The House doesn't mind if you get paid while they get paid!
Yeah, that attitude, to expect to loose the money in the casino is probably the healthiest, because then you won't bet money, that you can't afford to loose, keeps you away from destructive gambling addiction.
As a former dealer and AP, you sound like the kind of player that makes dealers EO.
or you could get a job and a better hobby
@@tmtmtlsml EO?
@@GraveUypo Ah yes, he must be getting all his money from trees.
So casinos are basically cheating, to stop players that are actually good at a game.
Because what else would you call changing the rules, when someone is winning too much?
You can get up and leave though.
Business strategy
Politics
Politics.. you just described politics.
Unless the rules are changed after bets are placed, it’s not cheating.
I win hundreds of dollars a night by avoiding casinos entirely.
Same... I never bet, not even on sports. I think it's so dumb and irrational.
@@TheNickBasso: Gambling only makes sense if you think of it as paying for thrills, like riding roller coasters.
@@deusexaethera yeah indeed, I'm too rational for that 😂
@@TheNickBasso Too rational for risk and exhilaration? Sounds pretty boring. Truth is, the more you gamble, the more you're going to lose. An occasional seat at the blackjack table can provide great entertainment if you know your limits, but the casino industry is definitely vile, predatory, and evil.
@@BrandonWheelr I prefer spending money in other things, let's say that 😇 and I'm not rich eheh
Person: starts legally beating the casino
Casino: Wait that’s illegal
that's a-salt man....lmao
And you just now understand that 😆
Card counting doesn't give you a significant advantage and can be thrown way off by too many factors. /in blackjack, the # of players at the table, number of decks used, hand shuffle/ auto shuffler, has someone split cards, is someone playing two hands, what the dealer can stay on(16 or 17). Also if people are playing stupid, like taking cards when they shouldn't, hitting on 19.
Casinos don't ban people for nothing, looks bad for business.
Ha ha ha ha. I love to hate the logic of people who say "It's not illegal when I do it, because (insert self-centered likelihood excuse here)." They sound like Donald Trump saying the election was stolen from him just because there happened to be more people who were voting fairly against him. March 7, 2022, 3:59am
@@adampkalb don't put up that example when the US views national ID cards as evil you deserve your fate as a country
Calling them "Gaming Companies" is just buying into their propaganda. It's not gaming, it's gambling. They want you to call it gaming because it has less of a negative connotation.
Fuck they to me said yesterday please deposit some funds into your gaming account 😀
This is actually the situation in gaming, not gambling. Curse you EA!
Casinos don't gamble, so they aren't gambling companies. They supply games, so they are a gaming company. The players are the ones that gamble.
I have worked in casinos, and they are one of the most honest businesses in the world. You want to know how much of an advantage the game has? They'll tell you. How to play perfectly? Some have the flash cards in the gift shop and they'll let you have it at the table. Why lie and be shady when the numbers in your business model virtually guarantee consistent profit?
@@tmtmtlsml Predatory tactics are still predatory. Casino saw how the tobacco industry failed and changed their tactics. Instead of denying 'addiction' and 'financial problems' etc. etc. they embrace it and try to play moderate. They fund research, advertisements, and studies. Going the route of "lets come to an agreement where you can still play without these problems." Denying what's obvious is bad PR(Tobacco industry) where as embracing it and pretending to address it is way better.
It still just serve to distract and placate any public backlash. All their effort to make themselves look better and honest is just a facade because the industry is predatory by nature.
@@tmtmtlsml If the players who are using casino services are gambling then casinos don't provide gaming services, they provide gambling services. They are gambling companies.
“The casino business is bulletproof”
Covid-19: Hold my beer
Trump: hold my beer
@@mutated__donkey5840 LOL
@@mutated__donkey5840 You mean hold 2 of my beers
*online gambling joins the chat*
@@tstob3467 EA joins the chat
I live in Vegas. I have a certain friend who is one of the most intelligent idiots around (had a math degree, really ambitious). He learned to card count...
He started to make some profit, then got greedy and wanted to do it full time, meaning that he wanted to get profit per hour greater than his hourly wage (which was already in the $60-ish per hour range pre-tax).
Which is to say he made it so completely obvious that he was card counting that he got booted from a few casinos that he played at, heh
Moral of the story is that if you do card count, don't get greedy and don't make it obvious
I imagine him at a blackjack table counting cards like the Galifianakis in "Hangover" completely oblivious to the pit boss studying him
What I hear is make it a hobby, not a lifestyle
What is card counting and how is it earning him money
@@SunnySJamil I did and I was wondering what card counting was
How much did he make before he got greedy?
1. Casinos make MOST of their gaming revenue from slots... Random advantage players are irrelevant to them, the only problem players would have to be whales.
2. Casinos are heavily focused on becoming entertainment destinations, you can't beat a casino with a 1% edge... They'll make money off of you if you just stay inside and keep on buying food, drinks, and shows.
3. The biggest existential threat to the casino industry is a lack of foot traffic.
You're mixing up 2 very different populations. Your statement is correct for the masses. However professional gamblers don't actually spend a lot of money on food and drinks are typically free at the table. Of course professional gamblers don't drink much to begin with as alcohol disrupts their work. Professional gamblers can and do make money with a ~1% edge as when betting large sums of money that ~1% is a significant amount. You would be correct however in saying that the amount of professional gamblers is negligible compared to the masses and with only a ~1% edge trying to defend against them isn't worth it if it disrupts the profits from the masses(by shuffling more often for example).
It’s true that “random advantage players” don’t take a significant percentage of the house’s revenue but they definitely aren’t “irrelevant”. They are easy to spot and they are shut down as a matter of principle. The casino knows that every professional card counter got his start as a “random advantage player” so they are highly motivated to curtail the amateurs as well. Start varying your bet and watch how fast you got tapped on the shoulder.
I don't play but went to a local 'Indian' casino with my then-GF and watched her play $20 in minimal slot bets while I mooched free coffee and soda. A man and woman sat at the machines nearby. The man loaded $200 into each machine and quickly pushed the 'maximum bet' button. Within 5 minutes of sitting down, both machines were in 'positive' territory... the first machine was up about $100 and the other was up about $35. They pushed the 'cash-out' button and got up to leave and I complimented them. The man explained they are local and do that pretty much every day with only a few small losses. He made a point of telling me they are rarely in the casino more than 15 minutes.
@@SunriseLAW interesting, I've heard similar
"Random advantage players are irrelevant to them"
That's a lie. I've been backed-off countless times...
In before this video gets taken down by every Casino chain in existance
Hello there
bruh
let mt presence be marked
o shit
hello
There is also something to be said about actually counting the cards and trying to be effective at it. It is very difficult for a person to both pay attention to bets, their cards, the environment around them in a casino, the dealer speaking to them, and be able to count the cards without some sort of tell (tapping their finger, mouthing numbers etc.) as most people would need some sort of way to focus on counting while being able to play the game. Dealers and pit bosses are trained to lookout for people doing things like that.
UA-cam is getting real comfortable with these double no skip ads.
Laughs in AdBlock
@@pyroman2918 cries in yt mobile
I don't know how it is now, 'cause I'm using an ad blocker, but from what I remember the more you press skip the less they are inclined to let you skip the next time around.
Laughs in UA-cam Premium
@@mrpw1402 laughs at you for buying UA-cam premium
Sam, I love your videos, but you have two numerical typos:
1:06 you say "1,138," but the graphic says 1,038,
7:59 you say 1.182%, but show 1.128
Also, the first one of those is missing part of the unit. $/sq ft/(?)
I caught the second one, didn’t notice the first, good spot! Always nice to have a preview of next year’s mistakes video 😁
@@frmcf the square part's there. it's notated ft ^2 with an indice though instead of with the sq. part like the way that you suggest.
@@colonelluccaaureliano It's missing a unit of time. To say that they make x dollars per square foot is meaningless unless they state per second, per annum etc.
wr
I've always avoided the games where card counting was even an issue and instead focused on Poker where you're not playing against the house. You're playing against other players and the house gets it's cut regardless who wins. I used to go to Vegas for poker vacations pretty often because I could reliably win enough at poker to cover the full cost of my vacation and still have a bit of spending money left when I got home. This was mostly possible because you used to be able to get a decent hotel room as well as good food and entertainment fairly cheap with the expectation being that you'd lose enough money in the casino to make up for it. But the price of the hotel rooms in particular went up so much that it just stopped being worth it anymore. I will probably never go back now.
It also doesn't help that room prices go up 10 times on the weekends. It's insane. You can get a room on a Wednesday night for like 40 bucks, but for Saturday night it's like $400.
How did you learn poker? Watching DNeg and stuff?
May the odds be ever in your favor.
Casino : NO
@Brian The Explorer Danny Ocean controlled the odds lmao
How to beat the casino: Armed robbery
Be George Clooney of Frank Sinatra
3 years ago some guy tried that in an upscale Philippine casino. He killed some people, but fucked up so BADLY that he ended up killing himself to avoid capture
GTA online be like
I'm positive he stole my video! I can't believe it... Please just watch like 30 seconds and tell me you agree...
ua-cam.com/video/5_pZfDii1fk/v-deo.html
Or a well though over elaborate heist that require at least 11 men.
It was my understanding that casinos take no risk with poker...they simply facilitate a game between players and take a small percentage cut of every pot..thats why its the only game that isn't wildly unbalanced and worth playing if your any good
That, or they charge you a set fee per hour of play.
yeah the casinos don't play poker, they just facilitate
Damn, you guys never heard of house poker?
@@scubasteve3778 Dealers downs are typically 30 minutes. Time rake is normally for the higher limit games or Pot Limit Omaha games which hands take longer, so they would profit less raking per pot.
Being “any good” doesn’t make poker “worth playing”. You either have to be *better* than several other players at the table, or else be entertained by the game.
The 0.5% edge for the house assumes everyone plays “by the book” every hand. I’m pretty sure that’s far from the reality and the edge is more like 2%.
Also, lots of people bet until they run out of money (or what they're willing to lose). So they stop while they're behind much more than the statistical average 99.5% return they would reach after a very large number of bets.
Sure, but 0.5% represents a casino's worst-case scenario. Anything above that is gravy.
@@megarockman Yes, but that must be a LOT of gravy!
@@ryanthood well as long as the gamblers arent card counting, it doesnt matter when they stop betting. That .5%/2% advantage isnt going to disappear because someone stops early. Same is true for the card counters.
By the book and flat bet. I once saw a guy break down at a $10 table. After he lost his initial $200 bankroll he started slamming bennys on the table each hand trying to win it back. The guy was losing his mind and his money. He became so aggitated that security had to step in. It was honestly sad to watch. He turned a $200 loss into a $1000 loss in about ten minutes. I'm also fairly certain its pretty common. Its not the first time I've seen someone chase the dragon like that.
The house doesn’t really have an “edge” in poker. Because the house isn’t risking or playing. What they have is a rake, which means if a hand grows to a certain size, they take a certain percentage of the pot. It’s basically a tax on every hand that goes to the poker room to have dealers, cashiers, etc.
Maybe he meant table poker or poker machines
@@paulapple6575 I thought maybe he could mean video poker, too, but 3%+ wouldn't get much play from the knowledgeable video poker crowd. Non-savvy players are more likely to be playing slots. Jacks or Better paying 9/6 has a house advantage slightly lower than blackjack. There are even a few VP games that have a slight player advantage if played perfectly, though they tend to be only in Las Vegas off the strip.
Paul Apple i mean, the graphic showed two aces, which is usually associated with texas hold em. Video poker is usually five card draw.
@@paulapple6575 maybe he doesn't know what he's talking about?
@@bloodgain I had a hair dresser in Vegas once who told me she could earn a profit on video poker through comps. Didn't think that's true, but you seem to say it is?
I was 10 when a taxi driver told me that he knows someone who lost all their money in the casino. He told me and my mom the exact percentage and hours it'll take for you to win or hit the jackpot. After hearing all that i dont want to set foot inside of it. Shout out to him. Hope he's living good.
Sam, thank you for making a video on this topic. As an advantage player myself, I’d say you did a good job explaining the basic concepts of counting. Especially considering your range started all the way down at the rules of the game. A couple of things you missed.
1. Why high cards are valuable to the player
-Blackjacks. BJ pays 3/2 for the player when it only pays 1/1 for the dealer. An abundance of high cards means an abundance of 10’s, which heightens the probability of you winning a hand which pays 150%.
2.No mention of true count.
-I don’t blame you because in an entry level video you’ll probably lose people. But it’s important for people to know that a running count of +4 after the first deck of a double deck game is better than +15 after the first deck of a 6 deck game.
You only forgot one thing: you always need to convert the running count to the true count because it's the true count that actually gives you an advantage. You do this by dividing the true count by the number of decks already discarded. So even though you do get higher numbers of running count as the end of the shoe approaches, they are not as high as you made them appear. Other than that, very good research and very nice video indeed. Thanks for being awesome :)
7:59 "An advantage of 1.182 percent."
The screen: No
I think it's supposed to be 1.182% because thats what he and the video says at 9:24
I saw that, too.
Gamblers: You took everything from me
Casinos: I don’t even know who you are
Gambler: wins a million dollar jackpot.
Casino: our machine is faulty.
Joe and Abby
ua-cam.com/video/BEbHUgRI4gM/v-deo.html 💛
Honestly this comment needs more likes I actually lol’d
that one lucky guy: oh but you will
Beating casinos is easy, just make sure you have a high luck start (remember to wear the naughty nightwear and get the luck implant first) and save before you start betting in case things go wrong.
dont forget the lucky shades
You could also just save scam.
Luck doesn’t exist. I beat them by putting more $ when I had advantage. But they beat me by banning me everywhere.
@@pokerqAK47 they are talking about the fallout luck stat ya nublet!
i start with 8 or 9 luck, the implant and naughty nightware and drain all the casinos
"cheating in a casino is generally illegal"
Wait what? Where are these casinos where I can cheat?
I'm not sure that cheating in a casino really is illegal but regardless, card counting is not cheating. It is simply strategic play.
What's considered cheating in a casino isn't actual cheating, it's just strategies that the player can use to outsmart the casino, like counting cards.
Sure. Those where rule of law is not that important.
Think some Nighclub backroom or tijuana drug dealer bar.
I guess nobody talks a lot about cheating there....
@@organa1626 Real cheating does go on at casinos. In many jurisdictions it’s a felony. “Strategy” within the rules of the game is not cheating or illegal but of they tell you to leave the building at their discretion without giving a reason. You can be arrested for trespassing if you don’t comply. Casinos keep local police very busy “trespassing” undesirables for a myriad of reasons
@@organa1626 exactly there really is no " cheating " when it comes to a casino but the house has their own rules and if they think your breaking one your outta there
You should expand on how to further beat the casinos. By having team play, like the MIT Blackjack team.
Basically, have one person do the count, and always bet the same. Then if the count gets high, signal a team member to come over. That new player pretends to be a "high-roller" and bet big right from the start. This way, the casino can't suspect card counting, unless they start seeing the same players again and again.
Which they did.
I literally started watching this because of the movie 21 which was based on the MIT team 😂
@@tasmiatahia01 I love that movie
@@Perisa79 You should watch the film, then you will get it. basically, if they realised he was betting big from the start, and the whole group were counting, they might reshuffle the deck for example or close the table or something, which will basically erase the advantage the group got by counting over the whole evening. But if they pretended to be a high-roller, big bets would look normal.
It's all good until Robert Deniro hits your fingers with a hammer
Casinos: profiting off of addictive personalities and gullible people then throwing a fit when someone outplays them.
We all knew a kid like that in school didn't we? One who changes the rules whenever they start to lose.
Welll, who knew back then, that these kids would become rich casino owners one day? We would've affilliated us with them more :D
TRUMP!!!
when you play make believe with one of those kids:
“Okay so I punch you.”
“WeLl I tRaVeL bAcK iN tImE aNd StOp YoU”
@@Hekza0024 Way too true
@@tcmusicrecords trump owns a casino? And you knew trump when he was a child?
Weird flex but ok
I count cards and I have only been pressured once. Most of the time I don’t bet nearly enough - or vary my bet by large enough amounts - to arouse serious suspicion. I win most of the time and it’s a fun way to exercise the skill and come out a few bucks ahead at the end of the year.
Wendover about to get picked up indiscriminately by one of those mysterious white vans with no windows...
I don’t know if this is still the case, but previously Sam from Wendover was attending school in Edinburgh.
Last time I checked, although the U.K. also has an embarrassing clown as a national leader, it has not devolved into the same level of fascism as we are being subject to here in the US (until January 20, 2021). So, unless the white panel trucks are being operated by a resurrected Scottish Ted Bundy who fancies male victims, he’s probably safe for now.
@@paulinbrooklyn 🤣
@@paulinbrooklyn The government won't let me burn down cities and assault people, we truly live in a fascist society
@@apttewly Truly, the violent rioters burning down their shoes stores are quite oppressed.
@@paulinbrooklyn Why are you incapable of accepting that people have different political opinions, rather than calling them "fascists" lol?
I can't believe that there's 51 casinos that are licensed in Las Vegas alone. And to think they can actually make more than a single nation by themselves. It was so interesting to learn about how casinos worked. Thanks for the video.
Those are just on "the strip". There are hundreds more not on the strip.
people: you can't beat the casino
me, an intellectual: if I buy the casino, I win all the money
But how to get the money to buy a casino?
Lets play cards!
Lol..unless your trump
This was a plot device in a Star Trek TNG episode
unless you have Elon musk money you can't buy a casino. in the uk the only time I've heard someone "buying a casino" was a Grosvenor casino for £500,000,000 and that was just for the grounds/land not the casino itself.
If you cannt beat them join them
Why wouldn't the sesame seed leave the casino?
Because he was on a roll.
I have a big... BIG... BIIIIGGGGG... muscles!!! HAHAHA!!! What did you think I was going for? That's so DIRTY of you! GAGAGAGA!!! I am the funniest UA-camr ever! Maybe that's the reason why I have TWO (!!!) HOT (!) GIRLFRIENDS. Thanks for being alive, dear seb
Please see yourself out 😂
@@AxxLAfriku wtf is wrong with you
@@therealmistermemer click on his channel and you'll see the reason
Why did the Sesame Street casino go bankrupt?
Because the Count kept counting cards out loud.
Key line: "casinos will change the rules when they notice a player is winning."
The rules and laws governing casinos are designed to benefit the casinos. You can never "outsmart" the casino in an over the top Hollywood way because they will just change the rules (some might call that cheating) to make sure you will always lose, or at best just barely win.
A key point left out is that depending on the count, you can change the strategy on when to hit or stay. For example, normally you would stay on a 12 with a dealer 4 (14 estimated), odds are that you could get a 10 value and bust, but greater odds that the dealer would bust. If the deck was very low on high cards, better bet would be to take the hit.
Producers: “we need unit to express this floor area in”.............. Sam: “ hold my iPads”
Toyota Corollas
wait wrong channel
The funny thing about this comment is... the slot machines these days are so high tech... they are basically big screen with IPAD resolution quality. You will be amazed if you haven't seen one.
He could have use planes 🤷🏽♂️
DROP THE TOP Your scam attempts to make people watch your low quality videos is incredibly easy to see through considering your video was uploaded a day afterwards. Try harder next time, nobody wants to watch your stuff.
8:00 The number read is different to the number on the screen.
How is this not the top comment?
1:06 as well
cant wait tp see this next year in his "fail" video :D!
@@AUTvillacherboyAUT wrong channel
@@FrozenBusChannel wait this isnt RealLifeLore?
I remember my high school macro economics teacher was dealer at a casino and one day he saw us playing blackjack in class after finishing our work. He called us out for playing it wrong and decided to teach the entire class the economics of casinos and how to win/card count at blackjack. Probably one of my best moments in high school.
And then mgm produced a film about you and called it 21
@@pascalhasenmaier3840 And then everyone stood up and clapped
5:36 "Without getting too much into the math..." But that's what this video is *about* and it's what we're here for!
"Gambling is the perfect business. People swarm in, empty their pockets, then scuttle off"
-Montgomery Burns
The only person that loses at the casino business is Donald Trump. His Taj Mahal went bankrupt! LOL
The thing that gets me about casinos.. youre walking into an extremely luxurious building where everything is perfect. I mean, foes that fact alone not prove what a scam the entire thing is? The house always wins
The house doesn't 'always' win. They just win at least slightly more often than they lose. That's all it takes. Add in the extra expenses, and they rake in the money.
I'm a casino dealer of 2 years. I also play blackjack myself. I'd say your chance of regularly winning, even while counting cards, is slim to none.
Many will disagree, but with continuous shufflers, and 8 deck shoes, and people who cant control their betting, I'd say 8/10 people lost. Almost everyone loses, because they do not stop playing.
Greed is why the casino wins. I've seen people buy in for $50, win $1,000 and give it all back within 2 hours.. greed is why the casino wins
It all sounds good until you understand that most successful card counters do so as a full time job. For the average person that only visits a casino a few times a year as part of a vacation, card counting would likely make them very little money, if any.
True card counters make their money by spending several hours every day playing blackjack. Some days they lose more than they started with while the next day they earn a profit. Ideally, by the end of the week they've turned a profit. Its a rather monotonous way to make a living. Most of us would rather jab a pencil through our skull than to spend every waking moment in a casino
Thats not to say trying a little card counting on the next trip to Vegas wouldnt be fun to try. But dont expect to break the bank.
One item missing that casinos on the strip employ. Most of them decrease the payout on a blackjack to 6:5 instead of 3:2. It might not seem like much but in a typical hour I would expect to hit 3 or 4 blackjacks. Even if you're playing a $20 table, that small adjustment costs a player like me $16 each time I hit a blackjack, or $48 to $64/hour. That gives the house a much larger advantage and I typically avoid the casinos that do this. Also there's the side bets. You can sometimes play these for as little as $1 to $5 but the casino advantage on these is 5% to 18%. A lot of players like these because there's the chance you could hit it big, but they should always be avoided.
Wendover: failing a cassino is almost impossible
trump: let me do that 5 times
Only true Entrepreneurs Bankrupt themselves five times. Like only true Drivers purposefully run themselves over.
Dog's Eye it’s for his tax write offs
4 years and still crying? Wait till Nov! Trump 2020!!!!!!!
Michael Pielin you know what’s better than a tax write off? Actually having the money.
What you don't mention is 5 failed businesses out of the 500 businesses he currently owns is a 1% failure rate, which is insanely low. Thanks for proving Donald Trump is an unbelievably good business man, I'm glad you agree.
1:07 “one thousand, one hundred and thirty eight” but shows $1,038
or 7:58 "1.182%" shows 1.128%
@@rileybourne02 yea I noticed both of those and it kind of bothered me because I didn't know which one was true xD
Also roulette doesn't have an edge as large as 5.25%, it's around half that (either 1/37 or 1/38, depending on if it has a double zero or not).
A guy I worked with was a part time card counter. He won pretty big in Canada once, like $65K. In Vegas he would disappear from the group, then reappear a day later with $4 or $5 thousand in chips. He did all-nighters and traveled to a lot of countries where gambling was legal, but he lost his buy-in more than once and in the end never really made so much that he could quit his regular job.
A Blackjack Dealer here: the weapon against card counting is really simple and he mentioned it only shortly: shuffle machines. In Germany and Austria, Im not aware of any casino that does NOT use them.
CONTINUOUS shuffle machines will do it. These are always shuffling the cards, so there is never any advantage.
Regular shuffle machines shuffle a shoe of six decks only once every five decks. So, once a card is used, it will not be used again for a while. Those can be counted into.
“The casino business model is pretty much bulletproof”
Trump: Hold my KFC
Came here just for that
If that were true, Vegas wouldn’t have crashed so badly in 2008.
@@banquo60615 They didn
I'm dead lmao
People who live outside of the Atlantic City market don't know the full story of this. The casinos in Atlantic City failed after Donald Trump sold them, not before. They continued to use his name on them for years after he had nothing to do with them. Their failure wasn't because they were run poorly, but because Pennsylvania legalized gambling (Philadelphia market gone) and tribal nations built casinos in Connecticut that were closer to NYC. Atlantic City was frozen out by geography. Trump, seeing the writing on the wall, actually got OUT of the business just before it collapsed - in other words, he made the exact RIGHT moves.
people be like "oh, I gain money by not going into casinos", but still participate on lottery lol
Dad: *Why is the FBI here Sam?*
Next episode: How to get out of jail in Vegas
I think you mean: “How to self-treat a broken knee cap not inflicted by the mafia in Vegas”
I'm positive he stole my video! I can't believe it... Please just watch like 30 seconds and tell me you agree...
ua-cam.com/video/5_pZfDii1fk/v-deo.html
Won't that be illegal to upload?
@@DROPTHETOP the upload date for this vid (not yours) is literally a day before
@@DROPTHETOP we will be looking into your account, mister.
"The Casino business is bulletproof"
Donald Trump: Hold my beer.
Correction: "hold my liberal blood"
7:59 Every Mistake We've Ever Made Part 3
2:34 he also said "just barely larger" when the numbers show that it is smaller.
*Makes a big deal about how small differences in the odds can make a large difference in play*
1.128 = "One Point One Eight Two"
"Automatic shuffling machines aren't widespread."
Former dealer here, in Australia they are literally everywhere.
And in the few tables where they deal from a shoe (usually in the VIP) they will make it so you have to play the exact table minimum every hand if they suspect you're card counting (which is actually extremely easy to spot).
There are many important topics that aren't covered in this video that have to do with counting in Blackjack. First is that it is rarely the Pit that will be doing any work to stop card counting, it is almost always the Surveillance department. A larger Casino will not only have automatic counting software and chipped check (wagering chips) readers for the tables which makes card counting analysis automatic, they will also have a database of known card counters that includes their last known locations, vehicles that they are driving, photo's of their appearance and a list of the aliases they have used in the past. Even if it is a person who is counting at a Casino for the first time, the Surveillance department will watch previous shoes dealt to make a determination if the person is counting. It only takes one positive (numerically) shoe to determine if the wagers are following the count, though one shoe isn't enough to prove the person is counting. For a smaller Casino, even with a less than desirable Surveillance department and lack of proper equipment, there are still many simple deterrents to card counters. Card counting a shoe of 6-8 decks does not work if the Casino limits the wager spread to a maximum 8 times the minimum wager and cuts the shoe to 2 decks remaining before a shuffle. If the Pit Supervisor instructs a Dealer to cut the deck in half on the next shuffle, that is a very good sign that they know your counting. A Casino that will allow a table's limits to be $10 - $1000 without a continuous shuffler deserves any losses they take.
On a side note, almost no Casino will offer to let a known card counter keep playing if they "flat bet". Card counters have to make a living too and too many of them are not above cheating in any way they can to avoid having to work a 9 to 5 for a living...
8:07 The spoken number does not match the on -screen written number.
Great attention to detail!
Same for 1:03
same with 2:49
Silent Sahara I see the other two examples but what’s incorrect at 2:49?
@@treymoore6901 the screen writes 0.005 and 0.004 while the narrator says 0.5% to 0.4%. That’s quite the statistical difference.
It's understandable why players wouldn't trust a CSM, I mena technically casinos are rich enough to have it tampered with, plus no one trusts the house, to begin with, since there has been lots of scummy cases.
I remember when someone won like a major jackpot on a machine, only for the casino to have someone say there was an issue with the machine itself.
Plus casinos do have the money to buyout statements in their favor.
i'm banned from my dad friends' blackjack games for a reason LMAO. "That kid that's always winning and we have no idea how"
His friends play blackjack regularly and not one of them are aware that card counting exists? Either you are lying or they aren’t too bright
I think that’s just what their dads friends say in front of them, but they know about card counting.
@@drdrew3 you can’t put a limit on stupidity
The 0.5% advantage for the casino you talk about is the theoretical advantage if all players play the perfect strategy without card counting
In reality, most players do not. This makes blackjack highly profitable for a casino.
Great video. Helped me understand how card counting works. Also, this was a very professional looking video. My OCD caused me to notice one thing and this is just an observation. At the 8 minute mark, you say the player advantage is 1.182% but 1.128% is displayed on the screen. At 9:33 in the video you repeat the statement and the number displayed matches what you say. I reiterate, great video. Just maybe a little more diligence in post.
Casinos: You're only allowed to play there when you're losing!
I've always assumed that casinos to can spot suspected card counters by counting the cards themselves. The cards are always played in a way that their cameras can see them, so there may even be automated ways to count them.
your numbers for value per sqft at 1:05 and percentage statement at 8:07 match up as well as netflix captions of squid game.
The fact that casinos only let people play when they're losing tells you everything you need to know about casinos.
For the interested the four best games you can play in casino are (in no particular order) Blackjack, Baccarat, Roulette, and Craps. The worst are Kino, Big six wheel, and one arm bandits (aka slots). Poker is also a good option but depends on which version, but Stud and Texas Hold’em are usually your best bets.
As someone who works in a UK casino, this was an interesting look at card counting. Flat betting is a fairly common counter to card counters, and being "backed off" (player is unable to play blackjack) is also rarely used at some venues. Thankfully, I don't need to worry about this much since the club I work at uses a continuous shuffler and no more than about 2.5 decks are out at any one time (from a 6 deck shoe).
Just wanted to mention that some of the footage used in the video is a little strange:
7:48 is spreading cards on a 3 card poker table
8:31 looks like an amateur setup based on the chips and the way dealer collects the cards (even trainee dealers are better than that!)
8:59 is either a large buy-in or a very strange way to pay out. Also, where are the dealer's cards?
10:19 is a 3 card poker shuffler (you can see it in the felt too). I know it can be hard to visualize an auto-shuffler though
10:29 is some of the worst procedure I've ever seen! Money always comes first in a casino, and keeping the cards in place helps prevent any disputes (all the players lost this one)
11:45 - Big buy-ins followed by small bets are very worrying to casinos as this tends to be a sign of money laundering. For example, buying in at a table for $2,000 but only playing $10 per hand will get eyebrows raised and proof of income demanded.
As always, loving the videos and hope we can keep learning new things together for a long time to come!
Those are stock footages, played by actors, not professional dealers.
It is always funny to see a professional comment on those... :)
What's the logic behind labeling big buy-ins and small bets as money laundering? I think that's what makes more sense in order to maximize playing time
@@MHNK77 If I had $100,000 in dirty money, I could buy $100,000 in chips, then use the chips as money to buy things. Or, I could sell the chips for cash. Whoever gets the chips can just walk back into the casino and cash the chips. The money is now completely clean, with no connection to the original crime or criminal.
Launderers don’t want to just buy chips and leave, as that is very suspicious. So, they gamble a bit. They also don’t want to lose a bunch of money to the casino, so they make small bets.
@@dzerkle oohh, it makes sense now. Thanks
Nice video ,good contents,Everybody wants to earn and many end up loosing the ones they have ,there are other means of investing and making huge profits within a short while also,we all just have to invest wisely than loosing out.
You are right,I truly go with this,sometimes salaries can afford the life we want that why most of us engage in this and sometimes we want more. What’s your means of earring
You can’t be successful or financially stable by depending on just salaries or stuffs like this,not condemning it tho,but we just have to face reality
Well l !nvest in F 0R ex and St 0 c k mkt respectively
to be able to earn as much as I do ,even as a begin or not you have to be able to 1nvest with a Reliable and trustworthy Br 0ker like I do
His name is ( Mr BONHAM EDWIN FREEMAN} he is trusted well known and verified Br 0 ker
The book about the MIT counting team that started this all is called Bringing Down the House. It's well worth the read of all the methods they attempted to get around the casinos.
The biggest thing not discussed here was team play, one person sits at the table always betting the same and keeping the count. Another playing the high roller would join the table when it's hot, play for a bit, and then move on. It prevents the casino from detecting the change in a bet. But eventually they catch on, even using facial recognition to ban players across a group of casinos.
I tried counting cards a few time at my local casino. Only time I was able to keep up with the speed of the dealer was when I had a dealer who was probably 75 years old and as slow as molasses. I don't recall it paying off anyway.
I think blackjack is tons of fun, but I'd rather take $20 and find a table with no one else there and let it ride every time and hope I win 4 hands on a row and come out with $320
8:00 Add it to the corrections video, boys. Number on screen and in narration do not match; 1.128% =/= 1.182%.
Same for 1:03
9:30 gave the right one haha
Haha now you know how non US people feel whenever we see you guys writing dates :D
@@TheGahta bruh i feel you
Wendover never makes mistakes.....
Person: wins money
Casino: “You weren’t supposed to do that”
When you think you've beat the system and can take advantage of a flaw or mistake in a rigged system
The casinos: *_that's where you are wrong, kiddo_*
And that's why the winning move is to not play. Either that or engage in a russian roulette where the revolver is fully loaded.
Btw, that profile pic and your name are perfect xD
Would have been a tad difficult to shoehorn airplanes into this topic.
That was the easiest explanation of card counting I’ve ever heard. I already knew and practiced mathematically optimal plays but I never really got the idea of card counting.
When I was a dealer, our biggest tool was to quickly pick up the cards after each deal. This makes it harder to mental keep the count
Already counted.
Doesn't work for good counters. They count as the cards are being dealt. And, unlike the video, most count in pairs. So a deal of K-6 is just zero, not 1, -1. The hardest part about counting is all the distractions and trying to make it look like you're not actually counting. And realistically, the ones who count well are making more like $30-40/hr, not $110. so they can keep under the casino radar. There are things counters can do to not look like counters, but they also reduce the advantage of counting.
Fourteen minutes and 11 seconds to say: The Lights of Las Vegas Aren’t Lit by Winners.
Your explanation was spot on and very easy to understand. Thank you for sharing.
We're just following the algorithm here
Won't be surprised if more casino videos pop up out of nowhere
Here I’m before this is taken down :)
Casino tactics I've personally experienced in Vegas:
- They close all the low and medium stakes Blackjack tables for "cleaning" and "maintenance" (when I was up $600 after several hours)
- Lots of talking and questions to distract me
- Having a second dealer prepare a new shoe in advance, then switch it in randomly
They stop you from being smarter than them
Technically, in Poker, players are not playing against the house. The 3.5% is the average estimated "rake" (aka. comission) taken by the casino in every single hand.
So Players make money vs other players using their knoweldge of the game, and take into account that they have a 3.5% "comission" to pay. So the "softer" the table, the higher the edge a player has over other players - so the higher the incentive there is to stay, play hands and pay 3.5%. If the table is full of good players, the incentive is greatly reduced because the general winrate would be lower due to the increased level of the players at the table.
But bottom line, regarding poker, casinos actually only make a flat % of money on basically people trying to win against other people, and their revenue depends solely on the volume of players and hands played and is therefore not impacted by luck or streaks.
Nobody cares
I only play poker because I don't have to force bet like they do in slots or table games. If I get a shitty hand in poker I can throw it away for free unless I'm big or small blind. You HAVE to bet in order to play blackjack or a slot machine.
@@ryshed4365 actually if you're a poker player you should.
Ryan Shead I care. Also why would you even bother to post this? Did you just want to ruin a persons day when they were just trying to provide useful information?
"We don't know if the guy is counting cards..."
*Guy changes bet from $30 to $5000*
"Still not sure..."
You know iPads are super expensive when they're used as a measurement for how much money a casino can spend.
iPads (normal iPads for $330) are actually very good value for money. In fact I would say they are Apple's best price/performance device currently.
I went to a casino one time in my life. It was my 21st birthday so I got drunk and lost $80 at jackblack in 5 minutes
I'm 26 now, never been back to a casino since
@@xShrewsburyX At least you learned, unlike majority of the people :)
if u won a 160 usd instead of losing ur 80, most likely you would have took a different path with ur life, be grateful that you have lost the 1st time u went there buddy.
How does jackblack work? Is it some version of blackjack or a completely different game?
a black guy named jack hides in the casino and you have to find him with a guess.