Because while casinos are scum and their employees want to look good generally as long as you're polite they'll be polite back
Most casinos smartly operate that way. This avoids things escalating,a patron getting hurt and suing them for a lot of money.its not worth the risk for them over someone beating them for a little bit of money. Plus they really don't want to draw attention to it.If there are other players are the table they'll often politely ask you to step away from the table and then discreetly tell you no more bj. MOST pit bosses these days aren't trying to make your life hell.tjeyre trying to do their job,get some praise for kicking out a counter (even if he sucks and is a -ev player) and go home to their family.

They might politely ask for id but usually unless you're cashing a lot of chips they just say"I'm sorry you cant play anymore blackjakc but you can play anything else"
It's stupid to argue back at this point
Their mind is made up just leave and try not to be memorable.
As long as they're respectful be respectful back.Theyll remember the dickhead who curses them out for no reason a lot more than someone polite.

I've had several casinos ask me for id after playing blackjack and I refused every time
Usually the cashier looks at you funny but gives you the money

Once it was bc it was over 3k and that was their bs policy
I'd cashed out more than 2500 and less than 3,000 before with no issue
It was a locals casino and they would ask what you were playing and then call the pit to verify

I took my chips back and said my id is in my room safe at a different hotel and cashed them out over 2 trips the next 2 days

Once it got really nasty with dirt bag a pit boss tresspassinfg me and refusing to cash my chips without showing my id

He even had the nerve to tell me it's bc I could be under 21 which was obviously bullshit as I don't look anywhere near that young and told him you let me walk in the door reload 3 times play for an hour and order 2 beers and nobody asked for id I'm not showing it now


I should have just left right away

They told me they were calling the cops I told them good please do

After 20 minutes of me waiti he tells me they're sick of my **** and they're gonna cash them out and then security escorted me out

Dirt bag pit then flyered my picture to other casinos and in the next 2 days I got thrratened with a tresspass and tresspassed at 2 places I never got so much as backed off before-clearly it was all related. in fact the place that threatened me with a tresspass had always been super tolerant,handled action well and I had just run like absolute god there. I hadn't played there in at least 6 months and they are an independent casino.

Before this first tresspass I had never been tresspassed before anywhere in 250ish hours of Vegas blackjack over a 2 year period or even heard the word tresspass mentioned.
I had been told no more blackjack politely probably 10-12 times before this but nothing ever rude.


If I happen to be in Vegas while people are wearing masks I am 100 percent playing in all of these places again

You sound like a sick advantage player lol. Wish we can play together but obv we two advantage players at a table its gonna draw even more heat. I've always tried to limit the amount of heat I draw and hence probably not playing the most +ev strategy. But I think your point that most pit bosses probably know I was counting cards in some way but because I wasn't destroying them for huge amounts they don't make a big hooha out of it.

Do you know what picture quality they have on file for you?

While a camera above you might not be able to identify you, I wouldn’t totally rule out the possibility of security walking through the casino with cameras. If that happens and they have a high resolution frontal image of your face on file, the area around your eyes will be enough to give them a likely-enough match to approach you about it. At least if you’re a white male.

Of course, that’s a lot of “if”. A lot of casinos probably haven’t updated their camera systems in ages and their pictures on file might be of worse quality than drone footage of people in Taliban camps in Afghanistan. But I wouldn’t be totally confident about a place like Cosmopolitan that opened less than 10 years ago.

no i don't but they probably got good pictures of me at the cage.

neither trespass was at a place like cosmo.

white male unfortunately!

nah i'm really not- sick advantage players are doing way more than counting double deck blackjack games on their poker down time.

i happened to have a decent win in a small casino with a pit boss who cared way too much.

I try to limit heat to a degree, but I don't live in Vegas,blackjack isn't my bread and butter at all so I'm not THAT concerned about heat and on my last couple days of a trip I spread bigger and stay longer since at that point i really don't care much if they ask me to leave since I could easily not be back in Vegas for 6 months or more.During WSOP i don't even play any blackjack since there are good poker games 24/7.I also don't **** where I eat- I don't play anywhere I also play poker since it's not worth risking a total ban, especially at mgm properties.

If I lived out there and cared about longevity I'd stick to shoe games. But double deck is so much more fun and profitable and I can't play them back home so I'm gonna play it in Vegas.

I think with everyone wearing masks there will definitely be more counters than usual, especially young ones who aren't as concerned with the risks of Covid19. The conditons are just too good for it.

Is card counting still an issue? Very few single deck games and they lowered the odds on BJ .
Also on 8 deck do they not circulate the cards back in right away in some casinos

Yup, continuous shufflers killed blackjack as a game to have fun with.

The penetration (cut card) is at about 50% so card-counting on single and double deck is not really advantageous.

BJ is still 3-2 on anything except low minimum tables and single deck.

Never seen continuous shuffle on anything but low min shoe games.
Many places have gone to the auto-shufflers.

I think any serious card-counter who's concerned about longevity isn't touching single/double decks anymore. To your second point, you're talking about CSMs; they don't play those either.

You take off your mask for the temp check so they picture you when you walk in
At least at all Station properties they make you stand in an area in front of a computer/camera. 2 guys about 20ft away are watching then waive you on -

Although there are a few casinos that dont do it

This post is all kind of problematic! Race and gender are social constructs, don’t use them to disparage people.

It is not disparaging. Simply a fact the the recognition sw works best on white males. Could argu why that is but it is a demonstrable fact.

I still don't understand how they can trespass you for using your brain to play a game that is partially based on skill.

They can't in NJ but can pretty much everywhere else.

Most places just kick you out as long as you're polite which while I don't like it I can understand it.

Trying to not cash chips until someone shows id, threatening to call the cops on them, preferential shuffles- these are the things that are so over the top rediculous and scummy done by casinos that are not at all legal but nothing is done against them.

It's not just blackjack; if you make enough money, for long enough at any game they will likely use some method to discourage you. I've had my players card confiscated at one place playing VP (not actually mine, lol) and been banned from all promotions at another.

I guess it's similar to if you went into a car dealership every day pretending to be interested in a purchase just so you could eat all the donuts; eventually they'd ban you from the lot.

It's very straight foreword. Casinos are very protective of their hard earned money. When they realize they do not have the edge they simply use their right to refuse to provide service to who ever they chose and ask you to no longer play blackjack.

The bigger they perceive the threat the more aggressive they are going to be.

If you are dicking around spreading green they will generally be quite polite and friendly.

If you are a well known high stakes team player - they can be friendly and professional in their refusal of service. BUT there is also a chance they are going to total ass holes. I have had their responses cover the entire spectrum. But the fact is once they figure out what is going on they are going to do their best to stop it

Now that the casinos re-opened I wonder if anyone has had success at the blackjack tables not being recognized. Or whether they are concentrating on card counters or not.

Obviously some people have played unrecognized that's true even during normal times.

The second part is the interesting question. They might not even be bothering much bc of how difficult it is as well as covid concerns.

I would say if you were a casino cheat in anyway now would be the time to do it lol.

There was just a story like a week ago how the Bellagio completely messed up and had a game open to bet that had already been played earlier in the day and they lost a bunch they had to pay out as people obviously were betting it.

this!
and each Casino has a different threshhold.
back in the late 90's some casino's tolerated black chip play while others backed me off for green chip. I miss the good old days !

I didn't even know you could be an individual that counts cards and make money long run anymore. Not enough opportunities to get the money in and doesn't the floor start sweating you the first time you even spread 5x much less 10x? If you aren't spreading that wide, you're probably not beating the game for a lot unless you happen to be on the good side of variance. If there's someone betting $150 and after a bunch of low cards come out they start betting $750, doesn't everybody know something is going on in this day and age?

Mustafa - I transitioned out of blackjack around 16 years ago for a wide array of reasons. I still have pals that are active as their sole source of income so they are firing in decent size $. But they have a big bag o tricks and are quite good at selling their act and are not afraid to travel. People doing straight +1 -1 are definitely going to have a tougher time getting down with the game but it can be done.


@snowman - we prolly crossed paths...I miss the good ole days too mang!!

This was NOT the practice downtown a few days ago.

Fremont was the ONLY one with camera and long-range heat check in use, and the mask was not being removed. There WAS a thumbs-up given if you were good to enter. Not sure what they were doing if you didn't check out...

D/Golden Gate were using the walk-through machines that looked like repurposed metal detectors that you put your wrist up against a sensor. I didn't see anyone who even registered as high as normal temperature. Putting the machines directly under the A/C vent might have had something to do with that...

Nugget/Four Queens/Binions had no checks in place at the entrance, although the Nugget had a sign about guests checking in needing to agree to temperature checks.

Nugget's double-deck game lost me at the inability to double after splitting. That is still allowed at The D and Golden Gate. D was a $100 min table and the Gate was $25 min. Both of those still paying 3:2.

I never made it over to El Cortez, so I cannot speak to their current practices.

Good luck to your friends. I wouldn't bother doing it without being a part of a team anymore. If bag o tricks means unconstrained "advantage play", I hope they don't get caught.

all above board my man - tracking, steering, etc

u and i are on the same page regarding solo play