Ok, I might just be paranoid...but I feel that I have been at tables on more than a few occations where the dealer was counting too.
This is just based on side-comments and other little things the dealers have done.
Does anyone else have this experience??
There are dealers who count. Many of them play at other casinos. However, there are far more dealers who don't count. Most of them know if a lot of little cards have been played it is good for the players, so they might make comments about the deck being rich, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are actually counters. Don't let them spook you. Most dealers who are also counters won't rat you out, but there are always exceptions to the rule. I have had occasions at single deck games where counting dealers would give me another round when the count was high and shuffle up when the count went in the tank. Those are the kind of counting dealers I like, and I always show my appreciation when it happens.
One thing. I never speak of counting to those kinds of dealers and they don't speak of it with me. We mutually know the score and the less said, the better.
I too have never had a problem on the occasions where I was pretty sure the dealer was counter, and I also agree it is less than the norm. I was just curious of others experiences.
he might notice a bunch of small cards and see you raise your bet the next round.might suspect something then but they dont count.the only time i ever counted while dealing was when i dealt single deck and this ass came to my table.he was a jerk from the second he sat down.i dealt slow so i could take and pay while using my count.when the count was positive i shuffled and went it went negative i dealt as far as i could.
I too have seen dealers that may comment about many big cards or small cards coming out, but the percentage that are actually counting would have to be very small in my opinion.
I would think that dealers would be too busy keeping track of multiple player hands, hitting, adding totals, paying winners, this week's "new" shuffle, game protection, etc. If a dealer gets to the point where they can multitask, maintain good game protection, and count down the deck, they're probably not long for the tables. They'll be moved to the pit, security, or up the casino food chain somewhere.
I have come across dealers who talk like they know a lot about the game, but on closer inspection have really only mastered the repetitive aspects of dealing and really don't know that much about AP at all.
Just my opinion.
Counting cards while performing all the duties of a dealer must be prohibitively difficult for the vast majority of dealers. Bantering with the player(s), adding up hand totals, taking in money, making change, figuring out the blackjack payout on that $87.50 bet from the idiot at second base, paying out, etc. etc. Too many distractions.
Lots of dealers think they know a lot more about BJ than they really do. Most of them buy into all that baloney about "the flow" and "team play." I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard a dealer say "I've been dealing this game for a long time, and I know how it works..."
Dealing, playing and paying seven hands, while keeping count, with distractions, has got to be the most challenging practice drill for a counter. My hat is off to anyone who can do this at a reasonable speed and keep up a conversation.
However... the dealer wouldn't have to be all that accurate, as he primarily would only be interested in the count if it was STRONGLY positive or negative.
Probably easier than it appears at first thought.
But it slows my game down noticeably. Any dealer who takes the time to learn to count can do it, but it's not commonly practiced. And I don't practice doing both at the same time, so I'm not so quick with the cards when I'm doing it. In any case, it's not hard, because the dealer can still play the entire game and keep good table security. He only needs to be able to recognize cancelling cards at a glance, just like you do, and counts cards as they go into his discard rack.
How to tell if your dealer is counting? First, his game will get a lot slower, because he'll only count if he thinks you're doing it. (In my case, I count because if I think you're counting and you're tipping, I'll move the cut card deeper for you. I know you'll notice and I could use the money. It won't be anything spectacular, because there's still bigger people watching me, but if you carefully ramp your bets instead of jumping the pit won't really know you're there anyway.) Secondly, look for a dealer who cleans up his rack after every hand. Keeping the running count in your head isn't easy, so I move around the little plastic dividers in my rack to keep track between hands. When you jump your bet, I just glance down and see if the count is high. I don't need to know exactly what it is or convert to the true count. You're already showing me what you think it is.
If your dealer is doing this... forget about counting! You don't need to, and you can play a much better game. Just watch his rack and he'll count for you.
Good luck kiddies, and remember that a counting dealer is probably a counting player too, and you're not at odds with him.
Sorry to leave this out, I just remembered. If you think your dealer is counting, stick with him until he's tapped out for a break. When he gets the tap, watch and see if he goes to talk to a pit boss. The dealer shouldn't need to talk to his boss until he comes back from a break, or the boss asked for him. So it's safest to assume that he's ratting you out. When he talks to the boss neither of them will look at you, so hightail it out of that pit (preferably to another casino or another level if you're on a boat) while they're still talking. No sense in taking a chance of being marked. Good luck again, fight the good fight.
necessarily the enemy. Thanks for reminding us of this fact. I do recommend great caution for counters, since absolutely NOTHING is to be gained by revealing yourself to any casino personnel, but still, it is a bit of fun when the dealer knows, you know he knows, he knows you know he knows, and you have this little camaraderie going with a fellow counter who just happens to be on the other side of the table for the moment. Thanks for a useful and interesting post.
At Tunica a while back, I made two winning insurance bets in a short time (insured with a high count and declined even money on BJ with a low count--drove some ploppies nuts). After the second win, the dealer said: "Looks like you made the wrong decision at the right time twice now." I could swear he winked ever so slightly. I was not uncomfortable with this; I was tipping and not overdoing the spread--so he was happy and just wanted me to know that he knew that I knew that he knew...
