Extremely stupid question here

but looking for an informed answer from someone who knows...

1. At the casino there are no posted rules for Black Jack. Do Gaming Boards in governing areas define the game? If so, is it written in that "full decks" must be used? If not, a casino could simply cut a few faces and aces and take on all counters, plobbies alike.

This is a serious question, as stupid as it sounds, the ramifications of not having Black Jack properly defined as using "full decks" would thus make it legal for casinos to use unbalanced decks..which would destory the game....its all semantics

is the term to which you are referring. State laws describe specific rules for casinos. It is highly illegal for a casino to short-shoe or remove a few cards from a deck. If proven, the casino could lose its gambling license.

Since the possibility of lost revenue running into hundreds of millions of dollars would be at risk, it has long been thought that casinos would not dare to chance this. Now, there is some discussion that this may be actually taking place, and it is coming from highly respected sources.

That's not a stupid question in the least bit, it is a tough one to answer though. The way most people walk into a casino and just give money away you'd like to think that they wouldn't need to cheat at all. Then you notice how casino personal (pit bosses, floor manager's, etc.) act towards anyone who's as little as one chip ahead and you wouldn't put the idea past them for a second. But the bottom line is, if you are playing and losing and you feel even for one-second that you are losing because you are being cheated you should pack up your bags and leave ASAP.

watch them put all of the cards into the shoe. when they open the table, for example.

this reduces the risk of short-shoeing, imho.

if that's not enough, watch them sort the cards when they close the table too.

cold