Click for printable version
Click to send to a friend

Dealer Katrina Hill deals blackjack from a shoe at Harrah's on the Strip in this 1998 file photo. Blackjack expert Stanford Wong says blackjack games on the Strip are not as favorable as those in Wendover, along Interstate 80 at the Utah border. Photo by Ralph Fountain.

Tuesday, December 12, 2000
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CASINO GAMES: Expert: LV hard for card counters

Early, continuous shuffling keeps gamblers guessing, blackjack guru says

Card counters take note: Get out of Las Vegas if you want to ply your trade.

One of the world's foremost blackjack and card counting experts says the most favorable games for gamblers are in Nevada.

But you won't find them in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas casinos use two key strategies to combat card counting -- early shuffling and continuous shuffling machines.

"For some reason Las Vegas casinos seem overly concerned about card counters, and shuffle much earlier than do casinos in the rest of the state," said blackjack expert Stanford Wong.

Blackjack games on the Strip are not as good as Wendover, along Interstate 80 at the Utah border, which has the nation's best games, as games are dealt deeper from a deck than anywhere else, Wong said.

Reno, Laughlin, Mesquite and Pahrump also have better games than those offered in Las Vegas, Wong said.

"The most important factor in determining whether a player can gain an edge over the casino is how far into the deck the blackjack dealers go before reshuffling," he said.

Card counters monitor the value of cards remaining in decks and seek favorable counts of aces and face cards in order to increase their wagers.

It's to a card counter's advantage for a blackjack dealer to deal as many cards as possible from a deck or shoe to most accurately assess the remaining cards.

Card counting is not illegal in Nevada nor is it considered cheating, but casinos are allowed to ban gamblers believed to be counting cards.

"People who play blackjack to win must use a counting system," said Wong, author of several blackjack books and a monthly newsletter.

Continuous shuffling machines reshuffle a blackjack game's cards after every hand. Wong noted that MGM Mirage casinos and the Rio, among others, employ large numbers of the machines.

"The worst blackjack games in the state (for card counters) use the continuous shuffling machines because every deal begins with all available cards," he said.

Wong said two key factors determine how much of a disadvantage noncard counters face: the number of decks used and the rules of the game itself.

The more decks used in a blackjack game, the more the casino's theoretical advantage on every bet goes up, Wong said.

Las Vegas blackjack players have a range of games to play, from single and double-deck games to a few casinos that use eight-deck shoes.

"You have a wonderful situation in Las Vegas because you have competition," Wong said. "If you don't like the rules offered or the number of decks used in a game, it's easy to go someplace else. At the tribal casinos near where I live in San Diego, the casinos are 30 miles apart. If you don't like a game and say you'll leave and play elsewhere, they'll just laugh at you."

Wong said the competition between casinos doesn't extend to concerns about how far into the decks or shoes the dealers deal because the casinos don't want card counters' business, and therefore don't compete for it.

Certain rule variations are better or worse for players, but Wong says most noncard counting blackjack players don't pay attention to the rule differences from casino to casino and even from game to game.

For example, games forcing dealers to stay on all 17s is an advantage to the player, while games forcing dealers to hit soft 17s, a hand with an ace which could be worth either seven or 17, is a disadvantage.

Similarly, games allowing players to double down, or double their original bets, after splitting a pair is also to the player's advantage.

Wong believes most Las Vegas casinos don't compete against each other by offering more favorable rules because the blackjack players they want to attract -- those willing to play at a disadvantage and likely lose -- care less about the favorability of the games than the ambience of the casino and the blackjack table.

"Most players choose where to play by deciding which casino has good parking, friendly dealers, cute cocktail waitresses and good restaurants," Wong explained.