In poker, card counting is simply one component of a much broader strategy. It isn't used in isolation like it would be at the blackjack tables. How does it work? The general concept is identical to blackjack; we want to keep track of which cards remain in the deck, so we can estimate our chances of hitting big on the later streets. Card counting works on the concept that high-value cards are good for the player while low-value cards are bad. By taking note of the cards that have been played, a player can determine whether the remaining cards are beneficial to the player, and alter their betting and playing strategy accordingly. Card counters exploit a flaw in the game implementation which is not actually part of the rules of the game. The rules of blackjack say nothing about dealing multiple hands from the same pre-shuffled stack - but that's exactly what makes card counting possible.
Real time gaming casino. Thanks to the 2008 hit film 21 – which recounted the exploits of the infamous MIT Blackjack Team – card counting has enjoyed a renaissance of late.
Popular media outlets proudly produce instructional content for aspiring card counters, and YouTube is littered with related videos. As a veteran advantage play pro, this is a refreshing change of pace, as card counting was once on the verge of fading away into obscurity.
Sure, the casino's security systems are still top notch, and card counting will always be 'frowned upon' – but every player should feel empowered to beat the house at its own game. Provided you're sticking to card counting, hole carding, and other legitimate – and legally protected – advantage play methods, there's no reason to consider counting taboo.
Caesars casino locations. But as the movie 21 made clear, counting as a lone wolf is far less effective than playing as part of a team.
Cached
In that spirit, I've put this page together to provide an introductory guide to forming and running your own card counting team. Below you'll find a step-by-step tutorial on what it takes to assemble a team and get to work evening the odds. But before we get down to those details, let's run through the history of card counting teams and how they work.
The First Big Player Team
Back in 1971, a gambling man by the name of Al Francesco was just another card counter plying his trade on his own.
Like everybody else doing the same at the time, Francesco took in interest in advantage play techniques in the 1960s thanks to Edward O. Thorp's book Beat the Dealer (1962). Thorp pioneered the very first system for counting through the blackjack deck, known as the Ten Count. And while he was more interested in the theoretical and mathematical angles of the game, Thorp's work changed blackjack forever.
Players like Francesco eventually moved on to different counting systems, such as the Advanced Point Count devised by Lawrence Revere. But no matter which approach they favored, all card counters were confronted with the same problem – the 'heat.'
While counting cards isn't a crime – thanks in large part to Francesco (more on this to come) – casinos are well within their rights to ban players they suspect to have an edge. Of course, I disagree wholeheartedly with this, as the entire essence of gambling strategy is predicated on reducing the house's edge. Even so, casinos train their dealers and pit bosses to carefully observe winning players, scanning for any sign that they might be counting.
Advantage play specialists refer to this extra attention as heat, and for a big bettor like Francesco, that meant being barred from various properties – and even being roughed up.
Although he knew exactly how to dissect the deck to determine when the count was in his favor, Francesco couldn't conceal that fact for very long. Between his intense concentration on the mental calculations needed – and the predictable pattern of increased bet sizes producing winners – he could only play for so long before being discovered.
Then, almost by accident, Francesco stumbled upon a strategy that would fundamentally reshape the blackjack landscape. While hanging out with his family at Harvey's Casino in Lake Tahoe, Francesco watched his brother playing a low-stakes table. The brother knew what he was doing, and he'd raise his $1 wager to $5 when a positive count arrived.
Naturally, Francesco couldn't help himself and plunked a $100 chip down to back the bet, knowing the odds were in his favor. Here's how remembered the genesis moment three decades later in an interview with Arnold Snyder of the Blackjack Forum:
'We were killing time waiting for dinner, and my brother was playing blackjack. He was betting from $1 to $5 and he knew how to count.
I was standing behind him talking with my brother-in-law, and every time I noticed my brother make a $5 bet, I threw $100 on his hand.
I just kept talking to my brother-in-law and let my brother play the hand. It looked like I couldn't care less about what happened. If my brother went down to $1, I pulled all my money back.
They bought that hook, line, and sinker. I didn't give it too much thought, and then when I was playing in that four-deck game, it came to me that this was the way to outsmart them.'
By taking advantage of his brother's count, and appearing to all the world to be just another high-roller splashing around, Francesco found the best way to cool off heat – team play. It took a bit of tinkering to put the concept into action, but eventually Francesco settled on what he called the 'Big Player' system.
Other players took care of the counting, betting small potatoes while they do to avoid suspicion, before relaying signals to a designated Big Player. This person would be betting big money the whole way through, ordering drinks and carrying on like the typical high-roller who doesn't care about the result – only the action.
But lo and behold, when the Big Player seemed to randomly settle on a larger bet, the cards managed to cooperate more often than not.
Here's how Francesco described the subterfuge while speaking with fellow Blackjack Hall of Fame inductee Snyder:
'I was always looking for new people because with three counters the Big Player didn't keep busy all the time.
It looked like he was waiting for something. If he was betting big all the time, the act looked a lot better. You looked like a raving maniac.
Eventually we had six counters and the concept got better.'
Using this system, Francesco soon discovered that the team approach was too much for typical dealers and pit bosses to handle.
The player doing all the mental gymnastics to keep an accurate count might stand out, but they're only betting peanuts so the casino tends not to care. And as the Big Player lives up to the name by scooping huge profits, their seemingly random play and casual demeanor doesn't peg them as a counter.
Just like that, blackjack became a beatable game – provided you have the right team in place.
Finding the Right Players to Work With
Francesco wound up relocating to Atlantic City in 1978, the year New Jersey legalized casino gambling.
He hoped to find softer games and inexperienced staff, but as it turned out, Atlantic City could put on the same sort of heat as Las Vegas. He wound up employing a character named Ken Uston, who was prone to lapses in judgment that put the team at risk. Uston wound up revealing the secrets of team play in a book titled 'The Big Player,' and from that point on, casinos knew what to look for.
Uston wound up taking the state's Casino Commission to court after being banned from playing blackjack, and in a historic ruling, he won the case. In a roundabout way, Francesco's decision to bring Uston aboard led to the legal precedent which protects advantage players to this day. Counting cards was deemed to be legal, and casinos were prohibited from banning players solely because of suspicion.
While we can all be thankful for Uston's legal crusade, Francesco wasn't so lucky. By teaching the Big Player technique to somebody who had no hesitation publishing the secrets to the world, Francesco's hidden goldmine was exposed.
The players you'll be associating with are more than just partners, they're a crucial link in a chain that's being pulled in many directions. The scrutiny of casino staff, the pressure to blend in while winning big, and the whims of variance that can lead to losses even with a great count – these factors all add up.
And unless your teammates are capable of handling that workload, the carefully orchestrated ballet can come crashing to a halt.
Mike Aponte, a member of the MIT Blackjack Team which won millions in the ‘80s and ‘90s, gave an interview with the BBC in which he addressed what makes a good teammate. According to Aponte, the best Big Players are able to exude casual confidence, all while moving massive amounts of money around the table:
'You just have to pass that initial test where they size you up and think, ‘OK, is this someone we're going to make a lot of money from?'
What was important was being comfortable, being able to deal with the attention, because money just attracts attention.'
Aponte revealed that the MIT team had a few hiccups along the way, including one Big Player candidate who didn't quite fit the part. As he told the BBC, Aponte erred in assigning the Big Player position to somebody who was much more suited to be a spotter:
'Looking back it was a mistake as he didn't have a good look for a big player.
He wore glasses, he had a very meek personality, and he just looked really smart.
He was really smart – he was a PhD student.' – Mike Aponte Roulette house advantage.
The whole trick here is to find teammates that are naturally suited for either the spotter or Big Player role.
The spotters should be nondescript, allowing them to do the heavy mental lifting without catching a second look. And speaking of the mental workload, you probably won't find an MIT-trained math genius like Aponte, but the spotter obviously needs to be good with numbers. Before you ever hit the casino floor, you'll want to run through rigorous tests and practice counts to perfect the system.
As for the latter, you want a Big Player who makes the casino happy – somebody who seems right at home torching big bucks at the blackjack table. Flashy clothes, a boisterous personality, and maybe a few cocktails along the way are all essential elements of the Big Player disguise.
Making the Managerial Side Tick
Believe it or not, but the most difficult part of running a card counting team doesn't take place at the tables.
Sure, the actual gameplay will require skill and aplomb to pull off, but practice will make perfect once you have the right team in place. No, the real difficulties lie in managing such a complex operation.
Remember, your team should include at least three spotters for every Big Player, and you'll likely want to double that staff to prevent your faces from becoming too familiar. Thus, you should expect to employ seven additional teammates, assuming you'll be in on the action too.
You'll be in charge of the team bank, or the pool of money used as capital in the venture. The amount in that bank is all up to you, depending on what stakes you're looking to play – but it goes without saying that you'll need a sizable cash reserve on hand at all times. Even card counters lose on occasion, and without enough cashflow to keep yourself afloat, a few bad beats can bury even the best of teams.
Along with dispensing portions of the bank for use at the table, you'll be carefully accounting for all profits and losses. This job is crucial, because as every gambler knows, strange things can happen when it comes to money in a casino. A teammate might use a chunk of bank money betting on sports, or maybe they have one too many at the bar. In any event, your job as team manager entails accounting for every dollar that comes in or out of the bank.
And if you do catch somebody with their hand in the cookie jar, don't hesitate to give them the boot. It may be a pain to find and train their replacement, but card counting teams rely on honesty and integrity to succeed. It only takes a single leak to sink the biggest ship, after all.
Aponte himself had to cut bait with a teammate whose recklessness put the entire endeavor at risk.
After two teammates got married, he wanted to show his wife a good time, so the happy couple headed south to play blackjack in the Bahamas. Unfortunately for them, casino security doesn't play by the same rules as they do here in the States, and card counting is more than just frowned upon – it's strictly forbidden by law.
This is how Aponte described the situation to the BBC:
'He was up about $20,000 or $30,000, and the casino figured out he was card counting and they brought the police in.
They threw them in jail and confiscated not only all the money they'd won but the team money they'd brought with them.
That player and his wife – they never played for the team again.'
Incidents such as this may seem unlikely, but you'd be surprised how major money can affect people's better judgment. No matter what, do your part as manager to keep the team in line, and always keep the bank money under a watchful eye.
That level of diligence can be tough for seasoned corporate managers, and we're just a bunch of grizzled gamblers, so be prepared for a certain level of burnout.
Bill Kaplan, founder of the MIT Blackjack Team, found himself wearing down after decades of walking that proverbial tightrope. As he told the BBC, Kaplan eventually gave it all up once the managerial duties became so overwhelming:
'As a player it's an amazing experience, but as a manager we might have 10, 20, 30 people playing in five different casino locales, some in Las Vegas, some in New Orleans, some in Canada, and we're keeping track of their play, we're trying to make sure nobody's stealing money.
I was just running a business and it just seemed like so much of the business was more headaches than fun.'
Kaplan's lesson couldn't be clearer. Unless you're prepared to run your card counting team like a legitimate business, the enterprise is already doomed to fail.
Deciding Where to Play
Back in the era Francesco and Uston came up in, the gambling scene in America was limited to Nevada, and then Atlantic City.
Today is a totally different story though, as gambling has spread from coast to coast, and all points in between. According to the latest data compiled by the American Gaming Association (AGA), over 500 commercial casinos can be found in the following 24 states:
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Florida
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- West Virginia
And that's just the commercial casinos. When the 470 tribal casinos operated on reservation land are added in, America is home to nearly 1,000 gambling establishments. Given the ubiquitous nature of blackjack, it's safe to say you'll have tens of thousands of blackjack tables to choose from.
Learn How Blackjack Card Counting Works - Tips & Strategies
Obviously, the epicenter of the U.S. blackjack scene is Sin City, but playing as a team in Las Vegas probably isn't a wise move. These guys have been sniffing out card counters for nearly a century now, and they're the best in the business when it comes to security.
And just in case you're under the illusion that card counters have carte blanche these days, think again. You won't be hustled into a back room and beaten with a hammer like the poor fool in Martin Scorcese's classic Casino (1995), but getting the 'tap' is all too common.
Advantage players who have been detected nowadays are simply tapped on the shoulder and told politely, but firmly, that they're no longer welcome to play blackjack. From there, you might be escorted out by security, or invited to play the slots – that's all up to the staff on site.
In an article titled 'Confessions of a Card Counter,' which was published by the Las Vegas Sun in 2008, Jeff Haney wistfully recalled getting the tap in a series of Sin City casinos:
'My encounters – aficionados also call them 'backoffs' or 'barrings' and love to nitpick about the distinctions among the terms – have been civil and businesslike.
The most pleasant came at Fiesta Rancho when it was owned by the Maloof family. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I asked for and received a generous comp to the casino's Mexican restaurant as a sort of parting gift.
Basic Counting Rule
My banning at the Palms, another Maloof property, was also polite, almost apologetic. I was doing my best to mind my own business and look like a tourist enjoying a game of cards. A well-groomed casino official I had never seen before materialized by the table and said, matter-of-factly, ‘Jeff, you can't play here anymore.''
Accordingly, I'd advise any aspiring card counting team to take their business outside of Las Vegas altogether. It's just not worth the heat, and as you'll soon discover, the wilds of lesser known commercial and tribal casinos provide softer targets.
Generally speaking, you should be looking for casinos that don't fall under the ownership of big corporate brands like Caesars Entertainment, Harrah's, or MGM Resorts International. These titans of the industry have plenty of resources at their disposal, and even if you're entering a small venue off the beaten path, corporate ownership usually ensures strict security measures and proper training.
Instead, I always liked to take my team to obscure casinos, places like Bullwhacker's Black Hawk Canyon in Colorado or Bucky's in Arizona. These establishments just don't have the budget to challenge proficient card counters like their bigger corporate-owned rivals.
Conclusion
Counting cards as a team requires hard work and dedication, but it's all worth it when you start beating the house at its own game. You might feel like you're up to no good, but the casino doesn't have any qualms about taking a drunk's paycheck, or spreading side bets that are more like lottery games than blackjack. With that in mind, practice your counting, find solid teammates, and do whatever it takes – within the boundaries of the law – to gain an edge on the game.
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