Skilled Blackjack Players
Skilled Blackjack Players Part I
By Jim Goding
A good deal of controversy attends the subject of how a casino should handle skilled players at blackjack. The debate is partially based on lack of knowledge or, worse, misconceptions on the part of Surveillance, Security and Pit management. A considerable amount of potential liability attends the issue as well, depending upon casino policy and its handling by personnel.
The handling of very skilled players should be a matter of policy in the casino, decided at the highest levels of casino management. Policy on this matter should be at the very least checked out by casino legal counsel. Depending upon the policy chosen, specific procedures should be devised for handling players who have attained a level of skill which makes them less than desirable as customers.
So let’s start off with what we are talking about: What is a skilled player, how does he affect the casino, and what are the potential liabilities involved?
Approximately two pages of material have been deleted at this point. The entire article is now only available on a for-sale basis. I have to make a living too.
For ordering this article or others, please contact booksales@casinosurveillancenews.com
Bottom Line
Skilled players at blackjack, though a minor danger to the bottom line of the blackjack pit in most casinos, can become a greater liability if they are practicing fraud through use of false names. Another possible liability is that many actual cheats mask their actions by adopting the betting and playing patterns of card counters.
Single card counters are relatively easily detected, and as such, their impact on income from the pit is relatively minor. However, skilled team players, because they actually risk very little money and only place large money at risk when the deck is very favorable to players, can impact the pit income very heavily if allowed to operate unimpeded, especially in a casino with high betting limits.
The greatest liability that skilled players pose, however, is that the casino itself, through having no specific policy on their handling, or through unskilled handling by staff, can mishandle such players, causing poor public relations with other players or creating the potential for lawsuits by treating such players as criminals. Thus, it is vital that informed management set policy and that such policy be implemented through procedures designed to minimize both public relations problems and potential legal risks.
