Blackjack Cheating

How to Cheat at Blackjack

If there’s one constant in online gambling, it’s that some players will cheat to get a leg up on the casino. The reverse is also true in that some casinos increase their advantage over the player through cheating. Blackjack is certainly not immune to any of this since numerous cheating methods have been devised by both players and the casino.

In some cases, dealers and players have even joined forces to cheat the house. This blackjack cheating method is called “dealer’s help,” and it involves a player making a deal with the dealer to cheat together. Most of the time, the dealer will turn a blind eye to the player’s cheating methods, or even stack the deck so the player gets favorable cards. Nowadays, most blackjack dealers are paid too well to risk their job for such a proposition, but that’s not to say it doesn’t still happen.

Another common blackjack cheating method involves “card marking.” As the name implies, markers try to mark certain cards in some way so they can figure out what hole card the dealer has. For instance, the player would slightly bend a queen in their hand when the dealer wasn’t looking, and when the dealer has this card later, the player will know. Today, casinos don’t allow players to touch the cards, so it’s very difficult for players to mark them.

Spooking is another way that people cheat in blackjack, and this involves a team of two or more players working together. One person from the team will stand somewhere behind the dealer so they can see the dealer’s hole card; once they see it, they’ll send a signal to a player(s) at the table to let them know what the dealer’s card is.

Casinos have even cheated players in the past by pulling out high cards from 10-A because this increases the casino’s chance of winning. Nowadays, most casinos wouldn’t risk their reputation by doing this, but it has been done in the past.

One other blackjack “cheating” method worth discussing is card counting. Card counting isn’t immoral from a legal standpoint, but it is frowned upon by casinos because they want to keep their house edge. If a casino catches you counting cards, they will consider you a blackjack cheater and kick you out of the casino.