Do casinos cheat at blackjack?

Let me start by saying a simple statement, “Not all casinos.” But this doesn’t negate the fact that many casinos do cheat their players at blackjack. As shocking as it may sound, this cheating, though unethical, isn’t punishable by law.

The methods that casinos use are highly unfair to players. This means you can end up losing more hands than you win. Some of the methods of cheating casinos use for cheating are mentioned below. To prevent this, you might switch to a legitimate online casino such as Joker123 or 918Kiss where cheating simply impossible because their software is licensed.

Selective Shuffling

In blackjack, the dealer usually re-shuffles the card when about 60% of the deck has been used. But sometimes, when a player is winning too many hands, much to the dismay of the dealer, he’ll reshuffle the cards right there so that you don’t get a better hand. This doesn’t only reduce your chances of winning but also mess up the house edge.

The thing with this method is, you can report it to the casino. Why? It might be unfavorable to the player, but because it messes up the house edge, it is unfavorable to the house.

Hyper Shuffling

Hyper shuffling, as the name suggests, is the practice of shuffling cards very fast or faster than usual, so the ones playing find it difficult to process the game. Why they do this, you ask. This increases the house edge. They might also do it for the satisfaction of the confused faces at the table. The latter might or might not be true.

You can spot hyper shuffling from a distance, so if you are choosing a table and find a dealer going rogue with cards, best not to go at that table. And if you are already are at such a table and notice him whiplashing, call him out and tell him to slow down.

Removing Cards from the Deck

This trick is more unethical than those mentioned earlier; this trick includes removing all the higher cards from the deck, giving them only low cards, which decreases the chances of the player’s winning the game, as winning in blackjack requires having higher cards.

Mishandling chips or money

This is as simple as it sounds. The dealer can give the wrong change or less money than you might have won. This cheating can also be spotted easily, so better not to have your head in the clouds and pay attention.

Using Cheating devices and Holdout shoes

Some casinos use these to cheat at blackjack. The holdout shoes let the dealers have a glimpse at your cards. There are other kinds of devices. But these tricks can afford a casino their gambling license if caught.

Other Sly Tricks

There are other cheating methods, like pegging, where they mark the cards or swapping hole cards and sometimes giving a bust card instead of a good card to the player. The casinos also encourage alcohol consumption, so you have a light mind. Some tricks also include making you win, so you make bigger bets that you eventually lose.

Conclusion

The bottom-line being, yes, in fact, casinos do cheat. Some use little tricks; some pull out big guns. Some of the tricks are sly but not something that the casinos don’t encourage, but some are just plain evil; if caught, the casinos have to pay a high price. But the reputed casinos avoid foul play, so it’s always better to choose the right casino, the kind of ones that don’t abandon their morals.

Guest Author:

James Hwang is the editor at Gambling Giant, a website fully dedicated to the gambling industry. He spent 5 years in South Korea studying arts and then switched to a digital nomad lifestyle to travel the world. He adores pizza and Netflix, especially when those two things combined on a Friday night.