Casinos don’t cheat, at least not the reputable ones, because they don’t need to. Each casino game is designed to earn the house more than it loses in the long run, so it doesn’t really need to cheat.
Of course, casinos want to maximize their profit, but given the strict supervision they are subjected to, why risk spoil a good thing they have going for some extra profit. It is illogical.
However, this doesn’t mean some casinos won’t resort to certain legal tricks to improve their advantage.
The illusionary single and double-deck games
A well-known deceptive practice is to offer a game which at first glance plays one or two decks, while in reality it’s something quite different.
A dealer in a hand-held game typically holds a deck or two in his hands and deals the cards. Sometimes, however, if you take a closer look you will notice a shuffle machine holding a pack of cards and the dealer is actually drawing one or two decks worth of cards and deals them. Upon their depletion, the dealer returns those back to the machine and draws again.
This is no single or double-deck game, rather a disguised 4-deck game, or larger. And as we know, the higher the deck count is, the bigger the house advantage grows.
The 2 for 1 payoff
Some games offer 2-for-1 blackjack payoffs. How cool is that! Read again. It says 2 for 1, not 2 to 1. Two-for-one is just another way of saying even money. This means that upon winning the hand, you will collect back two times the original bet (if your bet was $100, you will receive a total of $200 – your original bet plus the won $100, in other words even money). This rule is most often used in blackjack machines, but can also be seen at some live tables..
For comparison, a 2:1 payoff (2 to 1) means that you will win two times your initial bet, plus the initial bet. Say you bet $100. If the payoff is 2-to-1, you will win $200 and take back your initial bet for a total of $300.
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This rule follows the same logic as the standard 3:2 payoff where you earn three dollars on top of every two dollars wagered. For example, betting $100 will earn you $150 plus the original bet of $100 for a total of $250.
Thus, a 2:1 payoff is the best deal for the player, but casinos tend to employ it only as a promotion. Next comes the standard 3:2 payoff and after that come rules which are very disadvantageous to players, such as the 2 for 1 and 6:5 payoffs.
The 6:5 payoff is another trick some casinos try to employ, relying on people who can’t do simple math. A 6:5 payoff pays the player six dollars for every $5 bet. For example, a $100 bet would earn you $120, instead of $150 with the standard 3:2 payoff. By playing a 6:5 payoff game, you are throwing away 60% of the bonus blackjack payoff traditional games offer you.
At first glance this might not seem such a big deal, but in fact it is. A 6:5 payoff triples the house’s advantage over the player and is actually much worse than playing the most player-unfriendly 8-deck game with 3:2 blackjack payoff.
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Never play games with a blackjack payoff of less than 3:2.
Another attempt by casinos to significantly increase their advantage over players is to offer single-deck games where cards are shuffled after the entire deck is depleted. The catch is that these games also pay even money on blackjack, which adds more than 2% to the casino’s advantage.
Side bets
We have already explained earlier in our guide that “insurance” is no insurance at all, rather a simple side bet that bears no advantage for the basic strategy player, quite the opposite. And so does the “even money” option, which is basically the same as insurance when the player has a blackjack. Never go for insurance or even money, unless you are a skilled card counter and have seen a favorable advantage.
Cheating casinos
It is kind of illogical for a casino to cheat and risk ruining its reputation for some extra profit. After all, casinos will always be ahead in the long run because of the way their games are designed, only thing they need is a stable flow of players to generate those profits.
However, the possibility of casino malpractice is always there, regardless of whether it is a policy established by the management, or acts by single dealers aiming to meet targets.
One thing you should be aware of is that the introduction of a new deck or pack of cards is done in front of all players and is clearly visible. Cards must be spread face up one deck at a time so that players are certain no cheating is involved. If players aren’t given the chance to examine newly introduced decks, you should better leave this casino. If the pit boss comes at the table to examine the cards during play, it should also be done in such a manner that all players clearly see what is going on, otherwise you should leave the casino as well.
Also, beware of dealers doing unusual hand motions. One of the most common cheating practices is to check what the next card of the deck is, and if it is something good (usually an Ace or 10-valued card), the dealer will not deal this card, rather draw the one below it and save the first one for himself or for someone specific at the table.
What you need to be watching for are motions dealers do such as checking their wristwatch or holding the cards with their thumb on top of the deck. This allows dealers to peek the value of the top card by bending it or slide the top card back and deal the second one.
