Congratulations. You’ve just sat through your first barring, back off, or procedural change instituted just because you’re an expert at the game. Now, may it never happen again.
When a player is identified as a card counter, the first step is for man-agement to decide what course of action, if any, to take. More often than not what they decide depends on the laws governing the state or the grounds on which the casino is located. That’s why, for example, in Las Vegas a card counter can be barred from play whereas in Atlantic City he can’t. But that’s not to say a casino remains defenseless in those locales where barring a person from play isn’t allowed. When casinos can’t bar or back off an advantage player, they resort to any one of several rule procedural changes that negate the counter’s advantage over the house - thereby accomplishing essentially the same thing as legally removing him or her from the premises.
Countermeasures imposed against advantage players come in several forms. Let’s examine each one in detail, so you’ll know exactly what you’re up against or what to expect in the event you’re identified as a card counter. Let’s start with the most severe.
Being Barred
If this is allowed by the authority having jurisdiction, it means that you are no longer allowed on the premises, and must leave at once. Picking up where we left off above, the dealer will step aside and the floorperson or pit boss will read you a legal statement that essentially advises, “you are no longer welcome in this casino.” Behind the scenes what is really going on is that the casino you are sitting in has decided to exercise its rights as a private club (which it is) and by doing so is able to pick and choose its members. The statement you’ll hear will further ad-vise that “if you refuse to leave or return to the premises after being barred, you may be arrested for trespassing.”
If you’re sitting at a blackjack table, this means picking up your chips and proceeding immediately to the cashier’s cage, where your chips will be converted to cash, and then leaving through the nearest door possible. The whole time you’ll be escorted (like a criminal) by sev-eral members of the casino’s security force.
Trespassing? You’ve got to be kidding me, right?
Wrong, unfortunately.
You’re not being barred because you’re too good of a card player. (Well, you are, but that’s not the official ruling.) You’re being barred be-cause the casino becomes a private club that all of sudden no longer wants your action. That’s some really fancy footwork relating to the law, isn’t it? But, unfortunately, that’s the reality of the situation if you’re playing in a state like Nevada, for instance, where the casino industry and the government hold hands in the night.
To be continued…
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