Card counting why is it illegal

Tour Membership. Become a Member. Is Card Counting Illegal? Card counting is simply using your brain, like a winning chess player. Fortunately, using your brain is still perfectly legal in the US! In Nevada, gambling control authorities prohibit cheating in casinos. Cheating during a card game is an arrestable offense. Using your intellect to count cards can help you win but does not change the game, and is therefore not technically considered cheating.

If you cheat, altering the outcome of the game by switching cards with other players or adding cards to the deck, a casino can arrest you. Many people accused of counting cards make the mistake of pushing or touching security guards or other casino employees. The casino can then have you arrested on grounds of physical assault or harassment. Casinos do not need a reason to ask you to leave. They can ask any patron to leave at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all.

Card counting without any outside aid is not illegal. For example, Ben Affleck who is a successful blackjack card counter is banned from the Hard Rock casino for having been caught counting cards. The casino might set betting limits to certain players as well to discourage them from card counting. Under British law card counting is not illegal either but similarly to the US, the casino can ban you if they suspect you of card counting.

Using card counting devices or getting help from outside is illegal though. Most online casinos that accept players from the UK offer blackjack. When you play online blackjack you play alone against the computer.

At the start of each round, the deck is shuffled so it is not possible to count cards. This way the casino keeps its advantage, and while you can play perfect strategy, in the long run, the casino will win. When you play live dealer blackjack in an online casino or play blackjack in a brick and mortar casino you will be able to count cards if you have learnt the technique.

The basic idea of card counting in blackjack is that high cards benefit the player and low cards benefit the dealer. When cards are dealt the card counter will give a positive, a negative or a zero value to each card and the count is adjusted accordingly.

The running count will then give an idea if there is a higher concentration of high or low cards in the deck and therefore if it is likely to win or lose in the next round.