Why don’t live casinos allow card counting?

If you are a keen blackjack player then you’ll already be aware that one of the ways a player can turn the odds in their favour on a bet, is to use a process called card counting.

While not strictly illegal, many real world casinos frown upon this technique and if they catch players using it, or suspect they are using one of the myriad of card counting systems out there, they may even ask the player to leave the establishment.

Of course, the advent of online gaming and software gaming meant that card counting on computerised version of blackjack was impossible as the pack was shuffled after every deal.

However, now increasing numbers of casinos offer live dealer games, so what is the deal here when it comes to card counting?

Well first off, while there’s no law against card counting in live dealer games, casinos would certainly frown upon it if it was possible, and therein lies the rub because if the live dealer is performing their role capably, then card counting even if attempted, would not be profitable.

This is because live dealers will tend to shuffle the pack after around half the cards have been dealt. What this means is that players can only saturate 50% or less of a shoe before the cards are shuffled; that is nowhere near enough to be able to card count profitably over the long term.

It is for this reason that live casinos don’t allow card counting; yes casinos may not like it and view it as unethical, but the simple fact of the matter is that how live casinos operate when it comes to shuffling their cards, means that card counting is by and large entirely pointless.

Sure, you can practice card counting at home if you like, but you can’t actually use them at a live casino to help you record a profit.