Counters, Markers, and
the Occasional Check
4 April 2005
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
I'm not a gambler, so please excuse the
ignorance of this question--but assuming card
counting is a mental exercise, how do the
casinos know someone is doing it? Janet C.
All card-counting systems, Janet, keep track of
the ratio of small cards (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) to big
cards (10, jack, queen, king, ace)
remaining in the deck. When that ratio favors
the counting player, (there being an excess of
big cards left, making it easier for the
dealer to bust), you bet more money; when it
favors the dealer, you bet less.
The card counter continually varies the bets,
from one hand to the next, guided by the
constantly updated imbalance figure, which
predicts that the next hand will favor the
bettor or favor the dealer. It's the varying of
the counter's bets that is the telltale sign
that a player is possibly counting cards. If the
bets continue to fluctuate, a pit boss, who
probably is already monitoring your action,
would make a call upstairs to the
eye-in-the-sky: "Hey, Jimbo, stalk this gal's
action against your own card count." And
eye-in-the-sky will do just that.
If they figure you for using an independent
cerebrum, the end is in sight. Casinos do not
favor a cat and mouse game which affords the
mouse – you -- an advantage of 0.5% to 1.5% over
the house. A pit bull (boss, on the cat's
payroll) will approach you and say, ever so
pleasantly, "Janet, we appreciate your
patronage, but we're going to ask you to stop
playing blackjack. Feel free to play any of the
other table games we offer."
Of course, not all mice get caught and backed
off the game, nor can all casinos bar counters.
If you happen to be playing in a gaming
jurisdiction that can't bar counters, Atlantic
City for example, you'll find tougher blackjack
rules, multi-deck games and limited deck
penetration to keep the skilled counter at bay.
Dear Mark,
What is the difference between a marker and a
check? K.D.
The casino cashier's cage normally handles the
writing of a check or marker play. The "cage,"
is the central depository for money, gaming
chips, and the paperwork necessary to support
casino play. Because the gaming industry is
highly scrutinized, the cage cashier (an
employee who performs a variety of financial
transactions and handles all the paperwork) must
follow a number of rules and regulations when
determining when to extend credit or even cash a
check.
To cash a personal check of any significant
amount at a casino, you'll first need to see a
casino credit manager at the cashier's cage and
establish credit by filling out a form similar
to a credit card application. The credit manager
then performs the necessary credit checks and
verifies credit references for people who want
to open a house credit account.
A marker, used to buy chips in a table game, is
essentially a sight draft, written against a sum
of money deposited by a patron in a casino cage
account, or against an established line of
credit if there is one When asked for an
X-dollar marker, the pit boss takes the
requester's name, calls the casino cage to
confirm the account status, and then writes out
a marker for the X dollars. The patron signs the
marker, gets his X dollars' worth of chips, and
the cashier then deducts the X dollars from the
patron's account, establishing a new and lower
remaining balance.
If sufficient cash is not on hand in the cage at
settling-up time, a player can write a check to
cover the outstanding markers. Casinos may also
allow you to redeem markers for cash or a check
during a specified grace period, usually around
seven to 10 days. If the grace period comes and
goes, the casino will deposit the markers, which
are treated by the bank like ordinary checks.
Gambling quote of the week: "Winning is just a
temporary loan from Lady Luck. Continue to
gamble and she will call in her marker." --VP
Pappy
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