Dealers Tell's and Tic's

[jack.jackson]

Not sure how often a dealer checks his hole-card anymore. But I once had a friend who let me in on a little secret when the dealer would check his hole-card. He said every time the dealer had a twenty he would start to shake uncontrollaby and even got a little cross-eyed.

As far I know, sometimes, but not always you can tell when the dealer has a strong hand. For example one time I went to hit A7 vs X, and the dealer asked me if I sure I wanted to hit that, Immediately after checking his hole-card.

Now I understand that more than likely, had the dealer had a twenty in the hole, he wouldnt have said anything. So I decided to stay, and lo and behold he had a five for 15 and ended up busting

Are there still places that check their hole-cards or has this practice all but become obsolete?

Does anyone else know of certain characteristics or body languges certain dealers give-away after checking their hole-card? Please tell!

 

[Unshake]

Not sure how often a dealer checks his hole-card anymore. But I once had a friend who let me in on a little secret when the dealer would check his hole-card. He said every time the dealer had a twenty he would start to shake uncontrollaby and even got a little cross-eyed.

Most places mark the corners and have a green light/red light type of thing for blackjacks. Also, wow that is a huge tell, each time the deal has a 20 he has a seizure?

 

[shadroch]

I know of only one place in the Vegas area that they still check by hand.It's a small out of the way place that I don't feel comfortable sharing with a public board.
Turning Stone,in upstate NY,handchecked and got raped by advantage players last summer.

 

[Ferretnparrot]

All of the casinos in ac check their hoel card,
i once noticed a dealer that was very fast at checking his hole card but super ultra fast and confidnt whenever he had a ten in the hole, i didnt play off it because i didnt trust in it all that much but it supports somethign i once read in a bookstore in some book that some cards are more difficult to recegnise when the dealer checks them, i think it said something that 4 is the hardest one to recegnise and that dealers typically check twice whenever this is their hoel card

 

[Mimosine]

Most of the posts here show gross ignorance of how hole cards are checked in 90+% of casinos in the US.

either the red light green light system is employed that gives the dealer NO information if they don't have BJ.

or a visual reader is used. now pull out a deck of CASINO cards. pull out a number card from 2-9, let's say a 3. now pull out a face or a #10 card. notice how the 10 or JQK are offset HIGHER on the card than the 3? the 10 value card has the mark a little higher than for the lower cards. now look at an Ace. what gives? the ace is marked lower just like a 2-9. but the ace also has a mark in the upper RIGHT hand corner. my deck here has a little "A" written there.

If the dealer has a A up, they can feed the hole card in perpendicular to the reader, the only information they will get out of this read is binary "10" or "no 10" nothing more nothing less.

now when the dealer has a 10 up to check for an A in the hole, they can't feed the card in to check for A, since the A isn't printed as high as the ten. If it was printed that high, the dealer would know if there was an A or a 10. There are psychological tells that most people would give if there was say a "10" in the hole that could be exploited by players, furthermore, cheating dealers could use this in collusion to help players explicitly. so what is a dealer to do? they turn the card parallel to the reader and read the little corner "a."

they eye in the sky can immediately tell if a dealer is checking the hole card correct or not for a "10" up. yes the dealer could check for A and 10, but risk getting fired for not reading it right.

 

[shadroch]

All of the casinos in ac check their hoel card,
i once noticed a dealer that was very fast at checking his hole card but super ultra fast and confidnt whenever he had a ten in the hole, i didnt play off it because i didnt trust in it all that much but it supports somethign i once read in a bookstore in some book that some cards are more difficult to recegnise when the dealer checks them, i think it said something that 4 is the hardest one to recegnise and that dealers typically check twice whenever this is their hoel card

There is not a single casino in AC that does this.Hasn't been for at least five years.I'm seriously beginning to doubt everything you post.

 

[dangeroso]

In Vegas, in the casinos I've been in, they put the corner of the hole card over a black piece of plastic and push a button. Is this the red/green light device? If so, how does it work?

 

[Sonny]

In Vegas, in the casinos I've been in, they put the corner of the hole card over a black piece of plastic and push a button. Is this the red/green light device? If so, how does it work?

There are two types of peekers that I know of.

Electronic peekers (aka Maxtime) are the little plastic things with the red/green light on them. The corner of the cards are inserted and the machine checks for a black mark. You’ll notice that all of the aces have a black mark on certain corners while all of the ten value cards have a black mark on the other two corners. That is how the device knows if the dealer has a ten or ace in the hole. The dealer will not know anything other than BJ (red light) or non-BJ (green light).

Mirror peekers look similar to the electronic peekers but they use a mirror to show the dealer what the hole card is. You will notice that the tens and aces have a small mark in certain corners just above the index that shows their value. All other cards do not have a small mark. When the dealer inserts an ten he will be able to see if the hole card is an ace or not. If he inserts an ace (sliding the cards sideways) he will know if the holecard is a ten or not. He will not have any other information other than BJ or non-BJ.

If the dealer is using a peeking device then there is no way to read tells because the dealer doesn’t know what the holecard is. The only time you can read tells are when the dealer manually lifts up his cards and peeks at the bottom one. As others have said, there are not many casinos that still use this technique.

-Sonny-

 

[Ferretnparrot]

There is not a single casino in AC that does this.Hasn't been for at least five years.I'm seriously beginning to doubt everything you post.

everysingle casino in ac has that little gizmo that they slide the cards into, your telling me thats not true you cant even begin to say thats false and if you continue to say thats false i would doubt everythign you say because i would bet my life on it, i never specified what type of peek it was but i know for fact they have them

iv never seen a red lgiht or a green light and always assumed it was a mirror that allows them to see the bottom corner of a card

You guys are so freikign jumpy my god chill out and start thinking on broader terms and not reading everythign so gd literal

 

[InPlay]

everysingle casino has that little gizmo that they slid the cards into, your telling me thats not true you cant even begin to say thats false because i would bet my life on it, i never specified what type of peek it was but i know for fact they have them
iv never seen a red lgiht or a green light and always assumed it was a mirror that allows them to see the bottom corner of a card

You guys are so freikign jumpy my god chill out and start thinking on broader terms and not reading everythign so gd literal

Have you ever played blackjack in a casino ? Doubt it! Forum writer. Time to move on to Penthouse or Hustler.

 

[Sonny]

everysingle casino has that little gizmo that they slid the cards into, your telling me thats not true you cant even begin to say thats false because i would bet my life on it, i never specified what type of peek it was but i know for fact they have them
iv never seen a red lgiht or a green light and always assumed it was a mirror that allows them to see the bottom corner of a card

Maybe we misunderstood your last post. You gave the impression that you were getting a tell from the dealer when he had a ten in the hole, but that wouldn't be possibe since the dealer was using a peeking device.

-Sonny-

 

[ihate17]

The point is:

everysingle casino in ac has that little gizmo that they slide the cards into, your telling me thats not true you cant even begin to say thats false and if you continue to say thats false i would doubt everythign you say because i would bet my life on it, i never specified what type of peek it was but i know for fact they have them

iv never seen a red lgiht or a green light and always assumed it was a mirror that allows them to see the bottom corner of a card

You guys are so freikign jumpy my god chill out and start thinking on broader terms and not reading everythign so gd literal

They will only check when they have an A or 10 card up and will never know what their hole card is unless they have blackjack.
There are no tells with this system as the dealer knows nothing to tell.

What the original poster is talking about is the old hand check where the dealer with a 10 or Ace will peek, by bending, his hole card to see what he has. Here you could read some dealers body language and sometimes get the double peek when a 4 (looking like an ace at first) was in the hole.

Here you had certain dealers who were rooting for the players and would be disappointed if they had a strong hand, especially if a few players had big bets out or bets for the dealer. Some of them could be read nearly everytime.

You had the opposite kind of dealer, who hated players and hoped he could wipe every cent off the table. Strong and proud of his 20 or disappointed in his 16. Read the body and play accordingly.

Simply, there just used to be more ways of getting an advantage back then.

ihate17

 

[EasyRhino]

Golden Gate downtown doesn't (or at least didn't) have the mirrors or any other peek devces. So they'd flip up the cards the old-school way. But even then, they'd try to limit it, and only peek if a player began to make a move like a split or double down that would put more money at risk.

 

[Ferretnparrot]

Have you ever played blackjack in a casino ? Doubt it! Forum writer. Time to move on to Penthouse or Hustler.

This guy is freikign rediculous he claims i work at 7-11 and now that iv never set foot i a casino, i could draw a god damn map of atlantic city complete with the locations and limits of table games parking fees strip clubs restaraunts and where all the hobos live. My posting on atlantic city was 100% from memory, thats how often i go there, also my freiking avatar is a chip from taj so obviously iv been there at least once.

Come to think of it YOU never seem to talk much about casinos at all, all you ever post are one lines useless comments that ahve nothing to do with blackjack HAVE you EVER set foot in a casino?

 

[Ferretnparrot]

They will only check when they have an A or 10 card up and will never know what their hole card is unless they have blackjack.
There are no tells with this system as the dealer knows nothing to tell.


ihate17

Thats what i was affraid of im not for acting upon things i fully dont understand especially when my money is involved

 

[InPlay]

This guy is freikign rediculous he claims i work at 7-11 and now that iv never set foot i a casino, i could draw a god damn map of atlantic city complete with the locations and limits of table games parking fees strip clubs restaraunts and where all the hobos live. My posting on atlantic city was 100% from memory, thats how often i go there, also my freiking avatar is a chip from taj so obviously iv been there at least once.

Come to think of it YOU never seem to talk much about casinos at all, all you ever post are one lines useless comments that ahve nothing to do with blackjack HAVE you EVER set foot in a casino?

So could I it's called Mapquest! All the time.

 

[Unshake]

All of the casinos in ac check their hoel card,
i once noticed a dealer that was very fast at checking his hole card but super ultra fast and confidnt whenever he had a ten in the hole, i didnt play off it because i didnt trust in it all that much but it supports somethign i once read in a bookstore in some book that some cards are more difficult to recegnise when the dealer checks them

everysingle casino in ac has that little gizmo that they slide the cards into

I'm confused as to how he was confident when he had a ten in the whole and it supported the fact that some cards are more difficult to recognize. Then in your next post you say that they put them in a 'gizmo' ..meaning he would not know the down cards? Seems like you contradict yourself.

Anyways, I think it would be hard to gain a consistent advantage from this unless the dealer was cheating (..very illegal) or had an incredibly blatant tell.

 

[jack.jackson]

Most places mark the corners and have a green light/red light type of thing for blackjacks. Also, wow that is a huge tell, each time the deal has a 20 he has a seizure?

I kinda figured they did. Just wasnt sure, IF every place does these days.

Ya this was around ten years, when I lost a minimal amount of money at players in Metropolis,IL. One time In one of their contest I was one of 32 finalist in a drawing for 1/2 million dollar home.

I know of only one place in the Vegas area that they still check by hand.It's a small out of the way place that I don't feel comfortable sharing with a public board.
Turning Stone,in upstate NY,handchecked and got raped by advantage players last summer.

Ah come-on I wont say anything I swear:angel:

All of the casinos in ac check their hoel card,
i once noticed a dealer that was very fast at checking his hole card but super ultra fast and confidnt whenever he had a ten in the hole, i didnt play off it because i didnt trust in it all that much but it supports somethign i once read in a bookstore in some book that some cards are more difficult to recegnise when the dealer checks them, i think it said something that 4 is the hardest one to recegnise and that dealers typically check twice whenever this is their hoel card

You can find B.C talking about this very play in BJFBB.

Players In Illinois, used to, but moved to the Device about 7-8 years ago.

Nice post Mimosine

Good explanation of the two seperate devices. Tx again.

Have you ever played blackjack in a casino ? Doubt it! Forum writer. Time to move on to Penthouse or Hustler.

Hmmmm Remember no hitting below the belt.

Here you had certain dealers who were rooting for the players and would be disappointed if they had a strong hand, especially if a few players had big bets out or bets for the dealer. Some of them could be read nearly everytime.

I bet theres a little more to this story than your actually tellin

You had the opposite kind of dealer, who hated players and hoped he could wipe every cent off the table. Strong and proud of his 20 or disappointed in his 16. Read the body and play accordingly.

As always their always two sides to a story. And nothing will stay the same forever, for they will always to subject to change.

Simply, there just used to be more ways of getting an advantage back then.

I can only Imagine

Golden Gate downtown doesn't (or at least didn't) have the mirrors or any other peek devces. So they'd flip up the cards the old-school way. But even then, they'd try to limit it, and only peek if a player began to make a move like a split or double down that would put more money at risk.

Guess where I'll be going tomorrow?





It seems some of us have slightly different views on this subject. One thing that remains In common however, to this day. Is that, unfortunately casinos just dont check their hole-cards like they used to.

I want to thank everybody for their posts. And Remember you cant have one without the other.

 

[shadroch]

Its been awhile since I played at the GG,but if IRC,the dealers no longer check their hole card.If you double or split and the dealer ends up BJ,you lose only your original bet.

 

[Ferretnparrot]

I never knew that thy ONLY had markings on the tens and aces and in opposite corners, i thought that if they were smart they would do that but i was never sure, but now that i know that, i recal a dealer that checked both corners everytime since she "couldnt remeber which way it goes" that sounds liek it may have some benefit somehow