Is It Illegal to Count Cards in Blackjack?

Card counting is a casino card game strategy used primarily in the blackjack family of casino games to determine whether the next hand is likely to give the player an advantage or disadvantage. The player keeps a mental tally of how many high and low cards have been played (low cards are 3s, 4s, 5s, and 6s; high cards are 10s and aces).

When more low cards have been played than high cards, the deck is said to be “in the player’s favor.” The player bets more when the count is in their favor, and bets less (or even nothing at all) when it is not.

Card counting is not illegal. It is however against most casino’s rules.

Casinos do not like card counters because they take money from the house. If a casino suspects that someone is counting cards they will ask them to leave. .

Most card counters are not actually trying to commit fraud, but casinos may still ban them if they catch them counting because it gives the player an unfair advantage. While it may be difficult to get caught counting cards, it is still technically against most casinos’ rules and can result in being banned from playing blackjack there if you are caught.