Obstacles to Card Counting

Counting cards at the blackjack table these days is more complicated than it ever was.  In some cases, it is near impossible to count cards.  In other cases where card counting is possible, many times the benefits of doing so are never fully reaped. 

The reason this is so is because casinos take great pains to prevent card counting from occurring.  Aside from banning notorious counters and putting them in the Griffin Book, casinos employ several tactics to make card counting near impossible at the blackjack table. 

One of the hardest obstacles are Continuous Shuffle Machines (CSMs), which essentially shuffle spent hands immediately back into the shoe.  The only way to get around this is quite simple:  Avoid blackjack tables that use CSM's.  Although most casinos use them, there are places that still do not.

As for online casinos, cards are always shuffled at the start of each betting session. Other ways to maximize all the benefits of card counting are to play blackjack tables with the fewest decks, don't get distracted by free drinks, and to avoid betting patterns like making a series of small bets followed by an occasional very large bet.

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