On Jan 11, 2008, at 10:15 AM, Robert Dober wrote:

> Nice quiz James but shall those who want to continue to play BJ in
> casinos maybe refrain from posting answers ;).
> I am saying this just to be the only to answer of course.

If you're asking me if counting cards is illegal, the answer is no, at  
least in the United States.  The casinos like to push that myth but  
they will need to overturn a Supreme Court ruling to turn it into  
reality.

However, when gambling at the casinos, you are on private property and  
essentially subject to their whims.  They can and definitely do:   
alter the rules of the game to remove your advantage, force you to  
stop varying your bets (the card counter's main weapon), or eject you  
from the game or the casino.  The point is, it's not illegal but you  
still don't want to be caught doing it.

The key is not to get noticed.  Pit bosses are trained in many card  
counter recognition tricks.  They will watch for someone who doesn't  
make basic strategy errors, someone who varies their bets at seemingly  
random times, someone who doesn't drink or tip the dealer, etc.  Some  
of them are also trained to count cards themselves.  Once identified,  
they will take countermeasures, so it's that identification process  
you never want to get past.

Pit bosses tend to try relying on memorizing your most prominent  
physical feature for possible future encounters.

The point of all of this is simple:  while it's conceivable that  
participating in this quiz could get you identified as a card counter,  
it's unlikely a pit boss will recognize you when you sit down at the  
table from your email address.  Thus, I think we're safe and should  
have some fun.

If Ruby Quiz becomes responsible for more people winning at the  
Blackjack tables, that's just an added bonus to me.  ;)

James Edward Gray II