Google Reader or Homepage Subscribe Add to My Yahoo! Subscribe with Bloglines Subscribe in NewsGator Online Add to My AOL Subscribe in Rojo Simpify! Add to Technorati Favorites!

Is Card Counting in Blackjack Legal?

September 24th, 2008

The subject of card counting in blackjack has come into question lately, most often with regard to its legality. While the practice is generally frowned on and even discouraged by many casinos, it is actually allowed by law in virtually all places in the world where blackjack is played.

The simple fact of the matter is that card counting is a technique that anyone who plays blackjack can utilize without any special skills or tricks. Nevada courts have themselves officially announced that blackjack players can utilize any information that they can acquire legally and is not obtained through a conspiracy between the individual players or casino personnel, and that includes card counting. In fact, if a player sees the dealer’s hole card accidentally, he or she can use this information without being in violation of any laws.

Many casinos in Nevada do have the right to ban a player for any reason whatsoever. While there currently exists no official law against card counting, a few blackjack players have been banned from playing at the blackjack table for this very reason. In some instances, players who have insisted on playing after being banned from the blackjack table have even been forcibly ejected from the premises.