There are some paces in the world where card counting is an offence. Personally I think that the only offence that is being committed here is by the casinos. In my mind then this is absolutely scandalous. Card counting when done well is a skill and a very difficult skill at that if you intend on trying to get away with it for some considerable time. It is no different to having skill in any other form of gambling like poker where a good player can get an edge.
If a casino thinks that a player is counting then they should take simple preventive counter measures. These are tactics like no mid shoe entry or shuffling after every hand if the game is single deck. If the game is multiple deck then simply dealing half shoes would suffice. Any counter worth his salt would refuse to play in such a game and thus leave…..threat over! But in my experience most card counters are not winning players and are breaking even long term due to other deficiencies in their games.
It is very difficult to beat blackjack long term anyway but to punish players severely is wrong and not necessary. These players are not cheating but merely exercising a learned skill and also exercising the right to bet the amounts that they want to bet. A card counter only has a very tiny edge and even if his bet was $1000 and he won that bet, in terms of EV then his edge may have only been in the region of 2% and so his EV for the hand may have only been $20 even though he may have won $1000. So card counters are not the long term threat that the casinos think that they are and there is more harm to their overall reputation by punishing someone.
