Card Counting in Australia
| The effect of card removal at the game of Blackjack, and counter measures casinos employ to prevent exploitation by players in Australia. By Andrew MacDonald Gaming Manager, Casino Operations, Adelaide Casino, 1994 |
Introduction | Brief Overview | Card Counting Legalities (Precedents) | Counter Measures | Profit Analysis | Sensitivity Analysis (%profit) | Conclusion |Bibliography | Blackjack Simulation- Experiment- December 1990 | Experiment Conclusion |
Nevada
“N.R.S. 465.15 “Cheat” means to alter the selection of criteria which determine:
a. The result of a game or,
b. The amount or frequency of payment in a game”
“N.R.S 465.083 Cheating Prohibited. It is unlawful for any person, whether he is an owner or employee of or a player in an establishment, to cheat at any gaming game”.
The Nevada Supreme Court held in 1983 in the case of Sheriff vs Martin declared that counting cards was not cheating in violation of N.R.S 015.
The court held:
“The attributes of the game – its established physical characteristics and basic rules – determine the probability of the games various possible outcomes. Changing those attributes to affect those probabilities is a criminal act. By way of contrast a card counter – one who uses a point system to keep track of the cards that have been played – does not alter any of the basic characteristics of the game. He merely uses his mental skills to take advantage of the same information that is available to all players”.
New Jersey
1. “On May 11 1981, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey State Supreme Court ruled that card counters may not be barred by the casinos. This was the result of a suit brought by Kenneth Uston. Immediately after this ruling, however, the casinos obtained a stay pending appeal to the State Supreme court. Thus far no final ruling has been made on this matter ….”
(1. Playing Blackjack in Atlantic City by C.R. Chambliss and TC Roginski C1981.)
2. “Lawsuits My lawsuit against Resorts International went all the way to the New Jersey Supreme Court who decided in my favor…..”
(2. The Gambling Times Guide to Blackjack – Chapter Eleven by Ken Uston c1983)
Australia
No legal undertakings in this regard have been tested to date. However, each State Government regulatory body has an individual broad policy on card counting and allowable counter measures which are written into the rules of the game.
