Casino Surveillance Pro

So last month I posted about some questions that I get from people when they find out what my job is. This is the follow-up to that post and it’s mostly going to be about what cheating from the inside, or cheating by the dealer, would look like if it was going on. The easiest way for a dealer to cheat, on the player’s behalf, would be simply to dump the game. Dumping the game is when you pay the player for a losing hand or overpay the player on a winning hand. If you’re in surveillance and you happen to see this happen oh, the best thing you can do is keep quiet at least for a moment or two and see if it continues. It’s possible that the dealer just made a mistake and paid a losing Hand by mistake. If you continue to watch you’ll see if he’s doing it on a regular basis and if so if he’s doing it to a specific player. This would indicate collusion, or a conspiracy between the player and one or more players to do so. It’s always best to have plenty of information and evidence before movi...

I want to start out by saying that the table games management of the casino industry, including those tasked with surveillance and game protection, is made up mostly of experienced, level headed professionals who conduct themselves in a professional manner, as ladies and gentlemen. Some of them have a college education and a degree, although for most, the education has come from the "School of Hard Knocks".  No one, and I truly mean no one , comes into this industry knowing everything there is to know, so we are all recipients of on-the-job training, in one form or another. That having been said, you do not have to go very far to find persons who are overly opinionated, prejudiced and envious of others who have more talent, opportunity and/or are more successful than themselves. Still others have just been at this for too long, and have a bad case of cynicism and a poor attitude toward everyone and everything. Although this kind of thing happens in every industry, for whate...

Last week I posted a Twitter poll (@casinologger) asking readers to vote on which hand was the hardest to stick to basic strategy on. These were the four poll options, along with what percentage of votes they got: 1. Hard 12 vs dealers 2 up 34% 2. Hard 13 vs dealers 3 up 31% 3. 9,9 vs dealers 7 up  14% 4. A,6 vs dealers 6 up  21% Here is my analysis of your votes: As you can see, hands 1 and 2 together took 65% of the votes, and I'm sure I know why.  I hate when the dealer has a two or a three up and apparently you guys do too. I just know that if the dealer has a ten for a hole card, he will draw an eight. Or if he has a seven for a hole card he'll draw a 10.  I even seem to lose when I stand on a 20 in these situations. The way to play this hand is to remember that when the dealer has a two or three up you hit if you have a hard 12 and stand if you have a hard 13. Now, you can deviate from basic strategy based on the count if you want to. but if you do it to...

In yet another attempt to to monetize my blog, I am now selling sponsorships for you to advertise anything gaming-related on this site. Books, websites, apps, articles or whatever, as long as it has to do with casino gambling I will advertise it for you here,  and for a very reasonable rate. For those of you unfamiliar with my blog, I can tell you a little about it. I've been blogging on Blogger for almost 2 years. I am up to over 3, 000 page views a month, which I know isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things, however my blog is very targeted.   All of the people that read this blog are interested in the casino industry as a whole, and specifically the following things:  Casino surveillance, Casino gaming and it's management, blackjack (basic strategy and  advantage play), craps and other table games, slot machines, sports betting, loss prevention, CCTV technology, the philosophy and training of surveillance personnel, and security and surveillance response ...

As I begin, here is a reminder that I have a Patron page. Click here to become a Patron and support my Blogging. And  here is the link to my Amazon affiliate page and some  Good books about Casino gambling . Now on with the show. I came across this article online and wanted to pass it on to you here. Lucky Idiots' May Be Bigger Casino Threat Than Card-counters Casino bosses who agonize about blackjack card-counters might be focusing on the wrong type of advantage player, a top gambling mathematician says. Instead, they should look closer at the “lucky idiot” who repeatedly plays poorly yet amasses huge winnings, says Eliot Jacobson, owner and president of Jacobson Gaming and operator of www.apheat.net , which analyzes casino games, side bets and methods of advantage play. That “lucky idiot” might be part of a team using advantage-play techniques that are more profitable than card-counting and more difficult for casino supervisors to identify, Jacobson says. In general, adva...

I just put out a Tweet. It's a poll  asking which is your most difficult hand to play correctly (in accordance with basic strategy). Click here to go to it and vote. Once the poll is ended I'll do a blog post analyzing the results. My handle on Twitter is @casinologger BTW, you should follow me if you don't already do so Here is another great way to support my blogging. I'm now an Amazon affiliate and if you click on the link below you will be taken to a page where I get credit for purchases made by you. Amazon has some great books about how to win at Blackjack, craps, and other casino games. Thanks for helping to support my blog, and click below. Good books about Casino gambling

Hi everybody, before we start I want to remind you about my Patreon page. If you enjoy my content, and would like to see more of it more often, please consider becoming a patron. Click here to go to my page Okay, so it's Hot August Nights week here in Reno and all of the casinos are packed during dinner time hours. So I went out late last night to my favorite place to play blackjack and craps in Reno, the Bonanza Casino on North Virginia Street. Click here for their website. I like this place because of their low limit tables. They go up to $5 minimum tables after 4 p. M. But late night and early morning you can play at a $3 blackjack table or $2 craps table, which is about as low as you can get in Reno. Or anywhere, for that matter. I did my hit-and-run thing, buying in for $100 and leaving after about half-an-hour up 45. It was a $5 minimum table, single-deck, 3/2 table with the standard Reno rules. There were usually two or three other people at the table with me througho...

Hi everybody, before we start I want to remind you about my Patreon page. If you enjoy my content, and would like to see more of it more often, please consider becoming a patron. Click here to go to my page. On to todays topic: Hit and Run Gambling. I don't really gamble for fun or entertainment. I would rather go see a movie, or read a book. For me, when there's money involved with something, it's not 'just for fun' or "entertainment". It's not that I'm morally opposed to gambling for fun or entertainment, it's just not my thing. If you want to do it that's fine, go right ahead. As long as you're playing small amounts and not betting money that's meant for the rent, there's no real harm in it. Instead, I like to engage in what I call "hit-and-run" gambling. Goal number 1 is to walk out a winner. To that end, goal number 2 is to only make bets that have a very small house advantage, percentage-wise. Goal number ...

Hi everybody. I have been away since late last year. If you have read the older posts you will see that I was having a lot of medical problems. I think I have most of them fixed, finally, and feel like blogging for the first time in a long while. So, on to the topic of today. I have been trolling through Youtube recently, and seen a lot of videos on craps betting systems. They all say something about  "How to win at craps" or words to that effect. They are all bullshit and "Click bait", designed to get video views and subscribers (and eventually money) to the channel owners. They will all claim to have some kind of "never lose" system and then show a series of throws, bets and payoffs that some how "prove" that their system works. Don't believe it for a second. Here is one that is typical of the whole bunch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn5z8Me_phE It's called the "Iron Cross" betting method because the bets line up in...

I'm happy to report that we had a great show on Tuesday, yesterday, with noted gaming consultant Thomas Gallagher as our guest. The hour long show really flew by, and we didn't get to discuss as much with Mr. Gallagher as I wanted to. Here is a link to the podcast of the show. Mr. Gallagher made a special offer to anyone who emailed him saying that they heard him on the show, so listen to the podcast for his special offer then you can email him and get a special deal on his gaming manuals. Just copy and paste this link into your browser to go to the FTP page for downloads of all of the podcasts of Casino Confidential. ftp://shows.americamatters.us/Show/Casino%20Confidential/ Also, I want to remind everyone that I will be posting my NFL week 2 pic of the week on Friday. Have a great day everyone.

Hi everyone. I've been sick so I haven't posted in a while. I have been feeling a little better the last couple of days so I will post a gambling update and a show preview for tomorrow Tuesday August 22nd. Remember Casino Confidential airs live in the Reno area at 4 p.m. on Tuesdays on 1180 AM KCKQ radio. You can also listen to it stream over the internet at americamatters.us or on the TuneIn Radio app. So tonight, Monday, I went to my favorite low limit blackjack tables, at an unnamed Casino in the city of Sparks. I played at a $3 minimum, single deck table, bought in for $50 and left with $20. Oh well, you can't win every time. I mostly flat bet $5 a hand, lost my first few hands and never got up at all. I was able to play for almost an hour on that $50. I never got into a high positive count or Ace rich deck where I felt like I could confidently increase my bet, so I didn't. I did  had a situation where I felt like varying from basic strategy involving a pair of ...

Had a great show today, basically  talking about what it takes to be a better blackjack player.  I will post the podcast link ASAP. I also want to tell  all my readers  about this great new discount travel card.   Register for Free for a $200 VIP Card good at selected hotels  and resorts worldwide.  Did I mention it's free ?   Go to www.gurufast.com/james

I have a great new Casino Confidential show planned for tomorrow, Tuesday August 15th: Casino Gaming 101. Intro to the philosophy of gambling, an  uncommon, common sense approach. You WILL learn how to lose less and win more. Listen live in the Reno area on KCKQ 1180 AM AT 4PM Pacific. Streaming live at http://amm.streamon.fm at 2300 GMT. AND it's a Giveaway Tuesday! I will be giving away a free range pass for 2 to our terrific sponsor, Reno Guns and Range, to the first caller at 844-790-8255.

I've decided to start reporting on my wins and losses when I gamble here in Reno. Hopefully it will teach some of the newer players out there reading this blog about what it's like to live in Vegas or Reno and enjoy gambling from time to time. So today I went to a casino in Sparks Nevada, which I'm not going to name, and played a little blackjack. I like this casino cuz they have low limit tables usually a $2 or $3 minimum with a $200 max. I bought in for $200, half green half red; put the green in my pocket and sat at a full table playing in the third spot. My bet range was from $20 to $30 per hand. And of course I was counting and tracking Aces. This was a single deck game with a 3-2 payout on blackjack.  (I refused to play at a 6 to 5 game.) Because the table was full there were only two rounds of play before a new shuffle. I played for about half an hour and walked away $50 ahead. I would have had more but on my second to last hand I lost with two tens, when the dea...