Blackjack: Read the Croupier
The ‘Tells’ in blackjack are the subconscious gestures and expressions that are given off by the croupier. All human beings give off unconscious clues to their underlying emotions, and for the most part there is absolutely no awareness of the fact, you are doing it now. Tells are a lot more obvious at times of heightened emotions, the critical points in a game of blackjack for example, notably for the croupier this is the time at which they turn over their hidden card. One of the most common times in the game for tells to be present is at the card turning point, especially in the United States. Thus, if the croupier has a small value card (2, 3, 4, 5, or 6) as a hidden card, he might be inclined to lift the card more than he normally would to double check the value and to be sure it is not an Ace. The most difficult card for the croupier to interpret quickly is the 4 as it is so similar to the Ace. On the other hand, it is extremely easy for the croupier to see that the hidden card is a card face, which as you know is always worth 10 in a game of blackjack, there is no need for him to count therefore because the pictures are so easy to identify. If you see that the croupier has replaced the card quickly then it is highly likely that he has a face card. Importantly, you will have to study the croupier for a couple of rounds and try to read the different signals that he gives off at different times in the game, times of loss, times of win, times when the hidden card is high, times when the hidden card is low, and from these observation you should be able to work out how that particular croupier reacts under certain conditions. If you are looking for more information on this genre of ‘tells’, known as ‘dealer tells’, then we recommend that you buy a copy of Read the Dealer by Steve Forte. This book is the book of knowledge for understanding the psychology of dealers when playing blackjack.