Why Do Casino Dealers Clap their Hands when leaving the Table?

While casinos don’t consider dealers as a security risk, dealers should also do their bit to show that they aren’t cheating. For instance, casino dealers clap their hands and then keep them facing upwards on the table to show that they are not hiding anything. We all know that there are security cameras placed throughout every casino. So, dealers do their bit so that the casinos know they are playing fair. But the question is, are dealers such a risk to the casinos?

While they generally aren’t, of the hundreds of casino dealers, if there are even one or two rotten dealers who try to steal the cards or chips or play dirty, it could sabotage the casino’s reputation. Moreover, if a few such dealers try to steal the chips, it could spell trouble for the casino’s treasury. There have been several instances when dealers have gotten away with stacks of chips. So, it’s always better to be on the safer side. Nevertheless, here are a few things to note when it comes to cheating in a casino.

Don’t be fooled by those ugly misconceptions

When casinos get suspicious of dealers, they tend to focus on every deal they make. And it so happens that dealers try to steal a stack of chips or a deck of cards. They do it so quickly that they won’t be caught on camera. However, when you run the video frame by frame, in slow motion, you will notice that the dealer has gotten away with a few odd chips, or sometimes, more. After all, greed is an emotion that can be disastrous, isn’t it?

It’s in the slot streaks

Most of those first-time players just keep hitting the spin button at the slot machines, hoping to secure a big win. What they don’t realize is that no slot machine has equal rates of wins and losses. Instead, what they have is 10 to 90 or 20 to 80 odds. Also, slot machines are programmed in such a way that you get hits only about 10 to 20 per cent of the time. Unfortunately, though, not all of them are wins, since you also sometimes get less than what you bet. There have been instances where many slot players have put in three coins and gotten only two-coin returns.

Slot machines are designed such that they favour wins for the casino and not for the players. So, the streaks are much higher against the players, which is why most of them lose their bets. Casinos usually have an edge between two and 15 per cent, meaning that the money advantage is with the players. However, players must be wary of the fact that since the casinos have some edge, it isn’t going to be easy for them to win.

It’s got nothing to do with the cash or markers

Whether you buy in on cash or on markers, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t help you win. You win or lose either way. The runs of good and bad luck are completely random in a casino and have got nothing to do with those cash or marker buy-ins you make.

Sometimes, a Shoe isn’t a ‘Shoe’

While the use of a ‘dealer’s shoe’ does help reduce the time taken to shuffle the deck and decrease the chances of cheating during a game, in certain games like Blackjack, it can also be used to get that ‘house edge.’ These shoes come in all colors and sizes, depending on the number of decks they hold. Also, casino dealers always insert blank cards into the shoe, along with the rest of the decks, so as to not give a chance for players to count the cards.

When the dealer places the blank card, it means that the current game is the last one before the cards must be shuffled again. Now, how this technique helps in mitigating players counting cards to a large extent is that nearly 25 percent of the cards never come into play. And whatever percentage of cards do come into play is called the ‘penetration.’

When playing a hand-held double-deck game, for instance, you don’t need a shoe. So, a shoe should be called as such when you use it.

So, one of the easiest ways for dealers to not get caught cheating is to clap their hands and then place them on the table to show that they have got nothing to hide. The trick ensures that they haven’t cheated or stolen anything. It clears them of suspicion. While casinos strive to curb illegitimate practices, there are some money-hungry dealers out there who want to get away with as much as they can. And stopping them can be a challenge. But with those cameras and other tight security measures in place, cheating or stealing can be contained to a large extent.