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Strange but true utterances from the casino floor. By Al O’Grady
As a dealer I do not know whether to laugh or cry sometimes at players. I like to be a student of human nature, but I am constantly baffled as to what some players say at the table. It is impolite to laugh at others, so I put on my best poker face when some ridiculous comments are verbalized, but you do not have to. So for your reading enjoyment, I have listed some bizarre comments that have been made at the table. Feel free to laugh, cry or shake your head right along with me. These comments are in no particular order.
“A face always follows an ace”
Some players believe a 10-value card comes out of the shoe right after an ace. Really? Let’s assume we have a balanced shoe where every card has an equal chance of coming out. Basic probability states there is a four-in-13 chance a 10 will come out. That means most of the time, a face does not follow an ace. Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.
“Someone has to take a card”
Let us assume that everyone has a 12 or 13 and the dealer is showing a six. Basic strategy dictates that everyone sticks. The dealer turns up a 10 for a 16, then pulls a four for a total of 20, winning every bet. Some players believe someone must take a card to save the table. What nonsense! The percentage play is that everyone sticks. Does it work every time? Of course not. That is why it is called a percentage play. This is gambling, after all, and nothing is a sure thing at the table.
“The continuous shuffler is rigged”
Many casinos are moving away from the traditional shoe and are opting for a continuous shuffler. Cards are shuffled constantly and cards that have been played are put back into the machine after every hand or every other hand.
This is a way for the casinos to combat card counters but it is also to generate more hands per hour, taking away from downtime during the traditional shuffling process. I am not a fan of the continuous shuffler for other reasons but I can tell you it is not rigged. A casino does not have to rig a game. The odds are in its favor.
How does the shuffler know how many players are at the table? How does the shuffler know if a player is going to hit, stick, split or double down? This has a ripple effect on everyone else’s hands. The bottom line is this: it does not know and the cards are random.
People are always looking for someone or something to blame when they lose. Before blaming others, look at yourself in the mirror. Could it be you were not playing perfect strategy? This leads us to our next quote.
“I do not believe in basic strategy – it was written by the casino”
This is one of my favorites. Do a basic Google search on the history of blackjack basic strategy. It was devised in the 1950s by four guys in the U.S. Army who went on to get math-oriented degrees. Basic strategy has been refined after undergoing millions of hands of computer simulation. It was not written by the casino.
Even with basic strategy, the casino still has one-to-two-percent advantage over the player. The casino still wins in the long run. If you are a novice player, playing basic strategy will keep you at the table longer and you may enjoy yourself more, encouraging you to return. The casino wants to take all your money … slowly. It wants you to have some hope and entertainment along the way.
“I’m due”
This is another one of my favorites. This applies to every game in the casino. For some reason, if someone has lost five hands in a row they feel they are due to win. Again, this is utter nonsense.
Let’s take a coin toss for a moment. If you are betting on heads but it comes up tails five times in a row, what is the chance it will come up heads on the next toss? Please tell me you said 50-50. Inanimate objects like coins and cards have no memory. Investment advisors in the financial industry will tell you that with mutual funds, past performance does not guarantee future performance. The same is true for cards in general and blackjack specifically. You are due nothing.
“Dealer, you owe me”
This follows the “I’m due” logic. Let’s get something straight. I do not owe you a damn thing. As a dealer, the only thing I owe you are two cards and then additional cards at your request. I then “owe” you your winning bet if your hand beats mine. That is all that I owe you, end of story
“Please dealer, please”
This is a classic. While I really appreciate your manners, I hate to break this to you, but whether you are polite or rude to the dealer has no bearing if you are going to get that 10 on your double-down bet. I have no magical power of what the next card will be. If I did, I would quit dealing tomorrow and play professionally all day. But continue saying “please”: It makes up for the jerks.
“I knew it”
This is one of my favorites. When a player has a 12 and then they get a 10, some might say “I knew it!” Really? You know nothing. You do not have some clairvoyant power as to what the next card is. You know what card will hurt you. If it comes, it is called confirmation bias. If you honestly “knew” the next card would bust you, you would not take it. Please do not tell me you know something when in reality you do not.
All these quotes have been said at my table. When I tell people that I am a dealer, I tell them I turn cards, I move chips and I count to 21. That is not work. The work comes from standing, and from the toll dealing takes on your body, dealing with boredom and dealing with players. Sometimes, these players act and speak irrationally. Welcome to my world and do not forget to tip the dealer.
If someone wants to count, let them. This would truly make blackjack a game of chance for all.
Good luck at the tables and don’t forget to tip the dealer.
There are also a lot of roulette betting strategies as well as the various casino bonuses but they are for another edition of Casino Life Magazine.
*** This article was originally published in December 2025 edition of Casino Life Magazine Issue 183***
