Was I being watched?

I went and sat down at a blackjack table at a nearby casino (well 3 hours away)- it was $15 minimum and I started with $300 I got on a good streak and walked away with $2,600. Most of my bets were 25-100.

I noticed after a bit of time that while I felt comfortable and the dealer was nice and talkative that the floorman behind him would be watching my game a bit and later on I looked over my shoulder and noticed a young asian looking man that was in casino employee attire was standing against the support beam not too far back from me- but not near crowding me.

The dealer was using an 8 deck continuious shuffle shoe- so I cant imagine they were worried with me counting- I was alone at the table as well.

I remember saying something and the floorguy in the pit said "all I know is you got some of the best luck going Ive seen in a while." I can understand him watching me if I was doing good and it wasnt busy. But was the guy behind my shoulder a bit away also being paid to watch what I was doing?

There were times Id mix it up a bit so Id not look like i was sitting there concentrating- and I tried to be talkative to the dealer and all so they wouldn't think I was sitting there keeping track of anything- Id change up the number of hands i was playing form one to three to one then to two - whatever felt like doing. I was really just having good luck- I wasnt doing anything out of the usual. But wanted to knwo if you guys had any info for me- if they were worried or what. And I did tip the dealers I had. ;) $25 for the main dealer twice and the releafer I gave $25 as well. What the heck they were more then nice to me.

Quite honestly you were being watched. Witth the kind of money you ended up winning and the luck you were having they would have been watching. But they would also have been watching the dealer. It would be lax security not be. In a casino you are being wached all the time, dont take it personally, it was probably just about the money.

Quote: Croupier

It would be lax security no to be...

I wonder if the progression is this:

*hey, lucky guy, then:
*hmmmm, card counter possible? then:
*hmmmm, player-dealer cheating possible?

or a different order?

Depends on the dealer. If people keeep winning with the same dealer, then the dealer is more likely to come under suspicion, be it for intentional cheating or lack of awareness. With a shuffling machine I doubt they would be worried about a card counter, but they do have to be cautios of dealers not paying attention as people could be topping up winning bets, and other cheat moves.

Yeah, you were being watched. Can you blame them?

I'd take it as a compliment.

I might have reacted differently though. I might have come right out ans asked if I were under scrutiny. Quite frankly, changing the number of hands you're playing might (or might not) be a red flag for whatever they were concerned with.

Also, once I decided to go home, I might have made some type of comment to induce a free room. After all, if they came to the conclusion that you were simply lucky, they'd want you to get your sleep on site, sleep off the luck, and then have the opportunity to lose it before you got home an put it in the bank.

You beat them out of almost 8x your initial buy-in. You bet your bottom dollar they were watching! They would be idiots if they didn't watch.

They were watching to see if you were doing anything (topping chips) or if the dealer was doing anything (showing cards, etc.). They have a duty to make sure everything is done properly.

I wouldn't worry about it in the least!

Hope you do it again soon!!

It's a casino! Everybody is being watched all the time!

I've won less and felt like I was being watched, but I've also won more and not had any attention at all. Did you use a player's card? If you do, they are much less likely to get all creepy on you, because they already have a lot of info (past play, personal info). If you DON'T use a card, they will be about 100x more likely to notice you if you are doing better than normal.

would most casinos just do this with their surveillance cameras, though?

Depends, the cameras could have been down, or the cameras were not clear enough. there is no substitute for good ol human vigilance.

You were clearly being watched and probably by survalence as well. Remember, to catch cheaters you look for winners. There is probably a lower-limit to when they give you more than the normal once-over. After that they will watch until they see you are cheating or just chalk it up to the way the cards are falling (I refuse to say "luck."

Remember: "In the casino business everyone must watch everyone else. Since the players are trying to beat the house, the dealers are watching the players. The boxmen are watching the dealers. The pit-bosses are watching the boxmen. The shift-bosses are watching the pit-bosses. The casino manager is watching the shift-bosses. I'm watcing the casino manager. And the eye-in-the-sky is watching us all."--Sam "Ace" Rothstein, Tangiers Casino Executive.

I figured they would have had a camera sticking around (or two)- and I could understand the floorman in the pit watching the game.... I was just surprised (and I suppose as someone mentioned flattered a little) that they would send a guy to stand behind my shoulder to watch me and/or the dealer- I guess I was thinking why woudl they pay that guy to stand there and watch when they already got about 10 cameras and a pit worker.

Now that someone mentioned it I hope I wasnt making the dealer nervous getting that much focus on him or his dealing. Though im sure he was used to it- he had plenty years of experiance up north if I remember right.

What was funny is that I think the next day I came back down there and some other dealer I had sat with before made eye contact and I think I said 'Good morning, hows it going?' or something to that effect and he said a little later 'Well, I know that you are good at blackjack.'. I was a bit surprised. Maybe he was the dealer next to the one I had the previous day and just saw what was going on... this really surprised me, lol. Maybe I dont need to do so much winning when its slow down there- I like to go around 6am when its about as dead as it gets- the table limits are lower and I can often get a table by myself if im really trying.

Quote: Malaru

I figured they would have had a camera sticking around (or two)- and I could understand the floorman in the pit watching the game.... I was just surprised (and I suppose as someone mentioned flattered a little) that they would send a guy to stand behind my shoulder to watch me and/or the dealer- I guess I was thinking why woudl they pay that guy to stand there and watch when they already got about 10 cameras and a pit worker.

There is also a chance that they just wanted to make *you* nervous and uncomfortable enough to leave, at least for a little while. Though if a player isn't cheating the surest way to get the money back is to keep him playing for some reason lower-level casino management sometimes misses this point.