What tells to look for when dealer checks hole card?

Been playing BJ for a few years now and have basic strategy memorized perfectly and always play by the book. I am looking for anyway possible cut back the house edge as much as possible. What tells should I be looking for when the dealer checks the hole card. In Niagara Falls they still use the mirrors to check. I believe the dealer can only see if they have a face or an Ace in the hole. I have noticed that sometimes they will double check the card leading me to believe they have face in the hole when they don't flip over blackjack with a face upcard, yet they often flip over a bust card like a 4 or 5 after double checking. Don't all cards from 2 to 9 show up blank in the mirror? Just looking for some tips and clarification.

Casino Managers are not fools. They are not going to let poorly paid and sporadically tipped dealers know what their hole card is and somehow telegraph that information to observant players or to confederates. Of course the "peek" device only reveals minimal information and gives the poor dealer nothing but "tells" that exist solely in the mind of the desperate player's imagination.

Believe it or not, there's someone out in the world somewhere, or some company that holds a patent on those mirrors, so casinos have to pay a fee to use them. A few months ago my casino wanted to get rid of them, and they tried out a different "eye" on one of the tables. It turns out the patented mirrors are pretty damn good, cause the temp mirror didn't have the extra lense, which enlarges the A or 10. Dealers had to move their head around and even then could barely see it, since there was less light also.

That being said, even the good mirrors can kinda trick you sometimes, and you simply have to double check for the blackjack, so I wouldn't call that a tell. I do think there's people that don't realize if I don't have it, I didn't see anything, and try to "read me" to make their decision.

At the gold spike, they don't have mirrors or The electronic sensors, on their pitch game at least. The dealers crouch and peek under the corner of the cards.

You gotta watch the dealer's lips!

It the dealer mumbles "Jackson" or "big ones", or "getting plenty" after checking for blackjack, that's a sure sign he's got a ten in the hole. If he says "good bye teens", it's a nine. "She's lovely" means a six.

Quote: harvey16

Been playing BJ for a few years now and have basic strategy memorized perfectly and always play by the book. I am looking for anyway possible cut back the house edge as much as possible. What tells should I be looking for when the dealer checks the hole card. In Niagara Falls they still use the mirrors to check. I believe the dealer can only see if they have a face or an Ace in the hole. I have noticed that sometimes they will double check the card leading me to believe they have face in the hole when they don't flip over blackjack with a face upcard, yet they often flip over a bust card like a 4 or 5 after double checking. Don't all cards from 2 to 9 show up blank in the mirror? Just looking for some tips and clarification.

You did say you were looking for ways to cut back the house edge. If the house edge is .5%, perfect basic strategy will cut the house edge over you to exactly that .5%. If you want to overcome the house edge, you must learn to count cards.

In the meantime, learn to evaluate the rules of the different blackjack games. There can be a wide variation even in the same pit. Peruse the sites of our good Wizard where there is a wealth of information on card counting to get you started.

I think a double-check typically means they don't have an Ace or Face, and want to make sure they didn't miss it.

If you want to look for facial expressions, the problem is the emotions/personality of the individual dealer will affect what you are looking for. A dealer who wants you to win may be disappointed to see a 20, while a dealer with a bit of contempt for the job (and the players?) may be happy.

In the end, I don't rely on any of these except as a curiosity. I'll watch the dealer, guess what's under based on the tell, but not alter my strategy (except on borderline index plays)

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Quote: weaselman

You gotta watch the dealer's lips!

It the dealer mumbles "Jackson" or "big ones", or "getting plenty" after checking for blackjack, that's a sure sign he's got a ten in the hole. If he says "good bye teens", it's a nine. "She's lovely" means a six.

In New Jersey, the say "Loosy Goosy" for a 16. I guess it's a regional thing.

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

If the dealer has an ace up and uses the mirror, he turns the cards sideways and checks and will either see nothing or the ten underneath. If it is a ten up, he will check and either see the ace or nothing. Either way you wont know what card is in the hole unless its a bj and the fact that with either one up, the opposite card is not face down.

This is exactly correct.

Look at the placement of the numbers/letters on the corners of the card closely and you'll see that they are offset so that when you check you will only see if it's a blackjack. It's difficult to explain, but look next time you're at the table.

Also, the multiple looks is because sometimes the lighting in the casino can create a glare that makes it hard to see. Players sometimes think I'm jerking them around when I'm checking because I'll move my head until it blocks the dominate light source over me, thus reducing the glare, but the fact is sometimes it's hard to see and playing through the hand then flipping your hole card to reveal you had blackjack the whole time is really embarrassing and pisses off the players a LOT.