Dealer Tells
Much like in other gambling games, tells in blackjack depend largely on subconscious gestures or expressions that a person makes without knowing it. That is why it is called subconscious – he didn’t mean to do it. Quite obviously, as we are talking about gestures, expressions, and the subconscious, these blackjack tells are only applicable to some alive – to human beings. That is why the focus of this post would be real life casino blackjack where you have a live human being for the dealer.
Perhaps the most common tell that happens in blackjack is when the dealer, without meaning to, reveals his hole card. If you are aware of this tell and you are sharp enough, then you just might get the edge you need to win. In order to really get the hang of this tell, you need to be observing the dealer very very closely as he looks at his hole card. The important factors would be how long it takes him to see the hole card clearly and at what angle he bends the hole card to identify it clearly as well.
If the dealer has a small stiff card, say a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, as a hole card, it might take him a bit longer to check out the card. He may also have to lift the card at a higher angle before he satisfies himself that he has determined what it is. Why? Because these cards can easily be confused for an Ace. This is even more common when the card is a 4 as it is the most difficult to see.
On the other hand, if the dealer takes a really quick look at his hole card, then that tells you something else. Face cards are quite easy to spot and determine. So if it seems that the dealer didn’t take too much time looking at his hole card, then chances are that he as a face card – or anything higher than a 6.
Of course, we have to be realistic here. Blackjack dealers are highly experienced and know all the tricks. They’ve probably spent tons of time perfecting their trade. Before you can catch a dealer giving tells away, you would need to go around the casino observing each table first. One dealer may have absolutely no tells. However, when you catch that one dealer who has the tendency to give away information subconsciously through his gestures, then go join that table and test out your observations. If you are lucky then you’ll end up having a winning night. If not, then there’s always the fact that you enjoy blackjack and that you have a good strategy for winning anyway – with or without dealer tells.
