Most people tend to associate tells with the game of poker where players might involuntarily give away their intentions through certain mannerisms and changes in their behavior. Skilled poker players are capable of picking up information from their opponents’ tells and use it to their advantage.
Yet, poker players are not the only ones to give off tells. Many people may not realize this but it is also possible to exploit the subtle cues of blackjack dealers in a similar way. Of course, not all dealers are prone to giving off unintentional tells but those who do can help smart blackjack players improve their chances of winning certain hands.
Information is power in the game of blackjack and spotting the cues of your dealer enables you to make better-informed standing, hitting, doubling or surrendering decisions. Furthermore, the implementation of this technique is no longer restricted to the blackjack tables at brick-and-mortar casinos.
Many online casinos offer live blackjack games hosted by human dealers in real-time, making it possible for players to exploit potential tells to their advantage while in the comfort of their homes.
Let’s start with a definition of what tells are in blackjack. Tells can be best defined as unconscious psychological responses that betray non-verbal information about the dealer’s hand and more specifically, about the value of their hole card, i.e. the second card of the dealer that faces down.
It follows that exploiting dealer tells is only possible in hole-card blackjack variations where the dealer starts each hand with two cards. The first card is dealt face-up while the second one, the hole card, is facing down.
Furthermore, the peeking rule should be in place where the dealers check their hole card for a blackjack when showing an ace or a ten-value card like 10, Jack, Queen, and King. The non-verbal reaction of the dealer to their hole card can sometimes give off valuable information.
This assists the player in making an informed judgment about the card’s value, i.e. whether it is high or low. Said verbal reaction may come in the form of mannerisms, facial expressions or other forms of body language.
Picking up tells is usually possible only when the peeking dealer shows a ten-value card. Depending on the specific house rules, the dealer may peek only when their face-up card is an ace. Tells are irrelevant in this case because the dealer would prompt the player to accept or decline insurance before taking the peek rather than after.
If the dealer indeed has a ten-value card in the hole, they will immediately reveal it and the player will lose unless they also have a blackjack. If not, the round would continue as usual.
Some dealers check for blackjack when showing a ten. If they have an ace in the hole, the round is again over. But if they have any other card, play will continue and the dealer’s reaction may unintentionally reveal whether their hole card is low or high.
Reading tells is impossible in variations like European Blackjack where no hole cards are in play. In such games, the dealer receives one face-up card at the beginning of the round and draws a second one only after all players have finished playing their hands. The structure of the game makes it impossible for the dealer to peek for blackjacks.
Giving off tells is inherent to human psychology, so the best skilled players can do is to try and exploit human nature to their advantage. While dealers obviously do not give off such cues on each hand, players are sometimes able to pick up enough tells to make a difference in their winning rate.
Recurrent Tells of Blackjack Dealers
The idea behind reading tells is to determine the dealer’s range of cards rather than trying to identify the exact value of their hole card. Armed with this information, you can better evaluate the chances of the dealer busting or holding a strong pat hand. The two most recurrent tells occur when the dealer peeks under their hole card for a blackjack.
Low-Card Dealer Tells
Face-Card Dealer Tells
Low-Card Dealer Tells
Low-card tells might occur when the peeking dealer has pip cards with values 2 through 6 in the hole. It is more difficult for the dealer to distinguish their hole card’s value in such instances. As a result, they usually resort to bending the hole card higher than they normally would when holding face cards so they can clearly see its pips.
Some dealers are also known to double-check the value by peeping under their hole card twice rather than once to ascertain they do not have an ace in the hole. This double-check usually occurs with 4s, which are harder to immediately distinguish because of their partial semblance to aces.
Such is the case with 2s and 5s, which also resemble each other when viewed from a certain angle. Some dealers prefer to take several peeks in such cases to ensure they have identified their hole card’s value correctly. Such repetitive peeks might indicate to the player the dealer has a stiff hand and is more likely to bust.
Face-Card Dealer Tells
By contrast, face cards along with those with values of 7, 8, 9, and 10 are easier to distinguish with a single peek. Respectively, there is no need for the dealer to bend them higher so they can clearly perceive their values. This is especially the case when the dealer has a 10 in the hole. The 10s are the only cards in the deck with a two-figure value, which makes them easily recognizable.
The same is valid for face cards like Jacks, Queens, and Kings, which are easy to identify because of their gaudy illustrations. The fact that all three face cards have the same value also helps since it eliminates the necessity of the dealer having to differentiate between them.
When seeing a colorful card, the dealer immediately knows it has a value of ten without double-checking. Respectively, an observant player can be pretty certain the dealer holds a stronger card whose value is above 6 when they do a quick peek.
How to Spot Blackjack Dealers Prone to Giving Off Tells
Casino operators are perfectly aware of the fact sharp players are looking to exploit tells. To deter such practices and protect their edge, they usually instruct their dealers to be careful about actions and cues that could betray the value of their hole cards.
Nevertheless, dealers are human beings and as such, are still prone to making mistakes no matter how well-trained they are. Here are several other cues that can help you spot a dealer who gives off tells.
Card Placement
Dealers Who Check Their Hole Card Frequently
Sloppy Dealers Who Aid Hole Carding
Sloppy Front-Loading Dealers
Dealers’ Facial Expressions
Card Placement
One way to identify a potential tell is by carefully observing where the dealer places their starting hand after peeking under their ten for a blackjack. Most dealers would position their initial two cards right in the center in front of them.
However, some would move their cards slightly to the side, i.e. farther from the shoe. This could be an indicator that the dealer has a low card in the hole and is trying to make extra room for the card(s) they are about to add to their hand after taking one or possibly more hits.
And vice versa, if the dealer positions their starting hand toward the table’s center after peeking, this might indicate she or he has a pat hand of 17 or higher and is preparing to stand rather than drawing additional cards from the shoe.
Of course, such tells are not possible with all dealers. Some would peek first but move their cards to make room for more after the players have completed their hands, in which case it would be too late for you to take advantage of this tell.
Dealers Who Check Their Hole Card Frequently
As we already mentioned, a dealer who peeks two or three times may potentially have a low hole card, particularly one with a value of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. This is because the differences between these pip cards are not as noticeable at first glance. By contrast, the dealer would have to peek only once if they hold a face card or a ten which are much easier to recognize.
In this case, he or she is more likely to stand pat with a 17 or higher. Of course, experienced dealers are less prone to giving off such tells. You might want to scout the tables for rookie dealers if you want to take advantage of such cues.
Sloppy Dealers Who Aid Hole Carding
Either due to fatigue or lack of experience, some dealers handle the cards sloppily, which makes them susceptible to a certain advantage play technique known as hole carding. This is when the player is able to take a peek at the sloppy dealer’s hole card while they are checking for a blackjack.
Hole carding normally requires you to sit in the first-base spot (i.e. to the left of the dealer) to get a proper glimpse of the dealer’s down card. Nevertheless, the ability to see the hole card’s value gives the player a powerful advantage over the dealer. Using this information, an observant player can significantly increase their winning rate through hole carding.
As for the legality of this practice, it is considered a form of advantage play and as such, is legal as long as the player is not using a device to obtain knowledge of the hole card. With that in mind, most casinos are well-aware of this technique and have taken the necessary measures to hinder it.
One very effective way to deter hole carding is through the use of special devices, the so-called hole card readers. This device allows the dealer to determine whether they have a natural or not without bending the cards or even peeking.
The ten-value cards and the aces in the deck are marked. When showing an ace or a ten, the dealer would slip their cards into the reader. If their hand’s value is under 21, a green light goes off indicating they do not have a blackjack. Provided that the two cards add up to 21, the light on top of the device would turn red.
Either due to fatigue or lack of experience, some dealers handle the cards sloppily, which makes them susceptible to a certain advantage play technique known as hole carding. This is when the player is able to take a peek at the sloppy dealer’s hole card while they are checking for a blackjack.
Hole carding normally requires you to sit in the first-base spot (i.e. to the left of the dealer) to get a proper glimpse of the dealer’s down card. Nevertheless, the ability to see the hole card’s value gives the player a powerful advantage over the dealer. Using this information, an observant player can significantly increase their winning rate through hole carding.
As for the legality of this practice, it is considered a form of advantage play and as such, is legal as long as the player is not using a device to obtain knowledge of the hole card. With that in mind, most casinos are well-aware of this technique and have taken the necessary measures to hinder it.
One very effective way to deter hole carding is through the use of special devices, the so-called hole card readers. This device allows the dealer to determine whether they have a natural or not without bending the cards or even peeking.
The ten-value cards and the aces in the deck are marked. When showing an ace or a ten, the dealer would slip their cards into the reader. If their hand’s value is under 21, a green light goes off indicating they do not have a blackjack. Provided that the two cards add up to 21, the light on top of the device would turn red.
Sloppy Front-Loading Dealers
Smart and observant blackjack players sometimes take advantage of sloppy dealers who expose their hole cards while sliding them under their upcards. Such dealers are known as “front-loaders” and have given rise to the front-loading technique, which is a subform of hole carding.
Utilizing this method is possible from all seats at the table but it all depends on how the sloppy dealer exposes the hole card. Some dealers would tip the card up toward the player sitting in the shortstop spot, i,e, the seat in the center of the table. Others would tip it to either side so that it is more visible from the first-base and third-base seats.
However, casinos take precautions against front-loading as well, either by instructing the dealers not to tilt the cards this way or by demanding them to shield the hole card with their hand while loading it under the upcard.
This is not surprising considering the huge advantage players have when knowing the value of the dealer’s hole card. Of course, the exact advantage varies depending on what percentage of the time the sloppy dealer exposes their hole card. Your accuracy when reading it also matters.
Dealers’ Facial Expressions
Dealer tells sometimes result from the dealers’ emotional involvement in the game. When a dealer is rooting for the player to win in the hope of receiving a tip, their facial expressions might intentionally or unintentionally betray the value of their hole card.
For example, one such dealer might subtly smile when they peek and see a low hole card for a stiff hand that could bust and cause the player to win. And vice versa, a dealer rooting for the player may appear displeased if they check and see a high card that would give them a pat hand. Dealers who hope to receive tokes, i.e. tips, are a valuable asset to any discerning player looking to exploit tells.
It is also possible to extract tells from dealers who are rooting against the players. One such dealer would appear displeased when they see low-value cards under their tens and happy when they have a strong hole card.
The bottom line is the dealer has to be emotionally invested in the game in one way or another to give off potentially profitable cues. It would be impossible to extract a tell from a person who is indifferent to the outcomes of the hands.
Dealer Tells in Live Online Blackjack
It is quite obvious that such tell-tale cues are possible only in live games where human dealers are involved. Virtual blackjack games lack the human element as the cards are dealt by a Random Number Generator.
On the bright side, most quality casinos on the web have introduced live games to their portfolios that are hosted by human dealers in real-time. The action is streamed in excellent quality straight to your computer or smartphone screen while you use the gaming interface to post bets and make playing decisions.
It may be possible for you to notice some dealer tells in such conditions. With that said, you should also keep in mind the live dealers have been expertly trained and therefore, are less prone to giving off such cues.
Of course, you will also have to scout the online casinos for blackjack tables where the live dealers peek under the hole cards on occasion to establish whether or not they have blackjacks. To efficiently exploit tells, you have to make sure the peek rule is in place at the live tables you are interested in. Look for games where the live dealer peeks for blackjack both under 10s and aces.
