In the world of casino gambling, card counters are legendary. Most “systems” promising to make it possible to beat casinos are ludicrous. However, blackjack, if played very well, can be winnable by the player. For every successful counter, there are probably hundreds who fail at it, because one mistake per hour can annihilate even an optimal player’s edge. Casinos love the legend of the card counter, because it encourages so many people to do it ineptly, and because there’s a lot of money to be made in selling books on the subject. They don’t love actual card counters, though. Those get “burned out”. Casinos share lists of known counters, so it’s pretty typical that a too-skillful player will be banned from all casinos at approximately the same time, and therefore lose this source of income.

There’s danger involved, as is documented in Ben Mezrich’s Bringing Down the House. In Vegas, they’ll just ban you for counting. Shadier outfits in other jurisdictions will do a lot worse. It’s important to note that card counters aren’t, in any sense of the word, cheating. They’re skilled players who’ve mastered the rules of the game and disciplined their minds well enough to keep track of what is happening; nothing less, and nothing more. Even still, they face physical intimidation.

Lousy players are money-makers, and good players are seen as costs. How damaging are good players to a casino’s economic interests? Not very, I would imagine. Card counting is legitimately hard. Don’t believe me? Try it, in a noisy environment where cards are dealt and discarded rapidly. Of course, most people know they will lose money, because gambling is a form of entertainment for them. Casinos will always make money, but it’s not enough to have 98 percent of the players be lousy ones. It’s better to select lousy players exclusively and toss the skilled ones out. “You’re too good for us. Don’t come back.”

In other words, the possibility of earning an edge through skillful play is used as a lure. Most people will never acquire such skill, and casinos can hardly be faulted for that.

Play too well, however, and you won’t have a spot at the table. Lousy players only. Sure, you can say that you beat the system. It might make for interesting discussion at a party, but your playing days are over. You’ve won, now go away.