The vivid term "Axis of Evil" didn't originate with President Bush. For years, many card counters used this phrase to describe the gambling industry and the appalling ways it dealt with skilled blackjack players. The worst casinos always seem to hire unenlightened pit bosses who lump card counters together in the same category as cheaters, thieves, or other common criminals. This attitude causes some expert blackjack players to retaliate .and use’s dubious means to win. They feel the game is so heavily stacked against them that "anything goes in love and war."

This ongoing struggle between casino and card counters creates many ethical dilemmas. Lots of pros have inevitably redrawn the thin line separating right from wrong. I wish this chapter contained only stories about other pros and their questionable practices-weaker-willed men than I who caved in and did the type of things that shocked their mothers. But that would be a work of fiction. The truth is that I also struggled with ethical decisions. The constant harassment jaded me, and I did some things that I later regretted. However, at the time it seemed like a fair way to respond to this system of injustice. When you've been handcuffed and thrown up against a wall or had your life threatened in the back room of a "family-friendly" Las Vegas Strip casino simply for counting cards, it becomes very easy to rationalize.

This chapter will examine what potential dangers lurk on the dark side that lies within all of us. It will also explore a few of the techniques (other than card counting) that will give you an edge at blackjack. Some of these are legal, some are questionable, and some may get you RFB at the state pen for three to five years.

BITING THE APPLE

The first gray area I explored was what is commonly referred to as hole-card play. This occurs in casinos where the dealer is a little sloppy and exposes her hole card. There are three main variations of this-front-loading, first-basing, and spooking. My introduction to this unusual world came through a chance encounter with one of the most interesting characters in the history of blackjack, Howard Grossman.

When I first met Howard, we were playing at the same table at the Pioneer
online Casino UK in Laughlin, Nevada. My initial impression was that Howard didn't even look old enough to be playing blackjack in a casino. He slouched down so low in his chair; I thought he must have still been a teenager. However, once I watched him play for a while, I realized he was actually much older-and was definitely up to something.

He didn't bet higher during the positive counts or even play his hands correctly, but he won like crazy-and something told me it wasn't luck. Howard looked far too sharp to be a crazy gambler, and before long I figured out what he was doing. The dealer had a very wide sweeping motion when she tucked her hole card. Since I sat right next to Howard, I soon noticed why he was slouching down so low. At certain angles the hole card was exposed to players sitting in the middle of the table. Howard then adjusted his playing strategy based on this valuable information.

When the dealer went on her break, Howard also left the table and walked outside. I followed him and introduced myself. At that time Howard worked full-time as the shift boss at Vegas World Casino and no longer played on any of the big-money card-counting teams. Pros are normally very tight lipped when they find a great situation, but since Howard only played blackjack on the side for some additional income, he readily opened up and explained his technique to me. It was called front-loading, or surreptitiously reading the dealer's hole card, and provided an incredibly strong advantage (several times better than card counting).

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