card countern.1
/ˈkɑːd ˌkaʊntə/, U.S. /ˈkɑrd ˌkaʊn(t)ər/ Cards.
A marker used to keep a tally in whist. Now rare.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > [noun] > scoring sheet or card
card counter1770
marker1870
scoring block1892
1770 Georgia Gaz. 24 Jan. To be sold..japaned tea boards, waiters and sugar dishes; snuffers and dishes, card counters.
1835 Lady's Bk. Mar. 118/1 Poor Mrs. P——! I wonder who will get her card counters.
1958 D. B. Hudson Sir Joshua Reynolds v. 77 He had his own card-counters, specially designed in mother-of-pearl and packed in a lacquer box.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2021; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
card countern.2
/ˈkɑːd ˌkaʊntə/, U.S. /ˈkɑrd ˌkaʊn(t)ər/ Cards.
Chiefly in pontoon (blackjack): a person who keeps a mental tally of the cards played in a game in order to gain an (unfair) advantage. Cf. card reader n. 2.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > [noun] > card-player > other players
hand1589
revoker1754
sitter-out1829
non-dealer1857
card reader1899
card counter1962
1962 E. O. Thorp Beat Dealer vi. 109 The casino, he said, had fearlessly played against all card counters.
1966 Nevada State Jrnl. 2 Aug. 13/3 The rulings give the house an edge over card-counters.
1976 Telegraph (Brisbane) 19 Nov. 15/1 Unlike most ‘card counters’, who have been quickly spotted and banned from most casinos in America and the Caribbean, Andersen has hung in there.
2004 E. Conlon Blue Blood v. 154 The man on the catwalks over the casino floor, scanning the tables for the sharps and card-counters, looking out for luck that's too good to be true.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2021; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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