But that's beside the point, which is that, just because the currently predominant game in 21st century America is not one where Keen Mind gives any real advantage, doesn't meant that a PC in, say, the Forgotten Realms won't be able to use it to aid themselves.
It doesn’t say they will either. Many gambling games don’t advertise a great deal of information about the state of the deck, so if we’re going on the basis that the game is just some abstract concept that doesn’t closely correlate to anything we know of irl, there’s no more basis supporting the idea that Keen Mind would make a notable difference than that it won’t.
Sure, but there's probably more than one game to be found. With the real-world examples we have, it's reasonable to conclude that some will, some won't and the person with Keen Mind will look for the ones that do.
While modern casinos don't present any game where player skill will let them beat the house, except for blackjack, and they probably only still do that one because your average punter who thinks they can count is still net negative, that's not way gambling happened throughout most of history. Most gambling was games played against other players, usually with both luck and skill elements. (But wagering on pure skill games like chess and pool is far from unknown.)
It doesn’t say they will either. Many gambling games don’t advertise a great deal of information about the state of the deck, so if we’re going on the basis that the game is just some abstract concept that doesn’t closely correlate to anything we know of irl, there’s no more basis supporting the idea that Keen Mind would make a notable difference than that it won’t.
In general, card counting is limited to games where cards are played or discarded face-up, but are subsequently hidden, and there is meaningful betting or strategy that occurs after those cards are hidden. In modern gambling, that mostly means blackjack -- in poker cards either remain face-up for the entire hand, or are not revealed until all betting is completed, and there's a shuffle every hand. Memory is also pretty important to trick-taking games like bridge, but isn't considered cheating, just part of being good at the game.
Sure, but there's probably more than one game to be found. With the real-world examples we have, it's reasonable to conclude that some will, some won't and the person with Keen Mind will look for the ones that do.
While modern casinos don't present any game where player skill will let them beat the house, except for blackjack, and they probably only still do that one because your average punter who thinks they can count is still net negative, that's not way gambling happened throughout most of history. Most gambling was games played against other players, usually with both luck and skill elements. (But wagering on pure skill games like chess and pool is far from unknown.)
In general, card counting is limited to games where cards are played or discarded face-up, but are subsequently hidden, and there is meaningful betting or strategy that occurs after those cards are hidden. In modern gambling, that mostly means blackjack -- in poker cards either remain face-up for the entire hand, or are not revealed until all betting is completed, and there's a shuffle every hand. Memory is also pretty important to trick-taking games like bridge, but isn't considered cheating, just part of being good at the game.