Cheating at Blackjack and Card Games

Stacking the deck: There are two ways to stack a deck. One method of stacking a deck requires
two stages – location and placement. Location is just finding the cards; placement is putting them
where you want them in the stacked deck. Whenever the exact order of the deck is prearranged,
the location step can be omitted.
Card and Chip Switching: The dealer shows a mid-rank and then a quick handed cheat might
add an additional chip or swap a red chip for a brown one. Cards can be switched between hands.
A player palms a favorable card, hides it in his sleeve, and adds it to the hand to make a winner
at some point down the line.
Marked decks: Usually involving the collusion of casino employees, it may be possible for a
marked deck to be introduced into play. There are many ways to mark decks of cards, some of
them very difficult to detect. Casinos often replace their cards at table games and either sell or
give away the used decks. These decks are usually cut or altered before they are sold or given
away. This to prevent cheaters from buying used decks and then using the cards to cheat at table
games.
False deals: A dealer may be able to deal the second card from the top (used in conjunction with
marked cards), or the ability to deal the bottom card of the deck (used in conjunction with
placing desirable cards at the bottom of the deck), see for example Mechanic's grip.
False shuffles and cuts: A dealer may seem to mix or cut the cards, while retaining certain cards
or the whole deck in a desired order.
Card Marking: To scratch or prick a card with a pin while playing. The cheater will manipulate
blocks of color on the cack or even parts of the patterns to indicate a certain marked card.
Team Play: Adding more people to form a team can turn a small mathematical advantage into a
huge edge. A spook is to spot the dealer’s down card and then signal this to someone who is
playing. Teams can also be used to distract the dealer while someone adds or removes chips from
the table. Card counting also benefits from teamwork as this mean does not need to make sudden
increase on the amount bet.
Mishandling Money or Chips: A dealer could fail to pay off a winning bet correctly or give the
wrong change back. This is not necessarily cheating and could be the result of apathy or
inattention. Players can help avoid this and be better at casino games by remaining vigilant.
Pegging: Pegging dimpling cards to mark out various high cards. Casinos that change decks
frequently make methods of card marking on the part of either the dealer or players a difficult
grift to sustain. Pegging is a catch-all term that refers to dimpling cards subtly to mark out
various high cards. Casinos that change decks frequently make methods of card marking on the
part of either the dealer or players a difficult gift to sustain.
Palm and switch: Grabbing winning cards and swapping them out with losing cards used to be
one way in which players could cheat their way into money, but casinos are wary of palming
methods and have many eyes trained on the tables, and many casinos will not allow blackjack
players to touch the cards, rendering this method obsolete.
Daubing: This one is old and, like the palm and switch, nearly extinct. Daubing is another
method of marking card (see pegging above), but this one uses dirt or ink or whatever is
available to mark the high cards. A more high-tech variety involves marking cards with a
substance only visible with a special kind of eyeglass worn by the cheater.
Two-man teams: Two-man teams have many variations, but all involve one person to spot the
dealer’s hole card and signal it to the other player who makes playing decisions accordingly.
Spooking: This version of a two-man cheat has the spotter lurk behind the dealer like a ghost or
a spook and signal to the player from there.
First Base Play: The spotter sits in the first place that the cards are dealt – first base. The player
sits at the anchor or any other later position.
Front Load: To front load is to spot the dealer’s hole card when it is slid over the up card rather
than when the dealer peeks at it.
Mishandling Money of Chips: A dealer could fall to pay off a winning bet correctly or give the
wrong change back.
Holdout shoes and other devices: A holdout shoe will second deal a card. A prism mirror is
positioned in such a way in the shoe that the dealer can see the top card, but no one else can.
Other devices use the same basic premise, combining second dealing with a mirrored surface.
Some shoes are designed to allow a dealer to shorten the deck as well.
Colluding with the Dealer: One of the most common ways that people try to cheat the casino is
by colluding with the dealer. As an example, the dealer may make a “false shuffle,” meaning that
they keep some of the cards in the same order as they were originally dealt.
Looking at the Dealer’s Hands: Even honest dealers are not perfect. They may accidentally tip
their hole card, giving players a look at their hand. Casinos must make sure that they cannot do
this.
Replacing Cards with Better Ones: One of both the most primitive and common ways that
players can try to improve their odds is by replacing the card in their hand with a better one.
They usually try to pull this off by either sneakily replacing a card with one of their own or
collaborating with a player next to them to shuffle cards in and out.
Past Posting: Past posting is a scam where players try to replace chips they have won with more
valuable ones. It can be attempted by people playing blackjack, poker, or roulette.
Card Marking: As its name implies, card marking involves making subtle marks on cards so that
the player can distinguish them later using infrared lenses and invisible ink.
Counterfeit Chips: Some players try to create counterfeit chips and cash them in for money. Of
course, this takes a very high level of sophistication, as the counterfeit chips need to look nearly
identical to the chips the casino itself holds.
Edge Sorting: Edge sorting is more an opportunistic type of scam. Highly observant players look
out for small defects in cards. While it may seem as if the player is just taking advantage of an
opportunity available to them, edge sorting is a violation of casino policy and can get players
booted from the tables.
Cheating at Craps
Loaded Dice: The original big cheating technique for all dice games involved dice that were
weighted (loaded) or misshapen by sanding or shaving off slivers, causing them to land on
certain numbers more often than they would normally. Most casinos now have their own dice
with their name stamped on them. The dice may also be numbered. Before dice are put on a
table, their numbers are checked to ensure that they are the casino's dice. Surveillance will spot
anything unusual from happening at a table game.
Past Posting is positioning a bet on the table after the dice have landed. He would ask dealers for
change right when the dice were rolled, and then as he got his change (after the dice had stopped)
he would drop chips on the winning spot on the table. Using this technique, the man had won
about $86,000 from the casino. NFL Quinton Carter was arrested in 2013 for adding three $5
chips to winning wagers to “Big Al” Grossman scamming Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut out
of thousands before getting caught.
Colluding with a Dealer to Rig the Game: a dealer sliding stacks of winning chips even though
you did not have a bet out to begin with. Other corrupt dealers can let you pull back or reduce
losing wagers with no repercussions. Mark Branco, his cheating partners could verbally place
high-risk “hop” bets just as the dice were coming to a rest.
Making late bets after the roll: This is one of the riskier cheats to do in craps. Basically, a player
can wait until after the shooter rolls the dice and then places a bet after the results are found. It is
risky because everyone is usually looking down at the table and may see them putting chips on
the table. Although, when things get very exciting after a big round, such as players cheering and
celebrating, an avid cheater may take advantage of the environment and place a few chips on the
winning bet.
Fixed and loaded dice: One way to cheat at craps is by using fixed dice, also known as loaded
dice or gaffed dice. Basically, these are specially designed dice with an improper center of mass
or with rounded edges on them. The dice with round edges are known as shaped dice. The dice
are made this way for them to land on certain numbers more often than others.
Stealing chips by theft: Players end up taking chips from the other players when they are not
looking. It works when things start getting exciting at the table and people lose focus of their
chips that are lying on the rail. For example, people can all be looking down at the dice and
cheering and not paying attention to their chips, making it perfect for cheaters to steal them.
Setting the dice and dice control: This is one of the only legal forms of cheating and one of the
most effective. This is a skill that advanced players can develop and get good at, like darts or
bowling in fact. Basically, you are using fair dice and using all the available techniques that
anyone else can use. Players can use a combination of dice grips and alignments of the dice in
the hand in conjunction with straight and level delivery of the dice onto the table. The goal here
is to throw the dice and have them land on any number that you want. The huge benefit of
learning dice control is the fact that getting caught is nearly impossible unless your techniques
become too obvious.
The Palm Switch: The cheat starts this move by palming the crooked dice in one hand and
picking up the straight dice with the other. The crooked dice are then dropped into the bend of
the fingers while the straight dice are placed in the palm. The cheat then rubs his hands together
in the characteristic way craps shooters do for luck. This is when the crooked dice are taken by
the other hand and then thrown out.
The Two-Hand Palm Switch: The cheat starts this move by palming the crooked dice in one hand
and picking up the straight dice with the other. The crooked dice are then dropped into the bend
of the fingers while the straight dice are placed in the palm. The cheat then rubs his hands
together in the characteristic way craps shooters do for luck. This is when the crooked dice are
taken by the other hand and then thrown out.
Blanket Roll: The idea is to roll two dice, so they turn end over end around one axis. This
cartwheel motion will eliminate two sides of each die from landing face up and so totally
changes the odds. If the dice are picked up and held in a Lock Grip then the sides of each dice
facing each other and the two opposite sides can be prevented from coming up. Study the
diagram and see how the cheat pushes the dice together then smoothly lets the dice roll from his
hand and turn like a wheel.
The cheat then snaps out his wrist with the motion of snapping a whip and throws the dice, but so
that the dice spin rapidly like spinning tops without turning along the horizontal axis. The dice
then land with the desired faces facing up. To prevent the dice bouncing on a hard surface, the
cheat may sprinkle salt or sand on the throwing area, so they slide, or generally soften the surface
where the dice are thrown.
Spin Shot: The false throw is performed by slamming the dice down with the palm of the hand
face down to the flat playing surface and sliding the dice out to one side with a spin on their
vertical axis, but not turning end-over-end. The spin of the dice can be achieved with the cheat's
thumb and fingers and a lot of practice.
Reverse Greek Shot: The dice are held in the hand using the Lock Grip with the bottom die's
desired face facing upward, and then given a false rattle. The cheat then drops the two dice with
the top one directly above the bottom die, preventing it from turning, and then with the top die
rolling off at random.
The first reason for not cheating at craps is simple enough. You should find a way to earn an
honest living. Selling your integrity for casino winnings is a losing proposition, so just do not do
it. Another, more practical, reason not to cheat at craps is that it is illegal. We are assuming that
you are playing casino craps when we say this. If you’re playing street craps or in a bar
somewhere, just playing is illegal, but if you get caught cheating in that kind of game, you’d
probably be better off getting busted for cheating in a casino. Spending some time in jail and
paying restitution to a casino are both better than getting shot in the kneecaps by one of your
“gambling buddies”.
Cheating in Roulette and European Roulette
Pinching & Past Posting Pinching: When you remove your chips from a table after a loss,
whereas past posting refers to placing a wager after the winning number has been announced.
Wheel gaffing: This is basically modifying the wheel to make spins more predictable. It is illegal
everywhere, except on casino cruise ships that are in international waters, where there are no
gaming laws at all. A good example of this is loosening parts of the wheel so that the ball
bounces less in specific areas. This creates a “deadening” of bounce, and it leads to wheel bias,
where specific numbers will spin more than others. Normally a casino’s automated software will
detect this bias, but only after thousands of spins. If you know where the deadened area is, you
will be able to take advantage of it before the casino knows.
Magnetic balls: There have been very rare incidents where a magnetic ball is somehow swapped
with the real ball. Then it is behavior can be influenced with magnetic pulses. They did not use
actual magnets, otherwise the ball would stick to ordinary metallic objects. Instead, the ball
contained a special coil with diodes. When the ball fell onto the rotor, the user would observe
where they expected it would land. If it were expected not to land in the area they bet in, two
parts would be activated. The first part would use magnetic induction to create an electric current
in the ball’s coil. And another component would push the ball away from the wrong area to the
area the players bet in. All this happened very quickly, so that it did not cause noticeable
interference with the casino’s electronic systems.
Past Posting requires an incredible reflex and sleight of hand, past posting allowed a quick
player to place a bet after the ball had already landed. Since the dealer has to look away from the
table to see which number the ball is about to land on, a past-poster takes advantage of this
momentary distraction by sneaking a bet on the winning number and being paid for it as if it
were a legitimate wager.
Biased Wheel: In years past many tried to capitalize on the fact that the spin of a wheel might not
be truly random. There is debate as to whether this was cheating as some would consider that if
the casino has a wheel which is faulty, then that is the fault of the casino.
Advantage Play: Finding the right strategy that will help you win at playing the casino game.
Collusion between Player/Dealer: The dealer might let you place a bet later than you should
normally be allowed to, enabling you to place a bet when you have a better idea of the outcome.
Top Hatting: This is another very interesting method of cheating. Top Hatting is like Past Posting
but two people are involved – the croupier and the player. In Top Hatting the dealer is the main
person involved and he tries to put extra chips on the winning number, the winnings then being
collected by his partner in crime. However, with the high levels of security in casinos nowadays,
this old trick is almost impossible to pull off successfully.
Magnets: This method was used in the gambling houses of the past, but nowadays it is not so
easy to get away with. Usually four magnets were placed around the wheel area. The croupier
could regulate them with the help of hidden controls. Magnets could also be placed within the
pockets of the wheels, robbing less-savvy players of their money. Nowadays, it is often believed
that rigged games such as these are still found at carnivals and fairgrounds that offer roulette
games.
Pinching: like past posting in that you are trying to make a quick move with chips. The key
difference is that you are removing a losing bet from the table after the ball has stopped and the
outcome is decided.
Wheel Gaffing: The method of altering the wheel to get favored numbers.
Computers and Electronic Devices: Sending electronic signals through anther device to a
computer.
Methods of cheating by players
Past posting: After a bet is won, a player replaces smaller-denomination chips with large-
denomination chips.
Hand mucking: Palming desirable cards, then switching them for less desirable cards that the
gambler holds.
Card marking: Various methods exist to mark cards during play.
Marked decks: Usually involving the collusion of casino employees, it may be possible for a
marked deck to be introduced into play. There are many ways to mark decks of cards, some of
them very difficult to detect. Casinos often replace their cards at table games and either sell or
give away the used decks. These decks are usually cut or altered before they are sold or given
away. This to prevent cheaters from buying used decks and then using the cards to cheat at table
games.
Slot machines: Methods exist for altering the outcome of slot machine games.
Collusion: In poker games, the practice of two partners signaling to each other the values of their
cards can be very difficult to detect. Also, in table games, players can collude with the dealer.
Using auxiliary devices: In Nevada, New Jersey, and other jurisdictions, using any device which
helps to forecast the odds or aid in a legitimate strategy such as card counting is regarded as
cheating.
Top hats: In Roulette, players place a bet after the ball has landed. The chips are disguised using
a third party's chip - the "top hat".
Using a computer to gain an edge, illegal in Nevada since 1985.
Methods of cheating by employees
Using a rigged roulette wheel.
False deals: A dealer may be able to deal the second card from the top (used in conjunction with
marked cards), or the ability to deal the bottom card of the deck (used in conjunction with
placing desirable cards at the bottom of the deck), see for example Mechanic's grip.
False shuffles and cuts: A dealer may seem to mix or cut the cards, while retaining certain cards
or the whole deck in a desired order.
Using a deck of cards with non-standard composition.
Using a cold deck.
Using loaded dice.
Using rulesets not sanctioned by a gambling control authority.
Using slot machines which pay lower than the statutory minimum.
False advertising by not paying advertised promotions.
Mail fraud or sending a mail offer but not honoring the offer once the customer is at the casino,
also called bait and switch.
Rigged video poker machines, such as the Vegas "American Coin Scandal"[3]
Rigged drawings, such as at The Venetian, Las Vegas.[4]
Corrupt regulators, such as Ronald Dale Harris.
Using a computer to gain an edge over the players.

Game Protection
The following are procedures, things to watch for, and ways to protect the casino game:
Best protection: 100% concentration
Read department procedures
Scope the layout
Beware of distractions: spilled drinks, late bets, and cocktail hostess
Stay focused on your game
Monitor the player’s bets
Watch for polar bets, staggered bets or improper bets
Player placing bets or removing bets from winning numbers
Convert bets when necessary
Check for hidden coins, cards or dice
Beware of Non-players at your table
Chip down and chip down in floor
Be aware of anything-unusual happening in your game. Alert your supervisor
Monitor if player’s hands or fingers remain in view at all times
Maintain proper posture at all times
Beware of collusion at your game. Notify your supervisor.
Acknowledge bets and tokes
Be courteous to player’s at all times
Avoid distractions
Be advised of minimum and maximum bets at your game
Offer your players cocktails and comps
Know the directions and locations of important areas of your resort
Return from break on time
Inform dealer’s of last transactions on your game
Greet your player’s with a smile and introduce yourself
Look and act professional on your game
Make your customer feel welcome at your table
Always thank the player for tokes
Make the game feel entertaining
Clear your hands when touching your body
Keep your hands above the table at all times
Protect your game and bank
Keep your rack straightened
Keep your table clean
When in doubt alert the floor man