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2007 News Archives |
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 High-Tech
Poker Cheating
"Is High-Tech Poker Cheating Real?" asks Richard
Marcus in his December 2007 Bluff Magazine column.
Marcus gives a number of examples of how high-tech
cheating can occur in live games. He concludes with
a prediction, "Within a few years we will see, or at
least suffer unknowingly, the effects of tiny laser
pens that card-markers will use to shoot beams onto
the backs of their hole cards, which will result in
tiny discolorations that can only be seen with
special lenses and from certain angles." To purchase
a digital copy of the issue click:
HERE.(12/07) |
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 The
Ultimate Work
Tony Giorgio who is a recognized expert in the
methods employed by card and dice cheaters has just
released a 2-disc set of DVDs which reveal the
authentic sleight of hand methods employed by
"hold-out men." Mr. Giorgio has spent more than 20
years meeting and playing with hundreds of
handmuckers, machine men, bust-out men, steers,
front-men, spot finders, two-dealers,
cellar-dealers, spreaders, cold-deckers, run-up men,
check coppers, paper-players, painters, scratch
players, slick sleeve and bean shooter players.
During his travels and play, he learned from the top
hold-out men in the world and invented and used many
of his own moves which he now reveals. For more
information click:
HERE.(11/07) |
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 Card
Marking At Mohegan Sun
A man was recently arrested and charged with felony
charges of cheating, first-degree larceny and
criminal trespass when he got caught at the Mohegan
Sun casino in Connecticut. He is accused of marking
cards while playing Texas Hold'em. A New York Post
article reported, "He obviously was defacing the
cards in a way that obviously would not be
detected," Sgt. William Griffin told The Norwich
Bulletin. "He was good at it." To read the Nov. 17
article by Lukas I. Alpert titled "Casino 'Shark'
Shock" click:
HERE.(11/07) |
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A CardCheaters.com Exclusive:
 Johnny
Hughes' Texas Poker Wisdom
October 19 marked the release of Johnny Hughes' new
novel titled "Texas Poker Wisdom." Mr. Hughes has
graciously allowed us to excerpt a portion of the
book that discusses cheating at poker. The novel is
about Matthew "Slick" O'Malley, a Texas road gambler
of fifty years who wants to teach his nephew, Dylan,
everything about poker: its strategy, culture,
language, history, pitfalls, songs, movies, books,
gambling joints, and web sites. Along the way you
too will learn everything about poker while
improving your game with the insights throughout the
book. To read the exclusive excerpt click:
HERE.(11/07) |
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 Casino
Surveillance Exposed On TV
A Fox News 23 report talked to Brandon Hill at the
Cherokee casino about anti-cheating security. Hill
demonstrated several cheating techniques and talked
about what they look for. One of the techniques Hill
explained was card switching, "That’s when two
players exchange cards to get a better hand. It
starts with a sign that tells his buddy to get
ready. He had a queen and a ten. Brandon had a
queen and a 2. After the two exchange cards, his
buddy has a pair." To read and see the, Nov. 8,
segment by Jace Verhoeven titled "Casino cheats
exposed" click:
HERE.(11/07) |
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 Cheating:
A natural Part Of Poker?
The ongoing series by James McManus about the
history of Poker in CardPlayer Magazine focused on
W. Joseph Johnston who in 1906 was caught using a
shiner. McManus pointed to Johnston's defense,
"Having bolstered his credibility by admitting he
used the mirror and other devices to his advantage,
Johnston maintains, in effect, that such tactics are
a natural part of poker, things his accusers have
themselves deployed while 'looking for the best of
it' - they just failed to do it as artfully. And
when everyone knows poker is a cheating game, it's
unmanly to 'squeal' if someone gets the better of
you." The rest of the article is about Theodore
Hardison who in 1914 published "Poker, A Work
Exposing the Various Methods of Shuffling Up Hands…"
To read the Oct. 30 article titled "The Mirror, the
Riffle, the Shift, and the Shark" click:
HERE.(10/07) |
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 Absolute
Admission
AbsolutePoker's admission to the cheating that went
on at their website is the subject of an MSNBC
article. The article reported, "The cheater, whose
illegitimate winnings were estimated at between
$400,000 and $700,000 by one victim, was an employee
of AbsolutePoker.com who hacked the system to show
that it could be done, said a spokesman for the
company, who spoke with msnbc.com on condition of
anonymity." The article also quoted an AbsolutePoker
spokesman, "We acknowledge a significant internal
security breach whereby a resource who was
infinitely knowledgeable about the system was able
to get into the accounts in question. He played on
those accounts and he saw hole cards." To read the
Oct. 19 article by Mike Brunker titled "Online poker
cheating blamed on employee" click:
HERE.(10/07) |
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 Collusionspeak
Richard Marcus exposes methods of collusion using
chip placement in the October 2007 issue of Bluff
Magazine. In a column titled "Collusionspeak: The
Official Language Of Live-Poker Collusion" Marcus
explained, "A common misconception is that
sophisticated collusion teams use hand signals to
communicate what they've got in the hole. Not so.
The best and most undetectable method for this
covert means of divulging their hole cards is using
the hole cards themselves in conjunction with chips.
What more natural way to do it than by using the two
things most intrinsic to any poker game: cards and
chips?" To purchase a digital copy of the issue
click:
HERE.(10/07) |
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 Absolutely
Cheating
New York Times blogger Steven D. Levitt discusses
the online poker cheaters who were able to see their
opponents' cards and conquer the game. "If you were
a total idiot, you would do exactly what some
cheaters on the Web site Absolute Poker appear to
have done recently. Playing at the very highest
stakes games, they allegedly played every hand as if
they knew every card that the other players had.
They folded hands at the end that no normal player
would fold, and they raised with hands that were
winners but would seem like losers if you didn’t
know the opponents’ cards. They won money at a rate
that was about 100 times faster than a good player
could reasonably expect to win." To read the
September 20 blog by Steven D. Levitt titled "How
Not to Cheat" click:
HERE.(9/07) |
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 Oklahoma
Johnny Hale Talks About The Red Games
Oklahoma Johnny Hale explained what is a card
mechanic and what to do when you encounter one in
the Sep. 17 issue of Poker Player. Hale explained,
"What do I mean when I say that dealer is a
mechanic? …In this usage, it is a crooked card
dealer who can manipulate the cards, stack the deck,
deal seconds, or palm cards. He can control who the
winner of certain poker pots will be! …There have
been a few times I heard a whistle go off. That's
the sound a card makes when it is not coming off the
top of the deck. It makes a whistle sound as the
card is pulled through two or more cards." You
should also check out his other Red Game articles as
they also relate to cheating. To read the September
17 article by Oklahoma Johnny Hale titled "The Red
Games of Poker, Part 4" click:
HERE.(9/07) |
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 Steve
Forte Talks About Dice Cheats
Part three of the CappersMall series that quotes
Steve Forte about cheating focuses on Dice. Forte
explained, "There's been a whole evolution in craps
scams… In the old days you had subs, hidden pockets
in the dealer's clothing. Craps is a game that has
so much action that the dice would go one way and
the money would go the other, into the sub. Then
they went to techniques like hand-off moves, where
the boxman would make change, giving extra money to
the accomplice. And, off course, there were gaffed
dice." To read the June 23 article by Luken Karel
titled "Sportsbook And Casino Games Cheats; Part 3:
Dice Swindles" click:
HERE.(7/07) |
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 Five
Arrested For Cheating Osceola Casino
A Des Moines Register article reported that "The
arrests came after D.C.I. gaming agents suspected a
casino dealer at Terrible's Lakeside Casino in
Osceola was working with patrons to cheat the game
of Mini Baccarat. …Agents determined 22-year-old
Larry Shephard had misplayed hands by switching
cards, exposing cards and paying losing hands,
paying out more than $12,000 in casino money after
reviewing surveillance video." To read the July 13
article by Tom Barton titled "Dealer, patrons
arrested for theft and cheating at Osceola casino"
click:
HERE.(7/07) |
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Steve
Forte Talks About Blackjack Cheats
Part two of the CappersMall series that quotes Steve
Forte about cheating focuses on Blackjack. Forte
explained, "I would say that there's almost nothing
that I could share with you, for shoe games, the
wheel and craps, nothing in my experience - 30 years
of collecting hustlers' moves, forays, scams, you
name it - that would have any real threat to the
casino bottom line that doesn't involve somebody on
the inside." The article also describes many
cheating techniques. To read the June 21 article by
Luken Karel titled "Sportsbook And Casino Games
Cheats; Part 2: Blackjack Thieves" click:
HERE.(7/07) |
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 Major
Gambling/Cheating Collection Sold
"The Great Gambling Auction" which took place in Las
Vegas on June 16 created a gathering of many of the
leading Gambling collectors with some known hustlers
and a few magicians. Some of the notable pieces sold
include: Card Holdout For Table (US $7,000), Diana
Game Layout (US $9,500), H.C. Evans' Round Table
Roulette ($7,750), and various hold-outs which
garnered heavy bidding. Among the 385 lots offered
for sale there were also many bargains to be had in
the various books, marked cards, loaded dice and
ephemera that sold near the low estimates. The
auction which lasted seven hours turned out to be
very educational due to the expert commentary by
gambling authorities Sid Radner and Geno Munari.(6/07) |
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Steve
Forte Talks About Slot Cheats
Steve Forte who is described as, "arguably the
leading expert on casino games cheaters and scam
artists," is quoted in a CappersMall article about
known methods of cheating slot machines. Forte
explained the minilight device, "The thieves went in
through the coin payout shoot with a device the size
of a fork with an LED light at one end and a magnet
to hold it in place at the other end… They built up
credits and when they hit the payout button, they
turned on the light, which confused the optic sensor
and caused the machine to overpay." To read the June
17 article by Luken Karel titled "Sportsbook And
Casino Games Cheats; Part 1: Slot Machine Crooks"
click:
HERE.(6/07) |
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 Marcus
Investigated By AGCO
According to a Niagara Falls Review article the
Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is
investigating Richard Marcus who boasted that he has
cheated two of Niagara's casinos out of more than
$100,000 in the 1990s. The article quotes AGCO
spokesman Ab Campion, "He did quite a bit of
bragging about all the cheating he has done over the
years and never got caught… If we get substantial
evidence we can still charge him under the Criminal
Code for cheat at play. There is no statute of
limitations." To read the June 12 article by Alison
Langley titled "Casino cheat claims he hit Niagara
venues for $100,000" click:
HERE.(6/07) |
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 Piacente
Training Canadian Casino Staff
Sal Piacente is profiled in the Niagara Falls Review
where he explained one of the scams he trains
dealers to spot, "Cards are manipulated in the
shuffle in such a way they come off the top of the
deck in a prescribed order. Clumps of unshuffled
cards are called 'slugs.' An accomplice stands near
the table, writing down the order in which the cards
appear. When the cards from the slugs begin to be
dealt, members of the group bet on the known order
of cards." To read the May 29 article by Alison
Langley titled "Gaming pro teaches casino staff to
watch for cheaters" click:
HERE.(6/07) |
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 Canada's
Casino Rama Scammed For Two Million Dollars
A Packet & Times article quotes Sgt. Bob Paterson
"There is no electronic gadgetry. It's sleight of
hand, shuffling, that sort of thing… Not much
different from the trick of pulling a coin out of
someone's ear - it's all an illusion with fast hand
work… Gaining that inside co-operation to fix games
- a trick employed by criminals in casinos in the
past - is what gave the cheat team an edge." The
alleged team of cheaters targeted the game of Mini
Baccarat. To read the May 26 article by Teviah Moro
and Tracy McLaughlin titled "Suspects in casino scam
appear in court" click:
HERE.(6/07) |
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 Big
Gambling Auction In Las Vegas
The largest auction of cheating equipment, gambling
instruments and books will be offered for sale on
June 16 at 10am in Las Vegas by Munari Auctions. The
items up for auction are described as "Crooked
gambling apparatus, roulette wheels, marked cards,
loaded dice, gaffed keno equipment, gaffed faro
dealing equipment, holdouts, slot machines, punch
boards, horse racing, gambling supply catalogs and
much more! Hundreds of books on gambling! Ancillary
gambling collectibles! One of the legendary gambling
collections of all time." Many of the items are from
the Sidney H. Radner Collection and the original
Audley Walsh Collection. The printed catalog is
destined to become a collector's resource and
collectible itself. For more information, item
photographs and descriptions click:
HERE.(5/07) |
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 Big
Roundup Of Casino Card Cheaters
Federal prosecutors charged two-dozen people with
cheating 18 casinos across the United States and
Canada by using bribery and technology to beat
Blackjack and Mini-Baccarat. It is estimated that
the San Diego based team earned more than three
million dollars in the past five years. A Seattle
Times article explained that, "The group...
perfected the sleight-of-hand technique that allowed
dealers to pretend to shuffle cards that had already
been played on the table and recorded by another
co-conspirator." An Associated Press article also
reported that, "Thirteen other people also were
arrested in the same sweep in Ontario and were
expected to face charges there." To read the May 25
Associated Press article by Allison Hoffman titled
"2 dozen charged with cheating casinos" click:
HERE.
-To read the May 25 Seattle Times article by
Christine Clarridge and Jennifer Sullivan titled
"Casinos here among 18 scammed for millions" click:
HERE.(5/07) |
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 Titanic
Thompson's Son A Card Cheater
Johnny Hughes recounts his encounter with Titanic
Thompson's son in his article "Titanic Thompson and
Son" in the May, 2007 issue of Bluff. Hughes relays,
"His son was as skilled as his father in all
card-cheating moves. In 1975, I caught his son
cheating. This was in a huge poker game in Lubbock,
Texas." He then goes on to describe how he cheated
and tells some Titanic Thompson stories. To purchase
a digital copy of the issue click:
HERE.(5/07) |
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 How
Casinos Bust Cheaters
A FOX23 news story aired on April 30 about a recent
capture of card cheaters at the Cherokee Casino in
Oklahoma. The story quotes surveillance expert
Brandon Hill, "The technology we use is out of this
world outstanding… Those cameras can actually read
the serial number off this one dollar bill and the
cameras aren't close. They are actually about
25-feet away and there are several other cameras
throughout the casino watching my every move." The
story mentions some of the techniques used by
cheaters and also includes a "Casino Cheater" forum.
To read the story and watch the video click:
HERE.(5/07) |
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 A History Of Card
Cheating
CardPlayer
Magazine's ongoing series about the History Of Poker
written by James McManus presents a three part
serial about card cheaters. The three articles, The
Cheating Game - Part I (Volume 20, Number 6), Styles
and Technologies of Cheating (Volume 20, Number 7)
and Reformed and Unreformed Sharps: Jonathan Green,
George Devol (Volume 20, Number 8), cover gimmicks,
techniques and famed cheaters. All the articles are
archived on the web and can be accessed by clicking:
HERE.(4/07) |
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 Expert
At The Card Table--Bible Edition!
S.W. Erdnase's Expert At the Card Table has been
called the "Cardman's Bible." It has been studied,
analyzed and mastered by card cheaters for more than
100 years. Taking the "Cardman's Bible" moniker to
heart the Conjuring Arts Research Center has just
released a Bible-like edition of the book with
numbered lines so you can reference sleights via the
Bible verse method. It is printed with gilt edges,
has a ribbon placeholder and in is bound in soft
leatherette. The size is also tiny and can fit in
your shirt or pants pocket. For more information
click:
HERE.(3/07) |
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 Casino
Cheats Moving To The Midwest?
According to a USA Today article "Casinos sprouting
across the Midwest are attracting sophisticated
cheaters from Las Vegas, Atlantic City and overseas
who believe they can scam new, unseasoned staff,
gambling officials say." George Joseph is quoted in
the article and mentions some of the things staffs
should look out for: Marks on playing cards,
cellphones used to photograph and convey poker
players' hands, and ringlike devices that retract
bills from slots after the machines validate them.
To read the Mar. 7 article by Judy Keen titled
"Casino cheats bet on Midwest marks" click:
HERE.(3/07) |
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 From
The World Game Protection Conference
Richard Marcus who spoke at the World Game
Protection Conference in February is the subject of
a Las Vegas Review-Journal article that reported,
"As Marcus demonstrated his signature moves at
roulette and blackjack tables set up in a ballroom,
members of the crowd could only shake their heads."
Marcus also said that, "Even as technology
progresses, my thing was still to beat the people on
the floor so they didn't bring the cameras into
play." The article also reported that his next book,
"World's Greatest Gambling Scams" is scheduled for
release later this year. To read the Feb. 26 article
by Arnold M. Knightly titled "Casino business: Blink
and you'll miss him" click:
HERE.(3/07) |
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 2007
WSOP Champion Confesses
Jamie Gold, the 2007 World Series of Poker champion,
admits to collusion during the main event in a New
York Times article. Gold is quoted, "…I basically
told a friend of mine what I had because I didn’t
want him to bust out and that was also really
inappropriate. And I'm going to make sure that
doesn't happen again." A spokesman for the World
Series of Poker, commented that "Technically it can
be construed as collusion and is clearly a violation
of the rules." To read the Feb. 24 article by Steve
Friess titled "Tournament Winner Says He Was Wrong"
click:
HERE.(2/07) |
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 Steve
Forte's Poker Protection
January 10, 2007 was the release date of the most
anticipated book about the subject of cheating at
Poker. Written by Steve Forte, the leading authority
on the subject, it is titled "Poker Protection:
Cheating… and the World of Poker." Based on decades
of extensive research it objectively looks at the
dangers posed by professional and amateur cheaters
in all forms of poker. Along the way it illustrates
and discusses most of the known methods of cheating.
For more information about the book click:
HERE.(1/07) |
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 How
to Cheat At Everything
Simon Lovell's 2003 best-selling book "Billion
Dollar Bunco" has just been released in paperback
under the new title "How to Cheat at Everything: A
Con Man Reveals the Secrets of the Esoteric Trade of
Cheating, Scams and Hustles." The 400+ page book
released on Dec. 11, 2006 covers a wide variety of
subjects like: bar bets, street hustles, carnivals,
Internet fraud, big and small cons, card and dice
games and more. To purchase "How to Cheat at
Everything" click:
HERE.(1/07) |
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 High-Tech
Casino Cheats Convicted
A team of two men and a woman were convicted in
England for using high tech equipment to cheat
around six London casinos out of half a million
dollars. A Reuters story reported that "Using a tiny
camera, hidden up the sleeve of one of the players,
cards would be filmed as the croupier dealt them…
This footage was beamed live to the van via a
transmitter where it was then viewed in slow motion,
showing what the cards had been. The two poker
players were then told via earpieces how to bet." To
read the Jan. 16 Reuters article titled "High-tech
poker scam bilks casinos of $500K" click:
HERE.(1/07) |
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 Father
& Son Card Counters Banned
A Netherlands Antilles Daily Herald article reported
that "A father and son team [from Texas] suspected
of counting cards in a blackjack game at Hollywood
Casino [in St. Maarten] wants the casino to hand
over the US $18,000 they said they won on Thursday,
January 11. The casino is refusing to pay out the
sum as it sticks to its claim that they were
card-counting." To read the Jan. 15 article titled
"Players claim that casino refuses to pay winnings"
click:
HERE.(1/07) |
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 Seven
Feathers' Surveillance Department
The surveillance department at the Seven Feathers
Casino in Oregon is featured in a News-Review
article that discusses the many duties of the
department and how they do their work. The article
discusses some of the actions players take that make
them look suspicious and that "suspicious players
are followed until they show themselves to be
innocent or guilty. It can reveal itself in a matter
of minutes, sometimes days, sometimes months."
Regarding cheating the article reported that "To
beat a cheater, surveillance personnel have to learn
to become cheaters." On how to spot card counters
surveillance supervisor Alicia Barney said, "You
count right along with them… To be able to detect
one, you have to be one." To read the Dec. 31
article by Paul Craig titled "The casino's watchful
eyes" click:
HERE.(1/07) |
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