Cheating in casinos

Cheating in casinos refers to cheating the games played in casinos.

Casino cheating is usually defined as actions which against the rules of the casino. Cheating may or may not be illegal depanding on the jurisdiction of the casino.

Methods of cheating

The methods for cheating in a casino are often specific to individual games.

Pastposting: After a bet is won, one replaces smaller denomination chips with chips of large denomination.
Card counting: Keeping track of which cards have been played at such games as Blackjack. Technically not cheating because the card counter is doing nothing to affect the odds of the game, but is using all available information to make intelligent wagering decisions.
Hand Mucking: Palming desirable cards then switching them for less desirable cards that the gambler holds.
Marking Cards During Play: Various methods.
Introducing Previously Marked Decks Into Play: Usually involves "inside" help, i.e., the collusion of casino employees. There are many different way to mark decks of cards, some of them very difficult to detect.
False Deals: Ability 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.)
False Shuffles and Cuts: Ability to seemingly mix and cut the cards while retaining certain cards or the whole deck in a desired order.
Slot Machines: Methods exist for altering the outcome of slot machine games.
Collusion: In poker games, the practice of two partners signalling to each other the values of their cards; this can be very difficult to detect.

How casinos combat cheating

Proper Procedure: This means certain standardized ways of shuffling cards, dealing cards, storing, retrieving and opening new decks of cards, etc.
Eyes in the Sky: Most casinos have an extensive array of cameras and recorders which monitor and record all the action in a casino. Some casinos use facial recognition software to detect known cheats or card counters/advantage players as they enter the casino.
Software: Casinos use software to analyze game play to uncover any unusual betting patterns or winning patterns and thus discern cheaters, card counters, and "advantage players".

References

Casino Protection Protection -- A Comprehensive Guide: is a textbook designed for casino employees written by an expert in the field, Steve Forte. Published in 2005 for $200, it is an expensive but very thorough volume: http://www.casinogameprotection.com/index.html

Links

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.