How To Scam A Casino By Working With The Dealer

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Posted: August 29, 2023

Updated: August 29, 2023

Of all the scams that brick-and-mortar casino have to put up with, and one of the most difficult to spot, are the ones involving the dealer and another player. That's because these can be pulled off with great care, leaving the casino scratching it's head as it tries to figure out exactly how the scam took place.

Of all the scams that brick-and-mortar casinos have to put up with, one of the most difficult to spot, are the ones involving the dealer and another player. That's because these can be pulled off with great care, leaving the casino scratching its head as it tries to figure out exactly how the scam took place.

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How To Work with A Dealer to Scam a Casino

The art of deception in card games has created techniques through which both dealers and players can clandestinely collaborate to gain an upper hand to scam a casino. One such technique is the "peek," a powerful tool that allows unscrupulous players to gain insight into upcoming cards and manipulate the game to their advantage. This strategy is particularly powerful in table games within casinos, where a well-executed peek can produce big profits. We're already well aware that cheaters could surreptitiously glimpse at their own cards during dealing. However, in table games, the collaboration between a crooked dealer and clever players can go beyond personal card insights. After all, they're transfering key cards from known positions deeper into the deck, thus gaining an almost unbeatable edge.

Understanding The "Flashing" Technique

Table games, especially those dealt by hand, have long been susceptible to a maneuver known as "flashing." This method to scam a casino involves the dealer exposing cards to a player sitting at his table who then uses this information to their advantage. Imagine engaging in a game of blackjack and consistently being aware of your first card or potential hit cards during a hand.
scam a casino
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Such knowledge would empower you to adjust your bets based on your predicted hand value. Thus you could make seemingly risky yet profitable decisions. While the mechanics of this collaboration are not very complex, mastering the timing is crucial and requires practical experience.

Watch The Card's Edges To Scam A Casino

According to UK gambling news, many swindlers have successfully evaded detection by honing their card-flashing skills, transmitting insights to multiple "takeoff men." Among the most potent forms of flashing involves subtly pushing the top card slightly off the deck, revealing a portion of its index. As the dealer performs actions like picking up completed rounds or checking their hole card, they can covertly expose the subsequent card. Merely a fraction of the index, visible along the card's left edge, is sufficient to determine whether it's a 10-value card or an Ace. Interestingly, even a sliver of the left-most edge can unveil the card's value. While this technique might seem overt, it can operate unnoticed for extended periods, resulting in significant gains over the casino. In fact, several groups of dealers and players managed to skim profits from casinos for years before being apprehended. Detection of this move is highly challenging since it requires being on the receiving end of the flash, and even casino surveillance (the "eye in the sky") faces difficulty unless the card movement is overly conspicuous.

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Variations In The Methodology

The specific method employed to execute a flash and scam a casino often determines the seating arrangement of the "takeoff man" or woman. However, astute cheaters often vary the direction of the flash around the table to conceal their actions further. Surveillance from pit bosses, security personnel, and casino cameras may focus on how a winning player could potentially receive flashed cards but overlook the possibility that the flash is directed toward a player positioned on the opposite side of the table. This secondary player then relays the information to the primary "takeoff man" responsible for placing significant bets. One method of flashing involves raising the top card just enough for a player situated to the dealer's right to catch a glimpse as cards are dealt or shielded (some casinos instruct dealers to hold the deck against their chest between deals, creating multiple flash opportunities).

Scam A Casino Using Takeoff Players

In certain cases, dealers would deal cards from a higher position, allowing players to glimpse cards beneath those being dealt if the dealer had mastered a technique to slightly push one card beneath another while dealing. While these methods are relatively straightforward to scam a casino, their mastery and careful execution can yield substantial profits. Regrettably for the cheaters, employing multiple "takeoff players" to avoid patterns of player-dealer winning streaks carries a significant drawback.
scam a casino
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The more people who are aware of the scam, the higher the likelihood of information leakage that could lead to serious criminal charges. We should point out at theis junctute, than none of these techniques could possible wrk at an online casino like 22Bet Casino. That's because all the games are controlled by random number generators.

Strategic Moves And Risks

Another strategy adopted by these schemers involves steering high-value cards into the dealer's hand, causing the dealer to bust and rewarding all players at the table. While this method can be lucrative when the entire table is complicit, it also increases the risk to the crew due to the increased number of participants required. They may be better off simply setting up a completely fake casino. 

The Era Before Automation

Before the widespread use of shuffling machines, manual shuffling provided ample opportunities for dishonest dealers and their collaborators to create memorized groups of cards in order to scam a casino. These could then be discreetly introduced into the game at specific junctures. Certain shuffling techniques were susceptible to player-dealer scams. A player situated on the "third base" position could monitor the top cards of each stack as they were intermixed during the shuffle process. This player could then memorize a handful of cards that were added to the top of the shuffled stack.

How Shuffling Works For Scammers

The dealer would shuffle cards from two large stacks, each comprised of half the decks in play, as per the prescribed shuffling procedure. By drawing cards from both initial stacks, the dealer created a third stack that eventually contained all eight shuffled decks. A crucial aspect of this setup was that the dealer had to reintegrate a deck from the shuffled stack and shuffle it with cards from either of the initial stacks.
scam a casino
Picture Source: Pxfuel
This reintroduction rule seemed to enhance shuffling randomness, but it allowed dishonest dealers to retain cards at the top of the shuffled stack throughout the entire process. This setup paved the way for players on third base to memorize these cards and strategize accordingly, predicting winning hands or determining strategies to cause the dealer to bust. To maintain a low profile and evade suspicion, adept crews balance their rigged rounds with legitimate gameplay between shuffles. While this description provides a glimpse into these techniques, the nuanced intricacies of making these maneuvers are beyond the scope of this discussion.

Evolution Beyond Manual Manipulation

Although these methods to scam a casino may have become obsolete in casinos that rely on shuffling machines, these devices are not infallible. Innovations continue to emerge, including both technological advancements and surprisingly simple yet effective techniques that can undermine such machines. One certainty is that scams that appear defeated by modern technology often resurface with novel approaches that circumvent the casino's security measures.

Conclusion - Can You Still Scam A Casino

In conclusion, collaborative schemes between dealers and players in casinos have historically exploited vulnerabilities in card games. Techniques to scam a casino such as flashing and strategic card steering have been employed to extract substantial profits from unsuspecting casinos. While advancements like shuffling machines and enhanced surveillance have curbed some of these tactics, the allure of ill-gotten gains continues to drive the evolution of new methods of circumventing casino safeguards. That's why playing casino games online is probably the safest way to play today. If you head over to one of the best online casino sites in the UK, 22Bet Casino, you will see that it's impossible for a dealer and player to get together to fleece the joint.

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