Cheating Expert Answers Casino Cheating Questions | Tech Support | WIRED

[00:00] Let's answer your questions from the internet. [upbeat music]

[00:12] "Do you think any casinos rig the deck Yes, back in the old days when the mob ran things, For example, one way the mob would cheat is a cooler.

[00:26] So here's a 10, 10, 8, 4, ace, 5, 2, 3, Set these cards up in this order and do it four times.

[00:40] no matter how ideal these cards are, You have a 14, you have a 19, I have a 20. Today, casinos don't need to cheat.

[00:54] All of these games are mathematically designed You can get lucky, you can win, And that's what the casinos have to figure out.

[01:08] Turbulent-Maximum596 asks, [upbeat music] Absolutely, there are many way dealers could cheat. Let's say 75.

[01:23] and pay you 75. [chips clacking] I really gave you a hundred there. would be something like this.

[01:36] but when you win, I come out and I pay you. Where in reality, I didn't. This is the Trojan horse of chips.

[01:50] It's not. It's a hollow stack of chips, where inside it, So even though it looks like I'm giving you a stack of $5,

[02:05] Another way a dealer could cheat is the second deal. and I want to save that, when I deal these cards out, But I would do it on the pitch.

[02:21] the second card is exposed right there, and I pull the top card back. and that card stays on the top.

[02:36] The dealer was so crooked, the top card was getting dusty. "How do you guys check if the dice is loaded?" these dice are made to perfection.

[02:48] However, when the crooked dice maker makes these dice, and puts a heavy metallic alloy into it, This is a balancer.

[03:02] and I spin it, watch how that die acts. Now, let's put this dye into it, which is the loaded dye

[03:14] And you're gonna see it's not balanced. more than percentage dictates, I could roll this die a hundred, there's a one.

[03:28] There's another one. When you're gonna put crooked dice into a casino, If you look at these dice, they look the same.

[03:43] and if we roll these dice, there's a hard eight, But you know what you're not seeing? On the bottom of that four should be a three.

[03:57] And the bottom of that five should be a two. These dice cannot make a seven, and you will win guaranteed. That is the reason why craps tables have mirrors around it.

[04:11] and see the opposite sides. how do the cheaters switch the dice? So let's suppose I want to switch the green dice

[04:24] When it's my turn to shoot, as I reach for the red dice, Out of all the cheating moves, But now watch how that looks with the same color dice.

[04:38] of crooked dice being used and getting caught, And they're not made for entertainment purposes. "What is it like working security

[04:53] For example, a dealer should never turn off a game. the only reason that dealer is looking at me is And usually, that means that they're about to do something.

[05:09] And some of the signs that you're looking while you're gonna hit 'em on the other side of the table. to their bet, that means they're about

[05:24] If they lose a bet, they're gonna pull some back. those cards always have to stay in view. the player can be switching cards, could be marking cards,

[05:37] Paypalou23 wants to know, Counting cards is very, very simple. 2, 3, 4, 5, sixes are assigned the value of plus one.

[05:54] Tens and aces are minus one. your count's minus two. and that is the running count.

[06:07] However, all decision, whether it be betting, playing, It is the ratio of high cards versus low cards As soon as the true count hits plus two,

[06:23] That means now it's time to increase your bet, not by a lot. So in a nutshell, card counting just means When there are a lot of high cards left to be played,

[06:39] of low cards to be played, [keyboard clicking] VastCoconut2609 asks, to cheat in casinos?"

[06:51] but a man, I believe it was Thailand. to cheat on the dice cups that were there for 40 years. that the magnets might get detected.

[07:06] So what are magnetic dice? where the spots were not filled in, You could roll 'em, they're they're regular dice

[07:18] When you put a magnet near 'em, then you could control it. or on the sides of the table. in the wheelchair of a player,

[07:32] also controlled the magnet. the guy in the wheelchair just hit the button Flying Dutch Madden wants to know,

[07:47] Was Las Vegas really different back when The movie "Casino" is a great deal A common question asked to me today,

[08:02] and cheaters the way they used to back then?" But when the mob was running things, And guess what?

[08:15] and you just saw some guy walk out with two busted hands, the Robert De Niro is the casino manager, and he noticed a dealer lifting the hold card up.

[08:30] and then, signal it back to the person playing. they brought the person downstairs, they definitely did things a little differently.

[08:46] They actually knew the moves, they knew what it looks like. Today, it's not that way. [keyboard clicking] "Could you actually pull off an Ocean Eleven heist

[09:01] I don't think so, personally." The Las Vegas Strip, the mob, the Rat Pack. However, the gambling mecca of the world is Macau.

[09:15] and the gambling that goes on there is unreal. a million dollars, one hand. he was met at the airport with a limousine.

[09:29] They had the managers outside waiting for him to greet him. to a high limit room on the 23rd floor. And then, when that player came back to the casino

[09:45] on your private VIP suite on the 23rd floor. on the 23rd floor. These cheaters or these scamsters took a private suite,

[09:58] and pushed it into a bedroom and set up a mock casino. they had phony supervisors with suits and badges, Now, I do happen to know the surveillance VP at the time

[10:15] And he said to me, "Sal, what footage? We know who they are and what they look like, Of course, it's a hotel room.

[10:27] YankinAustralia wants to know, Marked cards been behind some A simple way of marking cards, they sell these pastes.

[10:41] The professionals, they'll keep it right on the table, This little tin is concealed inside the chips. I'm playing with my chips. [chips clacking]

[10:55] I wanna mark these two cards, right? So when I come over, I see it's a four and a six. Now, I spin 'em, and I'm hitting the six again.

[11:07] and now, I'm hitting it dead center. Now, I'll be honest, if your eye is not trained When these cards are on the table, from right here,

[11:21] A real simple and effective way of marking cards, where you can actually sand off some of the back. I could take these cards, file 'em down in the middle,

[11:38] what you're gonna do is you're gonna make these aces look You can't see it, but they're shaped like an hourglass. So in theory, when I shuffle this deck right now,

[11:52] with every card except an ace. These are called end strippers. And believe me, [keyboard clicking]

[12:05] than what I just explained. "No way they have special cards like Austin Powers Now, these cards are marked from the back.

[12:17] However, I take these glasses off, A blind person could see this. There's your ace, there's your jack, and so on.

[12:30] The glasses are only for demonstration purposes. And then, no one knows you have contacts on Civil_Aside_359, "How casinos prevent people from stealing

[12:46] Well, this is money. you're actually counterfeiting money. from doing this is they put RFID into these chips.

[13:00] I actually went to mainland China. He says, if you bring me any chip, I can make it. but I was curious for information,

[13:15] If customs was to open it up, But every chip after that will match the casino They'll go in, buy a chip, and take it home.

[13:29] Now, another way casinos catch this is by inventory. and on a monthly inventory, Ladylala22, "How did the MIT blackjack team ever make

[13:48] so much bank when card counting only gives you a 1% edge In this business, people lie. If you have a small edge over the house dispersed

[14:01] And with a big bank role, you could do that. Back in the early '90s, the MIT team, students formed a team They definitely became popular later on with the movie "21,"

[14:18] A team is a group of people, very skilled at blackjack, and as soon as the cards favor them, put the big money in.

[14:30] You put 20 players on each table. but as soon as those cards favor you,

[14:42] which means the big player. So as soon as those cards become favorable to the team, They do not want the casinos [keyboard clicking]

[14:57] Next question by brandonwhite, if I was using a thumper. It's a electronic ceiling device used for players

[15:10] When they push down on the transmitter, with morse code telling you what to do. In poker, I might give you a signal to raise me.

[15:27] A great example of a thumper being used is where one player was signaling information Usually, a thumper could be on the thigh,

[15:39] But it could be anywhere [keyboard clicking] "Question for the blackjack market. I'm looking to hit the house or maybe a few."

[15:55] because they're highly illegal in a lot of jurisdictions. However, in Vegas, if you get caught with one of these, Now, what is a perfect strategy computer?

[16:08] It's a computer that keeps track of every card being dealt, how many threes are left, Now, a perfect strategy computer is normally worn

[16:22] one above the left toes, one below the right toes. And they're assigned numbers, 1, 2, 4, and eight.

[16:36] If it's a nine, you hit one eight. that was dealt, and it signals to you how to play the hand normally worn on the heel of the shoe.

[16:51] For example, [Sal imitating vibrations] [Sal imitating vibration] That might mean double down.

[17:05] They don't throw you off jeopardy You cannot get arrested. providing you're not using a device.

[17:19] But to use your brain, it is not illegal. And the casinos don't want you to have the edge. In some casinos, they are not allowed to kick you out

[17:31] to back you off blackjack and actually say to you, in the casino floor, [keyboard clicking] "What are some clear signs

[17:44] at the poker table?" [upbeat music] The reason being is, when a person folds, I look at my hand, I have a pair of kings.

[17:58] But my partner says, "Sal, I got a pair of tens." I'm going to tell her just like that. She would never fold these.

[18:11] Because I'm telling her, I got a pair of kings. did he just get cheated? But the only problem is when this person folds,

[18:24] It goes right into the muck. Here, that's one pair, that's two pair, Two fingers on top is a flush.

[18:38] That's an ace, king suited, [chips clanking] ace, queen, ace, queen suited, ace, jack, ace, jack suited. pair of kings, pair of queens.

[18:51] That's a medium pair, that's a high pair. One way you could possibly help yourself When you see people getting dealt, look at their eyes.

[19:07] it's possible they're looking for signals. no one's paying attention to the cards. in all your years in casino security?"

[19:21] One of the wildest examples of scams that I've ever heard A cooler is a prearranged deck of cards What happened was in Atlantic City, they needed everybody

[19:36] Because everyone is turned away And this one person stands up at a blackjack table And he rips open his shirt, and there's a Superman T-shirt.

[19:53] but no one saw six decks of cards being switched in "I wonder how many gamblers are able Well, there are many, and usually, they all get caught,

[20:09] and they recognize you're in the book, They ask you to leave ,and you're not allowed tn the old days, they were actually binders

[20:24] Casinos actually subscribed to it and received binders. When you get put into that system, all the casinos So once you're put into that database,

[20:39] could see if you're in that system. or threat that casino surveillance The biggest scams that are going on today are with cameras,

[20:53] For example, one casino in Singapore got hit They were transmitting cards outside in an Excel spreadsheet, and then, transmitting information

[21:09] back to the player at the table on how and when to bet. Now, technology aside, the most common scam that happens at casinos are dealers dumping the game.

[21:22] If you lose, they just pay you. but a lot of the rooms are understaffed. that move could be good.

[21:36] how many cameras are in casinos?" there might be hundreds of cameras. there are thousands of cameras.

[21:48] However, these cameras are high def, which means they could zoom in and zoom out after the fact. and then, those tapes were gone, they were erased.

[22:02] and then, look at it a month later. Many companies that own several casinos are actually going So one surveillance room could be watching

[22:15] surveillance rooms, casinos do keep in touch and walk into another casino that's owned chances are good a call was made already.

[22:30] surveillance rooms do keep [keyboard clicking] "How long until most casinos have computer vision AI to back off players?"

[22:44] Many casinos have systems and computer software and know if a person is counting. they actually take your driver's license, scan it,

[22:58] they know when you're leaving that floor, where you are. to the moment you leave.

[23:12] That's a great question, 'cause when a person's gonna cheat, I'm gonna explain to you and show you how to false shuffle, The first shuffle, I pull back the top card,

[23:27] And then, I shuffle for real. The next shuffle, I just push up on that bookmark, And I just shuffle them right back to the top.

[23:44] I just took 'em from the middle. and I just kept those cards right here. I go to throw 'em in the middle, the last second,

[23:57] Then, I pick these up, throw 'em onto the table. I kick these out, I push them back to the top, And now, they look like they really got mixed,

[24:10] This shuffle is called a in the hands riffle. And all I'm doing is I'm just keeping these cards on top.

[24:22] than my right hand, And as you're talking This is the casino shuffle.

[24:35] When I cut, I hold the break right above them, Now watch that face down.

[24:48] This is from No Stupid Questions subreddit. that can accurately predict There are people selling roulette prediction computers.

[25:04] Laurance Scott wrote a great two volume treaties where you can mentally track the ball speed You need a dealer to allow you to bet right up

[25:20] Also, the way the roulette wheels are being manufactured So the cone, it's a lower profile, And all these are to help increase randomness.

[25:34] it's not as easy as you think. I don't know. By the turn of a screw, they can make the machines looser,

[25:48] It is a hundred percent illegal to make those machines where they cannot pay out at all, but it can be done. that pay more closer to the entrances.

[26:05] where they think they have a chance. with the bigger jackpots, those are gonna be the ones DeerBoi157,

[26:18] Well, in the casino, if you want a big money scam, If you wanna cheat at sports, you need the players. where they got the White Sox to throw the game.

[26:32] in poker?" and purposely losing them to your partner me and my other partner will dump our chips off

[26:47] DankPoker wants to know, Phil Ivey is a world famous poker player. with a partner named Kelly Sun.

[27:00] for millions of dollars. This is the biggest debate in the casino industry. So you're probably sitting there saying,

[27:14] If I take this casino deck of cards, because before the casino sells them If I take this deck, and I shuffle 'em,

[27:28] is that a ten or an ace? That's a low card. How about that one?

[27:41] So you're probably saying, how is he doing this? on how playing cards are cut, it is impossible This is called a Diamondback.

[27:56] If you look on this edge right here, Where on this edge, it's a full diamond. So in this particular deck, every card is cut the same way.

[28:09] However, if I could somehow get cards turned around, Even though they're shuffled, if I look down, That is a low card.

[28:23] That is a 10 or an ace. to turn the cards around. to turn cards around for him?

[28:36] Casinos want the money. to become pre-shuffled, and we don't want a wash. and scrambles 'em all over the table.

[28:49] Then he says, we want the cards shown to us first, Plus, we want to bet after the cards have been dealt.

[29:01] Now, Phil Ivey makes his bet, a little bet. If Kelly Sun said that card is unlucky,

[29:13] Unlucky, that's unlucky. So because certain cards were turned over this way, no matter how these cards get shuffled,

[29:27] you could look down and see, wait a minute, big diamond, So what does that mean? over the house right now, [keyboard clicking]

[29:42] Thanks for watching "Casino Cheating Support." [upbeat music]