The Professional Gambler's Handbook: Beating the System by Hook and Crook 087364915X, 9780873649155

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HANDBOOK

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The Professional Gambler's Handbook: Beating the System by Hook and by Crook by Weasel Murphy

Copyright @ 1997 by Weasel

Murphy

CASI

rsBN 0-87364-915-X Printed in the United States of America Published by Paladin Press, a division of Paladin Enterprises, Inc., P.O. Box 1307, Boulder, Colorado 80306, USA. (303) 443-72sO

Direct inquiries and/or orders to the above address. PALADIN, PALADIN PRESS, and the "horse head" design are trademarks belonging to Paladin Enterprises and registered in United States Patent and Trademark Office.

All

rights reserved. Except for use in a review, no portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the publisher. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in this book.

ST

GONTENTS

crook

INTRODUCTION

t

1

CHAPTER 1 CASINOS, CARD ROOMS, AND THE PEOPLE WHO RUN THEM

CHAPTER 2 CHEATING WITH CARDS GHAPTER 3 SLOT MACHINES

i

t3

15

t 47

CHAPTER 4 CHEATING AT CRAPS T 65 CHAPTER 5 CARNIVAL GAMES T 89 CHAPTER 6 STREET CONS AND OTHER CHEATING METHODS S 97

CHAPTER 7 STAYING ONE UP ON THE IRS

t

109

GLOSSARY T 113

Y

ln

WARNING

This book is written for the sole purpose of entertainment and education. It is not the intention of the author to promote or condone cheating. Many methods described in this book are illegal in any legalized gambling establishment or legalized games. Penalties for cheating vary from state to state and town to town. In most.cases, cheating in a legalized gaming establishment is punishable as a felony.

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AUTHOR'S DISCLAIMER

adva have

Various incidents, dates, names, and location of events may have been altered to protect the innocent, guilty, and those who wish to remain anonymous.

parti one'

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it's t there Peop

ver It gami a

state Casir cheat

ing

rn

usual

YI

INTRODUGTION

:ainment Promote his book or legal;tate and gaming

,f events ilty, and

This book is written for everyone who has been cheated at one time or another and for those who wish not to be cheated. how to cheat is being able to ia".,iify u ,it_ Jn

of all

18

Para:actly as here are ls are in rnt. The ss.

Don't

't1y ffian-

will usually be small pieces of ,,card dust,,, which look

iike lint, that fell from the box when the cards were first taken :ut. sprinkle these pieces back into the box once the cards are n. This adds even more authenticity to the cards. There will alivays be one player who'll make a comment like, ,,Hey, you can tell these are really ne\ /." while making the comme.rt,"th" iiayg will be pointing to or playing with those pieces of ,,lint.,, After carefully placing the cards back in the box, fold the nside portion of the side flap in. Using Elmer,s glue, spread a '"'ery thin coat on the inside flap. Allow the glue to dry for about :n'o minutes. Fold ihe outer flap onto the glued inside flap. If a :ortion of the glue squeez.es out along the edge, use a sli'ghtly Jamp cotton cloth to gently wipe the glue awiy. lmportan"t: Do -.tt tissue paper or paper towels. why? The fibers might stick -use :o the glue and be seen, and they tend io smea, and smidge. Place the box on the side of the newly glued flap anl bal_ :.nce a small, heavy object on the top side. Leave [he box in :his position for at least two hours. ...N:*t,-making sure the top of the box goes first, gently .lide the box back into the cell,ophane *.apper. Importint: Go ."to and use caution Keep from damaging tii cellopiane in any -:anner. Should the cellophane become bent or damaged in iny way/ it's ruined. . Carefully fold the inside portion of the cellophane flap :losed. Use a clear epoxy glue and place a few diops on thl -nside flap. TWo or three tiny drops are all that,s .,""ded; ,r-,y nore will smear the cellophane. Immediately and gently fold :he outside flap onto the inside flap. Hold the c"losed flap -lown for about 10 seconds _ Wlren completed, the box should look exactly like it came :rom the factory and is ready to be introduced inio a game. INTRODUCING MARKED CARDS INTO A GAME

:arefullv.

One way to introduce marked decks into a game is to

19

r THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

bring them to the game and set them on the table. Do this prior to any games getting started. "I just stopped by the store and picked up a few decks in case we need them," is an example of how to let players know there are fresh cards available. This method allows other players or dealers to introduce your cards into the game themselves. Should the individual having the marked decks be the host of the game, the cards can be placed with other fresh decks and iniroduced as the game progresses. True professionals have patience and sense enough not to become greedy. Suspicion runs deep when one player wins a majority of pots all night long. Winning a few good pots each hour of play is more than enough to take the lion's share of winnings home. There are exceptions. When a setup is made to fleece a specific mark, all is fair. The idea is to take as much money as possible from the mark in the shortest time.

T1

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_

MARKING THE CARDS

- a: tt _-i 5

I remember playing Old Maid with my friends as a kid. After a few sessions the cards became dog-eared, bent, and some of the cards were torn. Everyone who belonged to the group knew which card was the maid. When a new member to the group joined in, there were laughs and giggles when the new kid got the old maid. Card cheats like to have the same advantage. That's knowing the identity of cards during play. There are numerous ways to mark cards, some very efficient, and some not so efficient. One popular method is to mark the backs of cards so the suit and value can be identified. There are manufacturers who make marked cards, packaged and ready to go, with a sheei of instructions telling the buyer what to look for. Professionais like to mark their own. It's kind of a self-image thing, like signing a painting.

ilt

20

CHEATING WITH CARDS

e. Do this ed by the em," is an esh cards lealers to hould the the game,

,nd introrgh not to 'er wins a pots each ; share of r is made r as much l.

as a kid. >ent, and

The ,,rub out,, is o""r:? rx:t :.L1 methods. takes time ,rd patience to mark cards using this technique, rt but itls well "' orth the effort. Some experts ruin several decks of cards ::fore achieving the desired results. Backs of cards are often eraborate, and a manufacturer,s .ientity can be determined by merely looking ;t th" ;;;rg", . -.1:.-l: the most famoui, Bee being not f-ar behind. i !9tlg NOTICE; KEM playing cards orc urid by most ma1o, cord " "''1s' wy card rooms choose these cards goes"beyond their ex.cer..:t quality. KEM cards are plastic and iifficutt" to prr*,onrrtty ;nage.by warping, o.r getting wet. Whin bent they -be.nding, ":.r,rn.to their original shape almost iimetliately. When KEM -.;"ds haae been altered, they- are easy to spot. It,s iery rare to see : :! ca/s u.sed in games uihrrc cheiting tactics are used. first photo above,_ the sc"alpel is pointing to the . fn th9 :esign that will be removed. In theiotto#ing pr..3,l, ir-," ::sign has been removed. Removing a design musi be done very lightly so the area

ed to the member les when have the Lrds dur-

;erv effirod is to ,e identiIs, pack'liing the eir own. tt:cellent tool to use for a rub out is a draftsman,s scalpel.

2t

rHE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

.

elued

-3.rd as ::re del ,,,

hile

:emovi

iemov ,:etail

c

-j aqu :reir c :;mOVU

Tht

:ietho( :1\' nt :isign: '" :.riou

:.oke( Lin

The design of the card can be altered by

:in1Ove

:,. ihis

lightly scratch'

:

ing oaer an

,-

-Lor

d,

:-ior or ::Per c

inked area.

* -1 go. :: -rt ap and does not become

being rubbed will stay flat and firm rougi. Most professional cards have a glossy-finish'-The glos"sy finish is also removed along with the design. This i"u.r"r a flat look and is easily detected. To replace the glossy look, use a smail amount of clear wax shoe polish' Rub a very small amount of polish over the dull spot. Allow the polish to dry a few minutes, then lightly rub to a shine with a clean, dry, cotton cloth. one application will usually bring back the glossy look. If not, repeat the procedure. Mu.ry professionils will make slight chan'es to different

22

r.rhod The

:--=:gad

::-1OVe

l--.. mO s.: the t

:,:. ihe c

CHEATING W]TH CARDS

g ,il

''alued cards. Removal of one small design might signify the :ard as an ace. on cards manufacturea u1ini.fEr", ."il";a :he detail in one of th_e angel,s *1"g, "r could signify an ace, rr-hile the removal of thetetail in"th. u.rg"t7r-#rr.g ur-,a :emoval of the detail in the chest area could signify a king. iemoval of the d:lr1l in the angel,s _ir,g, chest area, and the on the angel,s head (maki"ng her look bald) could signi_ ]etail r'a queen. Because of the great detail manufact*".rp-t-u.. o, -reir cards, there are end"less possibilities to what desien :emoval cheats can use to identify the varue and suits There are many.other *uy, to mark cards "i.;;Fr. :rethod. Professionir cheats .rrl th"i, imagination"ri"g1hi, to-doesign pafterns. As previousllistatJ, r.pr.rr" "l :esrgns are trademark signatures of some pros. yeais ago, ','arious pros could be linkea to the marked aurij", o., -:ooked decks.

ill:1Tl-":

Line Work Line work is just the opposite of rub outs. Rather than _ r.move spots or designs, line work adds desig", to .urar. fo continual experimenting with mixtures of - _l]lr,t_ !-p1rly, - -ror .'ye and water w'l result in a coror eiactly matchintlhe

:.-,lor on the cards. On.glossy cards, u ,u".y

not become sv finish. The e design. This es

lace the glossy ish. Rub a very

polish to r rr-ith a clean, bring back the ru the

,es

to different

:rper can be usedto lightly buff the area fine piece of sand_ where the design ' iil go' This will alow the ink to adhere to the card. If a dulr .:ot appears after the ink has dried, : ethod will work to repair the dull spot.the clea*f_,r"-f"firn rhe coror out works principle as the rub out. ":iir"J:[t" of removing a design by rubting ii ofl the design is -.:l:rd by using a- color '-'moved matitring thJ coror on the ci.ds. - r.e most popular color dye is white. The same care is used to .:r th€ exact shade of.white as to get any other.oto..-O"rigr.,, ' r rhe cards can be eriminated witi the white dye. white dye

23

t THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

is commonplace and is found on the backs of most decks. It also harder to detect.

is

Trimming

Trimming cards is a method used to make some of the cards look as if they were printed off the center. This work is best accomplished wiih the use of a paper cutter. Some cheats will alter various high cards, whereas others will alter aItr of one

',r-he

laut -ma€

ihot :he

c

:asil A Srl

suit.

T

Separate the cards to be identified. Trim exactly 1, /1.6 of an inch off one side of each card. The remainder of the cards will have both sides trimmed, each side trimmed exactly 1,/32 of an inch. The end result will be that ali the cards are the same size. The difference will be that the identifiable ones look off-center. Many professionals will use a corner trimmer (used to trim the corners of pictures used in ID cards) to trim the corners of all52 cards once the edges have been trimmed.

Deteetint Trimmed Cards Elaborate patterns on playing cards make marking cards easy and very difficult to detect. I know of only one sure method to detect cards marked this way. Place the entire deck in front of you and hold down one end. While staring at the deck, fan the other end in a riffle motion. Any motion on the design signals an alteration. It's the same method artists use to make cartoon characters move.

Daubin$

I consider daubing a poor method of cheating, but surprisingly enough, many cheats use this rnethod. A small sponge is saturated with colored ink. During the game the cheat will lightly press the sponge/ or a finger that has just

U

;rd

c

:sed arne/ ,".

rth

1

:-"\'o p

touched the sponge, against the card. This will color-mark the ..tt. I card so the cheat can identify it during the game. Some cheats -'.rd, I prefer to hide the dauber in a shirt pocket for easy access ::rd c

24

CHEATING WITH CARDS

decks. It is

it's time to mark a card. Ink on the cheat,s fingeq, or will be transferred to the card. It doesn,t take a rot of -nagination to realiz-e the finger method is a poor *rr-r*rru.. Should someone in the gu*","oth"r than a confederate, notice ',',-hen

:aube1,

ome of the his work is

-:re cards are marked,

it-could spell disaster. The cheat can be identified by the inky fingers. =asiiy

ome cheats

alter all of tW 7 /16 of rf the cards ed exactly e cards are tiable ones er trimmer 'ds) to trim rtrimmed.

king cards ,' one sure :ntire deck ring at the ion on the artists use

A Short Story Three-fingered willie was one such card cheat. willie ,.;asn't much good at anything, which i, p.oUuffy *f.,y fr" :ttempted to make his living iheating. wiilie heird oi tt," :aubing method and one eiening, d"uring ; juro., p;k;; 't-illie decided to make a move. wliue decided to mark the :ces. The first ace was marked with the blue int WiUrc nua -'n his sponge. The second, third, and forth *"ru **t.a .hortly after. willie's operation fell into trouble soon after he :rarked the cards. the ink Willie used was Utre. ine .a.as '"''ere red. The amount of ink willie used not o,ty.r-ru.t tn" --a1ds' edges, but a portion of the backs and faces u,"a *"fi. )ther problems for wirtie incruded ink on his fingers ura ir-,t :rat soaked through his_shirt pocket. A couple of"the piuy"r, -.ad no sense of humor. The punishment they

tl!i:

a".lauaiolrr"

for cheating was removal of the two fingers corr&ed '' ith ink. Prior to this incident, wilrie was just plain wilrie. lnvisible lnk

1.

but sur-

l. A small game the

rt has just r-mark the rme cheats rSV

ACCESS

Using invisible ink is a popular method of marking cards, 'ird one I consider to be very^good. The type of invisible ink :sed for this cheat doesn,t ai*pp.u, aft&'a ,nort f".iJ of :rnqe, i,t stays on the cards permanently, is very hard'to J"i".t ,','ith the naked,eye, and is found in novelty ,ior"r. ff,"i" u." :;r-o popular colors. One ink has a blue tint, the ottre, u g.een :rnt' A cheat can write the value of each card on tr-t"i. 8r.rc ,rd, with the use of tinted glasses, can see the value of each ::rd during play. Novelty st6res sell magic glasses that detect

25

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

the marks made by invisible ink. The truth is, there isn't any magic to the glasses. Any red-colored lenses will detect the green ink, and any yellow-tinted glasses will detect the blue ink. Many card rooms have totally banned the wearing of red- or yellow-tinted glasses.

Luminous Readers Some manufacturers of marked cards produce what is calied luminous readers. These cards are marked with an invisible ink at the factory. The value and suit of each individual card is inlaid on its back. A11 the cheat has to do is wear red-tinted glasses and the value of each card in the deck is revealed. Luminous readers can be purchased in most novelty stores. There are two ways to avoid being taken in a game using luminous readers, or any other game using an invisible ink. One, don't play in a game with players wearing red- or yellow-tinted glasses. TWo, if you must play, bring your own tinted glasses.

,1I

1-I;

--hr

.[i

,al

ini

=nl :14 --ar

tn

','41

l^

:14

i:r _et

Single-Ply Gards Some hosts introduce into their game a cheap brand of playing card that is single-ply. They are very thin, and when the lighting is just right, the player sitting opposite a player using these cards can see through and read the cards' value. This is similar to thin summer dresses some women wear. They hide their body until the sunlight hits just right, then the dress becomes see-through. Games that use these types of cards are not very professional; they are used mainly for children's play.

taI

Shadinf There are two different types of shading. In some circles it's marking cards with ink the same color, only a shade lighter or darker than the manufacturer's ink. This method of marking can be compared with ii.ne work and color out.

26

-rr

CHEATTNG WITH CARDS

ntany ect the re blue

ring of

'-hat is ith an rdivids wear leck is novelrgame i-isible 'ed- or

J

OWn

rnd of ryhen riayer r-alue.

\fear. , then pes of r chil-

:ircles

,hade Lod

of

"Shading,, is a term given to cards that are siightly lighter or darker than the rest oi the deck. To an amateur this type of

marking will go completely unnoticed. The ;i;;; shade cards is to put tirem on a window "";y silr and let the sun slightly bleach

the color. A popular use of shaded cards is to identify suits. A pro can shade all four suits by adding four srigiltry JIii"*", shades. shading can arso be used to"identify lrri, air".ent value. "i

Another shading

method is done accidentally by the manufacturer. On .any-Srye1 day, the batch of dye ..,u'a. it tn" card plant can differ s[gntry from another batc'h oi Jy" *ra. on a dif-{gre1t day. This meins d-ecks printed o., on" iry _uy r.ary slightly in shade from a deck on anothJr day. irinted Going to different stores and buyirig decks from the same nranufacturer is one way of finding cirds of different ,nuA"r. some professionars wili go to rtoi", i., different towns and qather severar decks. The- cards from one deck can be compared to cards from other decks, and so on. sanding can be o.rr a?3;fl:5 uy ,ri.,s the example of cards that have been rsed for a period of time. The sides become dark. If one of the cards has to be taken o"i oflfuy and replaced with a new one, the white edge of the rviil stand out. The edge of the new card alppea., new iard ,, , *t,i," line in the deck. This is the same principal cheats use when they lightly sand the edges of caids. Sinding only works on cards that have been in play for a while ,.r? i, a practice reserved for amateurs.

Pegg,ing/Blistering The terms " pegging,, and ,,biistering,, mean the same ,. rhing.

27

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

The photo below shows a completed pegger. The diagram represents a card altered with a pegger. Note that the buirp is placed just above the card value. A dealer's identification of cards is the major advantage in this practice. As the deaier deals, he can feel the bumps with his thumb. Depending on the placement and number of bumps, the dealer knows the valul of the card. The dealer now has the option of dealing the card in turn or holding it back and dealing it to someone else.

Gutouts Another method used to identify cards is caled a cut out. This is used primarily when the dearer deals and does not play. Tiny, thin cuts are placed on the face of the card. Just prior dealing the card, the dealer can push the card out -to slightly with the thumb. with the index finge4 the dearer can feel the mark and identify the card's valuJ. Now the dearer can make the decision whether to deal the card in turn or hold it back. Knowing what each player has will allow the dealer to signal confederates.

Pegging/blistering is placing tiny bumps on cards. Professionals use

an improztised tool called a "pegger." Tb make a pegger, bend a

small strip of sheet metal in halt'. Use a dull nail and a hammer to place an indentation

in the sheet metal.

28

CHEATING WITH CARDS

diagram bump is

Perforating

Perforating the

cards is another amateur card cheat. This me_ thod is similar to pegging and blis_

lvantage r bumps rmber of e dealer

rlding it

tering. Marking

cards in this man_

ner takes place

cut out. oes not rd. ]ust ard out rler can r dealer turn or ow the

during the game

rather than

be_

fore. Using a needle or other sharo object, the chea't pokes tiny holes

near the edges of the cards. Even a player with little experi_ ence can notice this scheme ,,crip,, Sri?qt,lg is the:,: card. This practice is easily :lf'rf,!J.1ailUyrogood the edge of a players. During 1"r"i."J play' a player will use tn.'.ag" oil #urp fingernail to slice a tiny notch in the edge of u .;;. ihu"rtr.n., can be placed in various positions to designat. tn*.rutr. of the cards.

,'""if::f,*"" merhod of cheatins. ii;;;.* bend cards to force tiii f in tri" *iair" .. a crimp in the mid_ bent w,r stand o,t while theptaying surface, ,"J;;,; be quire as obvious as lrllt-"" a dog-eared Bending cards is, Players bend a card to"g1 iaenriy a cut. The bend may dog-gar 1 dle' A card that's bend.

During a game I was playing, someone bent the ace of spades every time a ,-,.* du.t wls introauced. It,s possible

29

r THE PROFESSIONAT GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

the ace of spades was chosen because we were playing high card in the hole splits the pot. Although I noticed it"right away, I kept quiet for two ieasons. Ond I was playing in a strange bar and with several people I didn,t know. faai rpo_ I might have found *yrlff in deep trouble. Second, I \:l Yp, didn't want to ruin a good thing for myse*. I was winning. SHUFFTING

To acquire a smooth riffle (shuffle), a dealer has to have .hours and hours

of practice. Many good casino dearers will even practice on their days off. some dealers will practice while watching TV. A good dealer can practice and teep taUs on the program/ no problem. Some like to set up baskets and pitch cards at them while watching the program and

not look at the basket. A dealer who,s profiiient it plt.m.,g .r.a, .u., prt SZ cards in a small basket with ease, andin just i fe* seconds. A standard shuffle used by legit piofessional dealers is a riffle, riffle, strip, riffle, cut. Oo"u"properly, this method will give cards an excellent shuffle. Next time you,re in a card room/ watch the dealers. you,il see the action firsthand. False Shuffle The object behind the farse shuffle is to make it appear an . honest shuffle is taking prace @ut realry isn't). The deller riffles, strips, and cuts the iards. There,s lbts of action ur-rJ nurra movement, but not one card has changed position. To the players, this action looks honest, and they are eager to play. . F-ulrg shuffling allows the desired cards to r-emain whe.e the dealer wants them. Over the course of an errening,'a, excellent_ player will be winning two or three iarge -huppy pots per hour. A dealer placing winning*hands to a confeder_ ate player five or six times an hou. ,.,uill that p*r* will walk away with a majority of the money, ".,rrre every time. A few years ago, a few poker dealers in a malor Las Vegas

30

CHEATING WITH CARDS

high

right

tna spo-

nd,

I

o

!:.

lave

rvill 'hi-le

the ,itch L

the

t52 isa *'i1l

ard

an

nfnd he tre an ge er AS

tournament we

,ff roomsi**.di,.'""ry.x::11"T'Jf, allow players a full view of tf,. deck during rhe1.,ill :.,',:lld shuf_ merhod *,, .,irua the rB ,n,rfr..rij.," i,i_ illf"Xi?.""11;J1,,

#',;i,[f

,, rh:';"

,ffi

;;1:f,il:ffi?:',il,1,?,J,':",ft.;illl

rn. 0",,". takes the fu' deck, splits ir i"'n"ir brings the two halves togethel' and begins the rrffre.-imri.atu,"ty folrowing the rif_ dealer pirshes th" ;li,n" *ry rhrough so rhe l,.i ln.of one harf edges extend u.yora itre othe, harf. ThJ dearer,s fingers grasp rhe exrendea eag"s ,ra purr rh.;r;;; ti.ougn the deck' The dearer tt ..p"3is tne .irning sequence. These "r, be done quickly and ,moo*,ry"Ho,il-oii.u.ri.u

.;;i;

Iffi:must

The next move is called stripping the deck. the ispirri;;I[;"r of cards offWhat the decre

deater is supposed to do changing rhe posilion of

tf,J*.jJ""

The dealer moves his hanJs as stripped, but none. of the

if the cards are .r.a, ,i".hanging position.being The

dealer cuts the .u.:_l * p"rrr"^ not tobe dealt back on top. The cards are tll.llr placedon top ,igitrv on center' This identifies the "r,r.," rpoi tie cut "in"rl, will be made- The dealer moves his hands;;;#.","'rh" "*u.t d".4 pauses, and then cuts the deck fo. rii;i;y;ir'r";". Had this been a_n hinest ,fr"iif" the cut would have ended up vice versa. In a card roo*^r"r,i.,g, false shuffles and dealing seconds are about u, u Jirnor-r-"st dealer can constantly get away with. Private or back .ogT games are another story. These games aren,t monitored by-surveillu.,lu .ur.r.ras, floor men, and other dealers. Unless pluyed for igr*;ffiing extreme_ ly high stakes and the.plr;;;;-;;; a- professionat deater, most games are olayed by passing the aeaf. er.f, pfry], to deal in rurn una t:t-,i, rr'rril...'irr? S",,

.rio ,nrro

excels.

31

THE PROFESSIONAT GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

THE PICK AND SORT

Without the use of marked cards, a dealer can't cheat, At the end of a hand the dealer will pick and sort cards laying

because the identity of the cards being used is not known.

face up, and group together the cards to be dealt to himself or a confederate. This may sound like it takes a long time, but a pro can pick and sort in less than two seconds. Keeping this in mind, one of the things to look for during a game is a deal-

i

er who picks and sorts the cards before gathering them together for the shuffle. The following is an example of how pick and sort works. The dealer has decided to deal himself three aces. In less than two seconds the dealer has found three aces, and they are on the top of the deck. Using the false shuffle method, the dealer can keep the three aces on the top of the deck during the entire shuffle. The dealer begins the deal by dealing seconds, keeping the top three cards in place. When it's the dealer's turn to receive a card, the dealer gets the top card, and dealing seconds begins again. This process is repeated twice more. When the hand is completely dealt, the dealer will have three aces. I watched a player use a tactic that keeps dealers from picking and sorting. When the hand was ovel and the pot had been awarded to the winner, this player would immediately turn over the exposed cards and give the entire deck a quick scramble. CUTTING THE DECK

In games using a permanent dealeq, the dealer will always do the cutting. In games where the deal is passed, the cut is customarily made by the player to the immediate right of the dealer. If the player to do the cutting is not a confederate, and

32

CHEATING WITH CARDS

'reat/

At )ing

the dealer intends to cheat, the dealer must void the cut made by the player.

1.

or rut a this lealhem r1f

rrks. than 'e on

, the rff1e.

; the :aier This etely rIom : pot redi:ck a

;vays

.ut is rf the , and

one method to

"l,"itiii,'fl:;?:r",,,

cut is to crimp

cards. Usually the dearer will crimp thl bottom two o. ih..e cards. Once this has been.accomplished, the dealer will give the cards one more cut. When the cards;.. p;.;;lr, rro,.,, or

the player for cutting, it's hopefur the ..i*p.J ca.Js^wilt influence the cut, meining the player cuttingwill make the cut at the crimp. Another method to void a cut is switching the cut. This slight of hand is difficult unless practiced. what the dearer will do is pigk up the deck one haif at a time and place them together as if it were a genuine cut, but wilr then leive the top half of the deck slightly off center. As the deck is being placed togetheq, the dearer wilr sride the little {lnger of the aeit nana bEtween the deck halves. As the deck hand is raised to deal, the dealer will wrap tne fin_ gers of the deck hand around the top harf of the de&. tn une smooth motion the. fingers will pull the cards off the top ur.,a slide them under the bottom. r'rris entire motion nupfJr-,, i., less than the brink_of an eye. professionals using tfrii tactic practice evl1y day. ]ust a few days off from using ini, *r"." ver can spell disaster during a gime. DEALING

once the cards have been marked and introduced into the game/ they have to m.ake their way to the playe.s. O"uii"g i, the method to get cards to the playlrs. It can't be said enough: fo effecii,rely master the art of cheat_ ing takes hours ,p9, hours of praciice. people who have attempted to cheat using methods explained in thi; book without practice, have ended up in some rather embarrassing siilatior-,;.

33

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOX

Cold Deck Dealing using a cold deck is one of the slickest and best money-making moves card cheats make. Introducing the cold deck is the highlight of a setup game, a game in which a mark has been invited to play and is now about to be fleeced. A cold deck, sometimes referred to as a coolel is a deck of cards that has been arranged prior to being introduced into the game. The cards are fixed to give the mark a very good hand. The only problem for the mark is that someone at the table will have a better one. Under these circumstances the usual hand given to a mark is four of a kind. One of the confederate players will get a straight flush. I've seen this play on several occasions. It's really something, watching the various expressions a mark makes as the hand keeps getting better and better. Many marks get so excited they can't get their money in the pot fist On occasion t(e mark"rarill get "rlorg-h. so excited that the money he brought to the game won't be enough. At this point the mark is usually willing to sign a promissory note for more money. The real excitement comes when the mark finds out the hand he's holding is second best. The expressions, mannerisms, and crazy noises are so outrageous it's hard to keep from laughing. It's very easy to set up a cold deck. The most important thing is to remember the exact position the mark will be in when the cold deck is introduced to the game. It would be a sad evening for the person setting up the cold deck if the mark got the high hand. For the purposes of demonstrating how to fix a cold deck, we'll pretend this is a five-card draw game. A setup game with three wealthy marks, a confederate player, and crooked dealer. The setup man is in another room fixing the cold deck. Players one and two are marks. Player three is the confederate, and player four is the third mark. The dealer is player number five. The hands are: player one, aces full; player two, kings full; player three, an eight,high

34

CHEATING WITI{ CARDS

best

cold

cha rced.

:k of into ;ood t the ; the conplay i'aribettheir I get 't be

8na )mes

ond 'e so

lant re in bea : the

:old :tup and

;the :e is The 0ne/

righ

straight flush; player four gets four jacks; and the dealer rvill have whatever is dealt. . Counting starts.with the first player left of the dealer. The setup man, who is.in the other robm, win place tn" ioti,o*i.,g cards face up and on top of each ott,er,'ace, ["g, ,*. spades, jack, any.card, ace, king, ", five of spades, jack, any carl, a9e, king, six of spades, jXck, any card. To keep the marks from thinking-rhe game is fixed, tir";;;; , .lri: *ru be throw-a*u, .ridr. ftis means the next two cards the players get witt be^nothing ,rll'"r.n player will end up drawing two cards. After 10"no-count cards have been counted.out and placed on the stack, the next 10 cards will be as follows: deuce, threg,,sev9n of spades, lack, ,"y card, deuce, three,. eight-of spades, ""__"", and any'no_iorr",tlrra. "deck rhe remainder of the ir ptu."J on the p,e and the deck

is ready. Let the game begin! There are several u cold deck can be introduced into ihe game.

-u/,

One is to cut the legitimate deck, and just before

the deal_ er picks up the deck to deal, he sneezes loudly. n.r.ti"g i"t" a i.a:k5t pocket to get a handkercruet ifre a*ui".prltr^"ii,t" cold deck, which ii concealed in the handkerchief. The

switch is swiftly made with the old deck going into the handker_ chief. Another player can also diltract the mark at that by asking for a light, or for some other valid 1om5nt reason. Another method is to harie a confederate player next to the dealer hold the cotd deck. When the deatei ;h" ;i"y". the deck to cut, the player makes ihe "if;;r switcfr. Again, ii,s a ---- -' ^' good idea to distract the mark during this procesr.

Dealing From the Bottom Dealing from the bottom of the deck is . as old as cards themselves. At one time it was the most popular method of cheatingin private games. In today,s environment the use of bottom deaiing is almost extinct. tr,i, I, because of the cut

35

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOX

card. The cut card has been introduced into card games for two reasons: to keep the bottom card from being exposed during the game and to prevent the dealer from deiling f.o* the bottom. The card is usually made of a hard plastic and is thicker than the playing cards. Several manu?acturers are now including cut cards with their new decks. To deal from the bottom, the dealer uses the little finger of the dealing hand to push the bottom card forward. Ai the dealer begins to deal, the index finger of the dealing hand will pull the bottom card out. Once the card is out, the dealer will pinch the card with the index finger and thumb and pitch it to the intended player. The entire move takes only a split second to perform.

Dealing Seconds Dealing seconds is now the most popular method of cheating while dealing. I've heard some people mistakenly explain that dealing seconds was somehow piacing discards back in the deck and dealing them out again durinf the same hand. The term "dealing seconds" comes from a deiler,s ability to deal the second card in the deck as opposed to the top card. A mechanic can deal the second card as fast and as smooth as the top card. It is almost impossible to see. About the only way to catch a pro dealing seconds is to catch the move on camera. Even then it takes a good surveillance oper_ ator several runs of the tape in slow motion to catch it. The

mechanic can also deal almost any card from the declg at any given time, in the same manner. Dealing a third, fourth, or more card from the top is still called dealing seconds. It would seem reasonable that if the dealer dealt the third card in the deck, it would be called dealing thirds, but it,s not. One reason for dealing seconds is to give a designated player cards needed to make a winning hand. It,s also used to keep other players from getting cards needed to make a winning hand. Knowing how to deal seconds is not enough.

36

CHEATING W]TH CARDS

tmes for sxposed ng fuom ic and is rers are

lnger of . .\s the rq hand e dealer mb and s only a

thod of ,takenly liscards 1e same r's abilthe top

and as About rtch the .

:e oper-

it. The ai any or rnds. It "

rth, rd

card

ot.

.gnated ;o used make a 'nough.

A pro dealer must also have thorough knowledge of the g1*..., knowledge of the players, and complete obseivation of what's happening in the gr*". A top_notch mechanic will use the method of dearing seionds weri before ."rorii"g io a"uring with marked cards, esp.ecially in a high_stuf.", g'rr,,.. fL" chance of being caught aeiting seconds is"almost ,iT, *t chances of getting caught with-marked cards "r"u, ir ;";h hig;"r.

.

.wh.". dearing r..o,-rarP*ltfiXf,n" use of marked cards, a dealer has io know which cards are about to be deart. To do this, the dealer uses a method called ,,peeking.f""k"g i, u method that takes place-while the game is iiprogr"rr."Or," method of peeking is. ca,ed a "top p"eek." The d"utE, is-going to take a look at the top card. To do this, the deri".^*ifiorc the deck hand and Ue.na it slightly down toward the top of the.table. Using the rhumb of"the deafing ha;;;;h; ji,rf., pulls the top card back just enough to expose the reft corner of the card. After peeking, the dEaler pushes ihe with the thumb. The entiie motion takis a fuactioncard back of u-r".ond' The dealer will sometimes take a peak at more than one of the cards. An example would be the clealer who wants to know what the third cird in the deck wourd be, so the dearer would use the thumb to pull back three cards instead of one. A reason the dealer would want to know what the third card might be, for example, would be if the tf,ta piaye. to receive a card has a flush draw showing. The first ptu e. is the dealer's confederate and.has srgnarJd n. r.'l, ,ii.iG..a. Know-rng a flush beats a straight, tf.,"" a*f., a;;il ;;.*. jh: third player the card ieeded to fill the flush. Shoufd +". the dealer see the third card is not the card needed to make the flush, the dealer wilr continue without dealing u seco,d. If the dealer peeks and sees the card is one that,s ieeded. the dealer will have to take guick peek at the second ur,J top cards' Time is limited andI idealer doesn't have time t" p."t

37

rHE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

at every card, so on the rare occasion that all three cards are ones that will complete the flush, the third player gets the flush. The dealer can only signal the confederate to fold. Some dealers like what is known as a "back door peek." This is not a very good move for the simple reason it's easy for other players to spot. The back door peek is similar in method to the top peek. The difference is the thumb is used to lift the cards rather than pull them.

Player Peek Many times a dealer will want to show a confederate what the next card will be. There are many instances when dealers and confederate players will act together in a card room game of Texas Hold'Em, and this is probably the only cheat players can continually use and not get caughi doing it. The ideal situation is for the confederate player to sit to the immediate right of the deale4 if the dealer is right-handed. Slightly pulling on the two top cards with the thumb will expose the next card to be dealt. The second card is exposed because in card room games the top card is always theburn card. SIGNATS

Signals aren't worth bothering with if they haven't been organized and practiced prior to a game. Signals between a dealer and a player, and player to playeq, are very effective if done properly.

Dealer to Player Head nods are the best signals from a dealer to a player. It is very rare, unprofessional, and stupid for a dealer to give information by talking. Cameras watch a dealer's hands but rarely watch the dealer's head. Head nods should be quick. The signal is made only at the first point of eye contact between the dealer and confederate. In a poker game, it's

38

CHEATING WITH CARDS

rds are ets the I

peek."

,S

EASY

iilar in ,S USed

e

what

very easy for the dealer to see the hands of the players to the immediate_right or immediate left. For exampte, tne player to the immediate right of the dealer is betting u.a-u'J'rg u, though he has a flush. A head nod to a confederate could the player does have the flush. A sright head Tuu-r motion to the left means no flush, and a head motion to the reft and right means the hand is higher than a flush. a quict neaa motion of 7/4 inch is enough. It,s almost like'u.,"rrom twitch. There are many other ways to signal and just as many different meanings. Itis sometimes best to form your own by using your imagination.

Cealers 1 game

rlayers al siture right Iilg on card to i room

't been ,\-een a

ctive

aver.

if

It

to give rds but quick. :ontact ne, it's

Flayer to Dealer

The need for a player to signal the dealer is rather limited. Prearranged hand:19"ul-, froir the player could designate a certain value or suit the player needs. t(e dearer.o"iJ'p""t ut the first few cards and see iidealing seconds rvouid be in order.

rhis is rhe most *Li",'r1r'"".:ii"';i" a, or poker. sisnars are used to tell 0ne another the strength or'weaknels of :rands. There are signals to trap anothei plaver ,ig"rf, identifying the value of anothei player,s hand. ^"a nUyers?no are confederates and who sit,,.*i toeach othe*igr,Ju.,ae,

;he.table with leg .lop:, finger pokes, and elLow jabs. iVhispering is a method ,r.j by'urrlateurs and it,s easily

letected by others around the tabie. Sometimes a player.purposely exposes cards during the :lrocess of discarding a hand. This is done to show u .oif"d:rate player the card he or another player may need. There are as many signals as imaginations can come up 'rith' The way to use them undetecteiis to practi."iotll.,., :r'ith a confederate. professional cheats will meet in"bath:ooms to discuss cha,ges in signals or discuss different -.trategies during the course of the game.

39

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOX

BLACKJACK

If there's one game familiar to almost everyone, it's blackjack. It's popular with both men and women. There are hundreds of books written about how to win at blackjack

i I

I

honestly, but there's no such thing as winning consistently at blackjack and doing it honestly. The bottom line is, there are only ways to increase the odds of not losing as much. There is no sure system that will win at any game where the mathematical odds are in the house's favor. NONE! It's impossible. Las Vegas has spent untold millions in advertising,

brainwashing the public with pictures of people winning against the odds. Hollywood does its part by making movies where the entire plot centers around someone beating the system. In reality, it can't be done. There are some people who do walk away with winnings. The only true winners I know of are those players who are lucky enough to win the first time and never play again. A Short Story I've told this story on myself numerous times. Luck was smiling on me that day, or I would have spent time in jail. While living in Las Vegas, two associates and i decided to go gambling together. We went to a casino called Foxy's Firehouse, a place no longer in operation that *ur ,.ros ih" street fuom ihe Sahara. Our luck was excellent, and we were all betting the lirnit, which \vas a whopping $25 a hand. On this one particular hand, an associate and I both had hands totaling 15 (a face card and a five). As the dealer turned to the

first player, rny friend turned and whispeted, "Let's slvitch cards." Without hesitation we did it: we slid each other a card. The dealer caught us and immediately began bellowing for the floor man. The floor man arrived and was told what happened. Of course we both denied any such action took place. The floor man instructed the dealer to turn over our

40

CHEATING WITH CARDS

blackre hunrckjack entiy at s

rere are fhere is

: mathlpossirtising,

'inning movies

ing the people nners I ,vin the

ck was in jail.

dtogo Foxy's 'oss the -e were

nd. On hands

I to the slvitch

rther a lowing what ,n took -er our C

:r1q: To everyone,s surprise, especially us, we were both holding hands totaling ts 1we haa'switched fives;. rr,. noo. man shook his head and walked away.

.r";li*:;i#,L"r,

rhere's been lots card counters, casinos banning card counters, and card counters suing casinos over being ejected. It's nothing more than another ,&.rr,. uy casinos, making people think there really is a system io *ir_,. All counting cards d-oes for the player is increase the chances

of getting a winning hand and lJwe.ing the odds for the house. No matter whit happ.r-,r, ur-,J no matter how much is sliced off the house,s odds, itr. frorr" always has the *irri"g

percentage over the long run. Counting cards wolks this way. Concentrating on the gam:

and keeping track of the .uid, atready ,rl?J, ,r,. counter has a good idea of what cards u." i"It i*ii"l..r If a number of low cards have been played, bedch.in high cards.. This gives tn" .orr-,t"r the deck wiil a better chance oj beatil8 or tying the deaier. This is a very simplified ver_ sion of how counting works, but it,s a good iifrrirrti"*. This is,what peopre who b"rierre in card corrnters fail to teit you. The counter may know there are lots of trigh or tow cards left to be played but doesn,t know the order in which they will come. Unless the counter has X_rav vision, it still spells "loser." The house has.various options to offset the meager advantage the counter ,h" four decks of cards is- a llr.oeating big o"". Wi"r" single ciecks are used, the house can have the dfaler shuffle aftei.ru.y frr"a. ift, method not onlv stops a counter from having ui udrr;rug., but increases the odds for th; hil;. Aguir, the idea that card counting is a surefire way to beat the frouse, is nothing more than a myth.

t";

,l";:;;ffii"g

4A

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

Top Card Peeks and Dealer Gheats To say this cheat works well in blackjack games would be

an understatement. This is the Cadillac of blackjack cheating, the nut crusheq, and the blackjack cheat most feared by a casino. For a confederate player and a cheating dealeq, nothing can stand in the way of making money except getting caught. It is almost impossible to get caught at this cheat, when it's done right. To make this cheat work, the dealer has to be proficient in dealing seconds, peeking, and signaling to the confederate player. The main reason this cheat works so well is that casinos are now dealing players' cards face up. This is to keep players from touching the cards, but knowing the players' card count is what makes this cheat work. The ideal place for the confederate to sit is third base (last player to act). This gives the dealer ample opportunity to peek at various cards before dealing to the confederate. When it becomes the confederate's turn to act, all a confederate has to do is watch for head signals from the dealer. Through head signals the dealer is going to tell the ptrayer to either take a hit or stand. The dealer knows what the player's total is, and the dealer knows what the next two or three cards are in the deck. If the player has 12, and the dealer's second card is a 9, the dealer deals a second and, bingo, the player has 21. Another scenario wouid be the player having a count of 10 and the dealer knows his count is iess than 17. The dealer will signal the player to double down. No matter what the player catches, the dealer will deal himself a busting hand. In many cases the dealer knows where a 10-count card or ace is in the deck. On the first round the confederate catches a 10. The next card the player catches is an ace. Just 20 minutes at a $100-and-up table spells an easy 10- or 20-thousand-dollar winnel, and if you can believe it, this cheat gets even better. This cheat can only take place if the dealer is dealing from the hand. A shoe nullifies this cheat. Guess where it's com-

42

CHEATING WITH CARDS

'ould be heating, r- a casi-

nothing caught. -hen it's icient in ederate rat casiio keep

:layers' ase (last

inity to :. trVhen

rate has 3h head ke a hit

and the : in the

Cisa9, has 21.

rt of ,ler ,

10

will

player

card or rtches a

ninutes nd-doien betrg from S COM-

mon to see a dealer dealing from the hand. you,re right: the $100 and higher tables. palmins cards ii, bh.:k?jH::*" used to be an effective way for players to cheat *,e r,oule. roauy, ,.,or.,u J ir.,"^iujo. establishments I klow of allow ptuy.., to touch the cards; the dealer does it all. To cheat by p;l"ii;g cards, a playerwould have to be in a orivate gu^i,;; i;; imaller .uri,o allowing playe-rs to Ioolg'hota, an"d *oiil, *lih the cards. private games use standard playing Ygrt cards manufac_ tured by Bicycle or Bee, which.;l; eas,y obtained at most stores. Prior to attending a private gu*. several decks of cards irom differEnt a sharp will open manufacturers and remove the face cards and aces. These are what the cheat w,r take to the_ game. yporl ur.i"uf, tn. cheat will notice what type of cards are O"rlr used and .ur", ptu.. the proper .r.a, i., the desired pocket, sletve, or other co'mfortable hiding place. At various times during tne course of the game, tfie sharp can palm an undesired cari u"a r"prr.. it with a card needed to make 20 or 21. and p,*i.,gffitl$o ,beat.ilpqrrg the house. The samJtning

,"

be an effective

wav ro applie;;dp;il'r:,;;k ,"

palming. Players, hands rr.",iuiJ*.i r.,.u, the chips or cards once the dealer begrns to deal. tn p.ir.ai" games where players are allowed to hold-their cards, .*rr"-r and palming are very effective ways to increase or decr"ise the original bet. Once the player has looked at tf,e hana, a decision can be made to cup or palm the chips. Ilthe player had a solid 2O the correct action would be to cap tt U"t (add more chips to the bet). To do this, a pllr-er pri"i, A;" .ilprl" o" ,oJ"o?o deposits them on top of in. t"t ,r ttr" cards are praced back on the table.

43

t THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

This action is one complete, fast, and fluid motion. Should the player see the hand being a possible lose4, the player can take the opposite action and remove chips from the original bet. To do this, the player places the cards next to the bet. Immediately after releasing- the cards, the player palms a portion of the chips as the hand passes over the bet. The best move on a poker pot by a dealer is palming chips from the pot. When all the bets are placed, the dealei will drag all the money into the center of the table. As this is being done, the dealer can palm several chips and deposit them on his own stack. These actions should be practiced before attempting them d.uring ac_tual play. A mistake while performing this type of cheat could spell disaster. Dealing Seconds Dealing seconds works well in blackjack. A dealer can give a confederate blackjack several times in 20 minutes. (Twenty minutes is the standard period of time a dealer will

deal at any table.) Dealing seconds in blackjack uses the same methods explained earlier in the chapter. Some players who are in with dealers follow the dealer to different tables. This practice has to be done with caution. pit bosses observe players who travel about. It,s wise to follow a dealer to every other table. POKER

The term " fottt flusher" is said to have originated from poker. To many people it means a cheat or swindler. In pokeq,

it's a player who draws to a four-card flush and doesn,t

catch. The card caught is the same color as the four-flush suit,

such as a player drawing to four clubs receiving a spade instead of the needed club. When it,s time to sho* the best hand, this player might say, "I got a flush.,, In many cases the

44

CHEATING WITH CARDS

lotion. ;e{, the )s from next to player e bet.

llming ;

dealer this is

ieposit g

other players throw in their hands, not even looking at the flush. This is what the cheat i, fu.,f.ir.,g on. In som-" .uru, other players may want to see it. If that happens, the cheat will lay down thl hand *irh;ii four portion of the fifth card, the spadf clubs showing and a just enough to allow the players';;. which will be revealed that it,s a black card. If no one questions the flush, ihe cheat gets the pot_ Ii , challenges the flush ana mates inl .r,"ut spread the fiuy". iards, revealing the spade, the cheat.u, ,uy, "Wh;,f tn""ghtih"a a flush. Sorry.,,

them

ype of

er can nutes. er

will

I Same aler to cn. Pit

Ilow

a

sp ra shin

g,n"

g::'i:TlfJ.[

""?,*, p p ra yers, rrom neighbors playing Friday.nignt pot*i to high_stakes games. Lard rooms have u ,p".ifi. iut"'r"ja.aing ini, p.r.ri?.,r.a dealers who have t

",

fl #:,r.:,*:",,I""',::;lmtf .q_",,iti;;;#;i""1.[:fr the sharp will toss chips

into the ce;ter

of the pot and say, tfir anybodyl, ngtll,itis ::11 :", sr"r, exactly how many chrps were tossed into-the pot. li tnJUet was S1-0, tf," piuy", could have tossed a'player $I, *ho ao., this should be politely warned and1"told th; piop.; iuy is to prace the bet

chips and the p"r.'fni, *uy .r.ryone at If the practlce continuei, tn. pfuy., the table ,f.,""f,a U" asked to leave the game. fe,lwee1.his can see the bet.

i from poke4

lesn't h suit ;pade e best es the

45

r

CHAPTER 3

SIOT TYIAGHINES

- Slots are popular many reasons, but one that keeps them truly popular is {9r the size'of if,"i, ;u.tpots. Any time of the day, a person can walk into a L* VJ;;;:;;J,d i,rrr, few coins in their pocket and in *i.rt", become a million_ aire. No other game of chance i" ,f," *o.ld-gives a player the opportunity to win millions with a bet ot a tew nickels. For the casino industry, ,fot *r.tines are aoufie_eagea swords. On one side, slots i." tf,"i. U.ead and butter. On the othet, slots are the easiest and most p.ofituble for cheats. The report"d bt ;;i;;;." from slot machine li:g-"_',_,:'se.s The biggest reporteh loss I ru.u, was a srot scam that ,t-t1T a team rnvolved of cheats beating *re staraust out of millions of dollars. All slot scams of this"size have one thing in com_ mon: there has to be someone on the inside providing help to someone on the outside. I,m not saying there aren,t methods of cheating done by scam artists on their own, but the largest and most damaaing- losses ," .rrm are carried out with inside h-erp' rn ttiir lr"ropt* " r;ll;;j;il how r know firsrhand about slot cheating scams and one- in " particular that has a good chance of stiligoing on today. ONE.ARTYIED BANDITS

There are countless stories on how slot machines got the name "one-armed bandits.,, 8""" aiCupone is credited with

47

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

this one. According to this particular story, Al and a few of his associates were pracing slot machinls in the Mineora Hotel, a hotel on the chain oi lakes in Lake County, Ilinois. It was during a conversation at the bar when one ofil,s associates made a comment: "Look at those machines. They look like a bunch of bandits with one arm, backea up aga#ri tnu wall waiting to take on the world.,, It was Al who" laughed the loudest and said, "ya, that,s what they are all .igni,?."_

armed bandits."

Slot machines have made some major advancements since the days of Al Cap-one. ]oday, machines are run by computer chips. Freewheeling slots are almost obsorete. with the introduction of electronic and computer_generated machines, a new breed of slot cheat has emeiged. RULES TO

low

1.

IIVE BY

Professional slot cheats who are rarery if ever caught fola few simple rules and never break them.

Don't be greedy. Less now means more over the long run. Don't stick around longer than necessary. Collect your winnings from the tray and leave. Only go to the casi_ no cage or bartender to cash out when i-t,s absolutely

necessary. n

Don't take unnecessary risks. It,s better to leave the machine with credits on it than stick around and get caught. If someone is continuously watching or win_ dering by, leave. 4. Keep everything a secret. Never brag to anyone about J.

any part of the operation. Only thosb directly involved should have any knowledge or discussion

5. 48

about the operation.

Spend time where the scam is to take place. Look

SLOT MACHINES

,w of teola ris. It ;soci-

I

f I ;

i

look t the ghed one-

6.

ents

7.

nby with ated

fol-

around and watch the employees, look for cameras, and watch as the mechanic'fixes a machine. Note what takes place. Does the machine sound an alarm when it's opened, or does a light on top of the _u.f,i.,e Aurf, on and off? Look for a-,,blind,, irea. (Every casino or bar has machines that are difficult to watch.) If a particular casino becomes an easy mark, check the shift schedules. Many professionals will hit an easy --"" mark three times in one day, once on Treat these scams as a fuli_time "u.n,niirl-' iob so that you will gain an air of professionalism sooner. THE FIRST SLOT CHEATING

According to slot machine history, the first slot machine was invented by a man named Charl-ey Fey. In the late 1g00s he introduced a machine i" u Su. frurrcisco bar. It would line up various symbols, but the payoff wasn,t in coins. Instead it

allowed the winner to seleit a free drink. rt *ur.Ji L.rg before someone figured out a way to cheat. fnis particutar machine didn't have glass covering the reels. When the bar_ tender was busy or looking the othJr way, all the cheat had to *T use a finger and st6p the reels on a winning combina_ 1o tion. Soon, machines were altered to pay coins instead of drinks, and glass was placed over the reels. No sooner than the *r::t'*lrtolaced over the reers than someone devised the cheating *"ihod known u, ,,diiilir.,o,, The cheat would drill small toles through the metal .rri?g just under the glass in each of the three windows. The cheat

would poke a small, stiff wire through

.,"*ty'a.iff"a

hole and-stop each reel on a winning'combination. "u.t, To keep owners, bartenderr, ul-d other patrins f.om .,oiici"S ih; holes, some cheats would rs".olo."Jputty to close the holes,

49

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

PAYOFF

SYMBOL WINDOWS

HANDLE

/

WINNING COIN PAYOFF TRAY

HOPPER AREA

INSIDE MACHINE

The aboae diagram represents an anerage slot machine and some

important parts.

50

of

its more

SIOT MACHINES

.

PROGRESSIVE

jACKPOT

\!INDOW

PAYOFF

.

then return anotfl ,19 repeat the operation. Drilling is 9uy still in use on a much. smrtte, J.J", usually in small out_of_ the-way praces stilr using rr"u*n.uri.,g slots. In places where these machines are arifii"j t rs been made easy with ,founi, of battery_poweredodritrs and extremely good :}iilff1rr,on

SYMBOL WINDOWS

Alo,h:r popurar slots is spooning. 5pooning "._ is easy and fast. The cheai shoves a long-handled, spoonJooking device up rhe coin pay-on srot, t ipfin"giil"'r"rru. holding coinJ in the coin shoot. i#s action rereases the coins hr: rl"_qry. The onty drawbu.kto;ru, merhod is rhe machine only holds a smallamor"t of .oi.,, ir.,n" shoot. The cheat has to visit several machines before r";ki;g a decent profit.

Tj!:"#liuruns

)

L,,*

SLOT PARADISE

? HOPPER AREA

INSIDE r\4ACHINE

Las Vegas is the srot cheat's Mecca. professionar cheats can hit a different slot machi"" ;;;;y day of the week for over a year and never set foot in the same place twice. Those same cheats could start over the next year and hit the same places agairy this time o" u aff"r"* i,if,. Almost every casi_ no, bal, motel, hotel, and restau.r"itu"" ,nr""'riiirJ if,r, means the same cheats could continue for ttrree yllr, ,"a never see the same employees twice. THE STRING AND THE GOIN

.Pol', la-ugh at this_next scam, but the string on the coin method.really works. Earlier .f,"ut, *orld drill a hole in a coin and tie a string to it. This works well, but is very slow. Getting maximum

off requires the coin be rowered is heard, then pulled almost rff

pay_

i"to *r. machine until a click ,n. _ly out and lowered into

51

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBTER'S HANDBOOT(

STRING APPROXIMATELY

8"

NOTE: CIRCUMFERENCE OF HANDLE CI' NOT BE MORE THAI. THE THICKNESS OF THE COIN

l

the machine again until another click is heard. This must be repeated as often as it takes to meet the machine,s maximum coin limit. To speed up this process, cheats replace the string with a handle. This allows the coin to be forced up and down in the slot rapidly. This is another cheat that should be reserved for outof-the-way casinos and bars. Major casinos have surveillance cameras that catch this type of operation easily.

52

SIOT MACHINES

THE RATCHET METHOD

TE: CIRCUMFER. CE OF HANDLE CI' T BE MORE THA\ E THICKNESS OF

The ratchet method is another scheme that works we, on freewheeling machines. After pil.i;; a coin in the machine, the,cheat puils the handle rrJ-rf-r",-,t, the feel of the first click. Then, with a powerful p"ff, tt e cheat rams the handle down. It's common to repeat ihir'r"rr..ul times before break_ ing the catch on the insiie handle mechanism. This catch is what locks the handle in place prlo, to each play. Once the catch is broken, the handle ca, bi frir"a witho,urrisi"f ."i"r. P^rofessionals. will play the U.ot#,"uchine just long enough to win a few hundred dollars, then leave. RIIYTHM METHOD

E COIN

For a short oeriod, cheats used what was known as the "rhythm method.,, This type .f,"l, ras exclusively used on machines with timins. "f ma.ipulufi;il;J#lllrn" q3-ri, ny cheat could figure ortite ti_"ih" pr*l""rra "*ritknowt"agero.[i.,g and stop the reels. This allowed ::l."rr,: the cheat to further manipulate the handre and force the reels to fa, on a winning combination. Casinos u".ur.,. and slot machine companies added wise to this method a timing device that would alternate the times the l0cking pins would rerease and stop the reels.

JUST TAKE THE WHOLE THING

lust be tximum e string the slot for out,-eillance r

. Probably the boldest move I,ve ever heard of was a team of slot cheats who went to a smaller casino just off tne Vegrs Strip' TWo of the men went inside u"a ur,otrlJ"ur.i."i up truck to the enrrance. The moment "1lo the;;;;i,'.*"alin" two inside men wenr to a maching by th" ;;;;, ;p, and carried it to the truck. After riiJi"g the machine into the bed of the truck, the two hopped in tie bed next to it. Off

iliJd;;

53

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOK

they went, and to this day I've never heard of these men being caught. LOCK PICKING i

A good lock picker can make excellent money picking locks on slot machines. This, too, should be reserved for small, out-of-the-way casinos and bars. Larger casinos have alarms that sound when machines are opened, but smaller places rarely do. A professional cheat will sit and watch a casino's operation for extended periods of time, taking notes on how the machines open, if there are any alarms, and who does the mechanical work. Many small places, especially bars, have contracts with slot repair companies. If a machine needs repaiq, a call has to be placed to the repair company. lt takes anywhere from a half hour to several hours for the mechanic to arrive. This window of time makes it easy for a cheat to pick the lock, open the machine, and empty the hopper. (The hopper holds the coins and can be accessed from the open door.) Quarter machines hold an average of $300 in coins. A dollar machine will hold around 91,200. It's difficult leaving with a large amount of coins all at once. A favorite method to remedy this problem is to use a female accomplice. Her job is to carry a large, heavy-duty purse and stand next to the player while he pretends to play. Little by little, the player places coins in the accomplice's purse. Standing next to the playeq, the accomplice also serves as a lookout. Usually the accomplice will make several trips to their car. Each trip is to empty the bag into a box concealed in the trunk. Most cheats who pick locks and open the machines shy away from setting the machine on winning combinations, although it's easy to do and empties the machine faster. Why wouldn't a cheat want to empty the machine faster? Each time a winning combination comes up, bells ring. The bigger the jackpot, the longer the bells ring. People get curious when bells ring for

54

SLOT MACHINES

lese men

extended periods of time and will investigate. One thing a cheat doesn't want is someone It's much safer to empty the machine a little at a time. This is another example whergless ends up biing*orr.

r picking :rved for nos have t smaller watch a ing notes and who specially

SLUGS

machine npany. lt s for the asy

for

i""urtigffi;r;;;"r;iil".

Using slugs is another easy way to cheat machines. The it on" ,i-. *"." widely used. There's one drawback to using feai sfugs,';;#; il ;i., weight. It takes some super-nea[r-auty pants to carry a pocket load of Iead slugs. ;i;;, the most popular. Tor^V,5opp"i They are easv to mate ".. as ana #"igt ah;';*. coins. The onry drawback is lhat coDper coins ai more expensive to produce. Professional cfieats use caution when using slugs. As

,

cheapest slugs are lead, which

a

the hop;ed from

f

5300 in difficult

favorite omplice. rnd next ittle, the ing next Usuaily :h trip is

k. Most ay from ,ugh it's

uldn't

a

,vinning pot, the ring for

€

TRIP LEVER WHICH RELEASES COINS INTO HOPPER

55

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOI(

coins are played, they are held in a coin shoot. As each coin is placed in the slot, the last coin in the shoot is pushed out and falls into the hopper. If slugs are used, they will be in the coin shoot until a series of genuine coins are deposited and have pushed all slugs into the hopper. Professionals who know this will immediately walk out of the building if the machine becomes stuck while using slugs. Professionals will also pick up their winnings and leave if slugs begin dropping into the coin tray. Several foreign countries mint coins similar in size to U.S. coins. These work just as well and are often cheaper than copper slugs. INSIDE OPERATIONS

As mentioned earlier, casinos fear inside operations all employees all the time. Employees working with confederates to cheat a casino

because they just can't keep an eye on

can break the bank. What causes most inside scams to become detected and fail is greed. Inside operations are almost impos-

sible to detect. When professional thieves are patient scam a little at a time, their operations last for years.

ind

THE IONG HAUL

Long-range planning has become popular with big-time slot cheats. These cheats form organizations. Several members

will attend slot mechanic

school and learn to repair slot machines. Good slot mechanics can find work anywhere in the world where there are slot machines. Schooling takes about three months. After graduation, schools find jobs for their graduates. During the apprenticeship, apprentices will pick up on different methods of cheating. Excellent methods on cheating slot machines are common shop talk among journeyman mechanics. All apprentices have to do is watch and

56

SIOT MACH!NES

1COln

rS

out and the coin rd have o know nachine lso pick into the

listen. After a year or two of working as apprentice mechanics, organization members will begin applyinglo other casinos for work- They will only accept a job *t"* they wilr be working togetheq, which is fairly easy. once they stirt work togethe4,

the sky is the limit.and witj stay that way if they doi,t get gregdy: Some organizations have found that moving to a new casino location every few years is to their advantagel FAKE JACKPOTS

r

to U.S.

tan coP-

inside job, which worked great for several . .O..jackpot

years, was payoff scam. It would probably be in operation today if it wasn't for one member losing his cool. Heihought he was short-changed-on a payoff he received. Instead of tiy_ ing to work it out with the other members, he went to gam_ ing authorities and spilled the beans. . The,organization consisted of five people: a slot mechan_ ic, slot floor mary slot change person, i seiurity officeq, and a confederate The- casino s procedure for a jackpot pay_ off over $300-player. required that the firit four be present auring tne payoff. The casino's idea was to have four employees.urlo._ sible for signing on such payoffs, and doing so would nul_ lify any chance of9ffcheating. a fake

rations ; all the r casino become impos:nt and

The confederate would enter the casino and pick

rig-time Lembers

air slot 'here in g takes iobs for ces

will

rethods rg jourtch and

a

machine with a_payoff between g1,100 and $1,200, sit'down, and begin play. Picking a machine with a payoff of this value Ilans maximum payoff without a recordbeing made to the IRS, and a record of the player,s name would ilso be avoid_ ed. security officers in thiJ casino had several duties. one was- helping in the surveillance room. During the period sur_ veillance was watching the casino away from th! machine, the security officer in on the scam would come out on the floor-and signal the floor man that it was all right to go ahead. The floor man would signal the change peiror, und the change person would signal the mechanic]In a matier of

57

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOX

two minutes, all five participants wourd be at the machine. The floor man and securityofficer would go to the casino cashieq, sign the necessary forms, and pick .ri tt. money. The mechanic would reset the progressive sign the'sign_ lactpbt, off card inside the machine, ind the ihange p"iro., *oita

the cash-payoff Tuf" their duty

to the confederate. Uvelyone performed and no one else in the casino wai the wiser. This took place an average of 3 times a night. At the end of their shift, the inside members of the org-anization would meet with the confederate at a local bar and'split the money. When casino managers, gaming ofiicials, and the police finished their investigation, they est-imated this one orginization had taken the casino for approximately g2,145,00dover a 2 1/-2-year period. Divide tnii by five, ind each member made $429,000. That comes out to $g,aOO a week. WORKING TOGETHER

Some bartenders in Las Vegas and the contracted mechanic working for the bar work together on a scam. During early morning hours on weekday"s, when the bar is empty, the mechanic will casually stop by for a visit. The mechanic has keys for every machine irrthe bar. Together the bartender and mecharyc pick out the best machinE, usually with the highest payolf. Using the key, the mechanic opens it and forces the winning jackpot combination to .o*. ,p. Jackpots,on progressive bar machines can run in the high thousands. The mechanic leaves immediately and the bartender calls the coin company who owns the machine. They in turn send a representative to pay the bartender. Because most bars allow their employeeJto pray the machines, this doesn't come under suspiclon CHEAT THE CUSTOMERS

There was a bar owner who attracted customers to his bar

58

il

SLOT MACHTNES

nachine. 3 casino ney. The

he signr would rformed ;er. This

of their

ld meet police :ganizaJ over a nember e

:racted r scam. : bar is ;it. The irer the usually rpens

it

me up. re high he bar:. They iecause es, this

his bar

because of large- slot machine jackpots. He owned his machines and did his own mechanical work. He fixed his progressive machines so it was impossible for a customer to hit the jackpot. When a machine ,"i.h.d a large ,*o""i, ,"a there were no customers, he wourd ret his bartender go home. once the bar was completety empty, h. pot combination to appear on the machine. Wh";;.;riJr,u. did come in, or -hun his relief bartender arrived, the machine would st,l be locked on the jackpot. This would serve as proof that someone reauy hit it. He would tell his customers and bartender that it was a tourist who just hap_ pened by and hit it. Owners of a bar close to the University of Nevada used a similar scam' The owners owned their machines and set the machines so that orogressive jackpots were practically impos_ sible to hit' Most of Ihe custo*"i, *"r" co,ege students, so

;;;l;,;;1t"'iu.r_

the bar was usually empty in the early *Irninf f,orrr. During periods when the bar was empty, the owners would reset the progressive payoff back to iis beginni.,j. itur" cheats went so far as to post a ,,winners list,, and would use

fake names for winners. 'io keep the students interestea, tt were incentives such as drawings for "r" rarge ."rrr f.L],.^ro. each hour of p_lay a player *oirta receive a ticket for the drawing' The drawing wouldn't take place until all ti.tut, The last ticket was alway, gir"., ,*uy giIT.r*,ry. :::: rvnen the bar was empty. posted rules stated the d"rawing was to take place immediitety after the last ticket was given iway. When customers arrived posted as the winner would be the name of someone no one knew.

A PERSOilAt EXPERIENCE

Most professionally organized slot scams involve very few people. For obviom r.uior,r lesris bette4 but occasionar_ ly there's an exception to the rule.

59

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBTER'S HANDBOOK

In L975,I met and became friends with two slot mechanics who were employed by a major strip casino. We had known each other for about three years when one day one of them approached me, "We stumbled on a way to make machines pay off until they empty," he said. "The casino, gaming, or anyone else will never figure out how we do it. Even if they do, it can be traced to an honest mistake in setting up the machine." I was asked if I wanted to try it. I didn't have much to do at the time so I agreed to try it. The plan was for me to come to the casino at a prearranged time. Upon arrival I would go directly to one of several bars and wait. They would find me. One of them would pass by the bar and catch my eye. If I saw him nod yes, I would get up from the bar and follow him, at a distance. If the signal was no, I could do what I wanted the rest of the evening; the deal was off. When the deal was on, I would follow the mechanic through the casino, sometimes for a half hour. He would finally take me past a series of slot machines and would come to the other mechanic, who was working on a machine. I would stop and begin playing the machine next to the mechanic. When I began play, the mechanic would close the door to his machine and leave. I would immediately move over and begin playing that machine. It was incredible:. about every third or fourth pull, I'd hit a payoff. These particular machines were dollar machines and the payoffJ were between $20 and a $100 each time. It would take about a half hour to empty the machine. The floor man, who wasn,t in on the scam, would come to the machine and authorize the machine to be filied. I would repeat the operation once the machine was filled. When the machine emptied again, the floor man would come over and authorize another fin. efter the machine was empty for the third time, the floor man marked the machine out of service, and I was politely asked to play another machine. This was standard operating procedure, but instead of playing another machine I would leave

60

SIOT MACH]NES

mechanWe had ry one of to make l casino, ve do it.

in setit. I did-

.e

lhe plan re. Upon nd wait. bar and rom the , I could ; off. echanic

would ld come chine. I t to the r

lose the

v move edible:. : particfs were rt a half 1t in on 'ize the nce the

lin, the ll. After or man y asked

i Proce-

d leave

and go home. In

all I would take about $3,000 out of the machine. I would do this an average of twice u *l"f u.,a ,n. *?l"I was split three ways. On occasion, this scam was pulled twice in the same evening. Mnnings taken from a rn"".hi.ru each time were small payoffs. Even though the total amount was over 91,200, there wouldn't be a recoid to the IRS or a record of my na-me in a casino log. I came to find out later that there were at least 10 of us acting as confederates. I worked this scam for armost two years. This means approximately g5,000,000 was taken, just during rhe period I-was inrotrlal 6r,e

duy r ** i"ia tn" operation was coming to a halt: one of the *".hu.ri.r'*r,

goilg to retire,

at age 31. sgvgral years laier I had a conversation ., with the mechanic that didn't retire. During tn".or.,rr.rrltion I found out that he trained three other mecf,anics how ,,fix,, to machi^"r. ft i., turn went on to different casinos, so "y who knows no* _u^y mechanics they,ve trained. To this day, no one I,ve talked to has ever heard of anyone being .r"jit in ihis scam, and it,s very possible it continues to thil dayl Tryilq to keep employees from stealing under circum_ stances like this, one caiino in

Las Vegas" nu" iorUiiaur., emptoyees of certain d epartment, Iro# *;.;il; l"r,n employees of other The Imperial palace has _depaitments. gone to the point of selting rules gover.,i.g the dating of its employees. COMPUTER.RUN SLOTS

It takes the help of someone on the inside to effectively ^ - a modern computer scam slot machine. persons involved in these scams have stited, ,,The more iechnical the machines are made, the easier theyare to set up for a scam operation.,, In one such operition, u *".hu.,ic in a r,otur

"iu;oi

61

.l

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOX

designed a remote-controlled box. The box contained a computer chip comparable to the one running the machine. The difference between the authorized chip and the imported chip was the imported chip was programmed to hit the jackpot. The imported chip was placed in a box controlled remoiely, and when activated would bypass the legitimate chip. This would force the winning jackpot combination to appear. One day, the mechanic was in the slot repair department placing the box in a replacement machine. At the same time, a confederate entered the casino and began playing a predesignated machine. The confederate brought with him a special coin designed to jam the machine. When the machine jammed the confederate player complained to the floor man, who in turn called the mechanic. The mechanic arrived to investigate and, after careful examination, placed the machine out of service. He told the floor man that the machine needed major repairs and would have to be replaced. The mechanic left and returned with the machine containing the remote-controlled box. The moment the mechanic finished replacing the machine and closed the doof, the confederate began playing it. In his pocket the confederate carried the control box. About 10 minutes into play the confederate pushed the control box button. Like magic, the four sevens lined up on the bottom line for the progressive jackpot win, which was $175,000. When a jackpot of this size is hit, there are several steps a casino takes before the jackpot is paid. One of those steps is to have the mechanic inspect the machine for any malfunction or cheating devices. Once the mechanic signs off that the machine was legit, the rest is history. VIDEO SLOTS

One of the easiest methods of cheating a video gaming machine is the use of a "zapper." These zappers are known as stun guns, the ones advertised to stop an attacker in his tracks

62 I

l

I

i

SLOT MACHINES

a comne. The ed chip ackpot. motely, p. This r.

utment time, a edesigspecial rmmed

who in :stigate of serI major eft and rtrolled

ng the rlaying About rol box rottom i5,000. a casi-

is to tion or at the rs

with a shock of severar hundred thousand volts, and are available through catalogs advertising articles for self_defense.

Video machines are design""d to trbrfrt" *i^Jr,j, *nu, the player hits winnirrg .oribi.,ations. Tabulated w-innings are noted on the screen under the heading "...ai;.) Fo, example, if a player hits a wiTing combinatYo"-if,"lfry, +o coins, under the heading credits, tf,e machine will airff"y tn" number 40. If the prayei placed another series of coins in the machine and was to hii another 40 credits, the machine would taburate another 40 and display g0 credits. It,s during the period the machine is tabulating credits that the ,upp", Giving the machine a shot fr"om the str., gr.t, 1vorks.. f"Jt o" the- edge, will disrupt the tabulating process. The machine will continue addingcredits past the it was r,rppor"a to stop' Most machines have a built-in ioint safety system iriJ u"tomatically stops the machine at 500 credits, no matter what h-appens. Then the machine runs through its progru*; to see if it should still be adding additionar credits. Because there isn't a winning combinati-on that warrants more credits, the calculator stops and no more credits are added. atay can continue. When another winning combinatio., upp""., and the machine starts adding credits,-another shot rro." tt ,i;;gr" will run up another 500 credits. To avoid problems " u.,a'tn" possibility of getting caught, most professionals who use this method stop at this point, gather iheir winnings, and go to another bar or small casino io repeat the operation. On a dol_ lar machine, winnings for one is-minute session would be $1,000. If a cheat felt like making a night of tt, lPRrofpately it wouldn't be difficult to hit 20 machines.

A DOWN SIDE TO SLOT SGAMS amlng )wn as tracks

getting caught and sent to jail, there are other , Besides oown sides to slot scams. These can be on the more seri_

ous side.

63

THE PROFESSIONAT GAMBLER'S HANDBOOX

-

Je_ars

ago, I was introduced to a man at the Red Fez bar, a

local hangout just north of the Sahara Hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard. It turned out this individual had helped invent the,inner workings of video slot machines. Overihe years I had many conversations with him and never got the impres_ sion that he was dishonest. At one point, this rilan began'pro_ ducing computer chips for a majoi Video Machine irpp'ti... Tfgse chips altered the payoff so that it was virtually #por_ sible to hit a royal flush. Later, the computer genius began feeling guilty and reported the operation to gaming officijs. Llltimately, the video company was shut down uid th" o*r,_ ers arrested. For all his troubles, my friend was shot to death in his drivewayby aman hired by the video company owners.

64

CHAPTER 4

:ezbar,

ls

a

Vegas

d invent e years I 'impres8an prosupplier. r imposrs began fficials. the owndeath in lers.

GHEATING AT GRAPS

For more than 2,000 years, many sharp minds of the to. formulate systems to beat the craps games. The problem is, there *ur., t any, there isn,t any, and there will never be any system to legitimately beat a craps game. I know two ways to win at craps. The first is being extremely lucky the first,time playing, and ing again. The other. is cheating. 'Si;:" I then ,r"rru. Orrr_ have absolutely no expertise with luck, I,m going to.-tett yo" rUo"i.n"u"tilg.',

world have tried

A TITTLE DICE HISTORY Dice have been around for some time. Dice, similar to those used in today,s ..up gu*"r, nrrr. been found in lgyptian tombs. Thii meanr aL. narre ueen around at reast 2'500 years' Archaeorogists have unearthed dice that .i*.ry show signs of alteratiois used to .n.rt. This mean, .t urii.,g at dice has been around for at teast i,SOO years. penalties for getting caught cheating during tf,rt p..iod are hard to imag_ ine. Those people had fretty hXrsh pJ.,utti", fo. ri"riir.,gl'ilrf

of bread. There are numerous stories connected with where and s-t1led_craps in America. So*u ,uy New Orleans, others 11ho New York, Detroit, and san wherever it started, " it's one of America,s most popular 'ra.rcisco. gambling gr_., il;

65

THE PROFESSIONAL GAMBLER'S HANDBOOX

WHAT IS CRAPS?

NOTICE:

To a beginner, casino craps is sometimes difficult to understand. Those wha are interested in all the mechnnics of ihe crrps

game should read material and batr