How to Spot Cheaters at the Casino

Since the very first casino opened its doors, an endless war has raged between the operators trying to protect their money and the criminals trying to steal it.

Cheating is no longer about complex card counting (which is technically legal); it is about physically manipulating the cards, the dice, or the chips after the outcome is known.

Past Posting: The Art of the Late Bet

The most common and arguably the most difficult-to-detect method of table game cheating is a sleight-of-hand maneuver known universally as “past posting.”

This scam requires absolute, flawless timing, massive distraction, and the steady, lightning-fast hands of a professional close-up magician.

• The scam almost always involves a loud, intentional distraction created by an accomplice
• Cheaters also use “pinching,” which is removing chips from a bet after losing the hand
• If a player is constantly hovering their hands near their chips after the deal, pit bosses become highly suspicious

The Complex Scam of Edge Sorting

Historically, this involved utilizing invisible ink readable only with special contact lenses, or using a fingernail to create a tiny, microscopic dent in the cardboard.

A more sophisticated, highly controversial method popularized by poker legend Phil Ivey is known as “edge sorting.”

How Cheaters Manipulate the Dice

However, highly skilled mechanics attempt a scam known as “dice sliding,” which completely removes the random tumble of the dice.

By keeping the desired number facing upward during the entire slide, they only have to worry about the random outcome of the second tumbling die.

Attempting to cheat a modern casino is an incredibly foolish endeavor that almost universally ends in severe felony charges and prison time.