Cheating in casinos

Cheating in casinos refers to actions by the player or the house which are prohibited by regional gambling control authorities. This may involve using suspect apparatus, interfering with apparatus, chip fraud or misrepresenting games. The formally prescribed sanctions for cheating depend on the circumstances and gravity of the cheating and the jurisdiction in which the casino operates. In Nevada, for a player to cheat in a casino is a felony under Nevada law. In most other jurisdictions, specific statutes do not exist, and alleged instances of cheating are resolved by the gambling authority who may have more or less authority to enforce its verdict.

Advantage play techniques are not cheating. Card counting, for example, is a legitimate advantage play strategy that can be employed in blackjack and other card games. It is not cheating to use any form of devices to aid advantage play, except in Nevada, where auxiliary devices have been outlawed due to the unique ability of the large Nevada gambling industry to influence legislation. In almost all jurisdictions, casinos are permitted to ban from their premises customers they believe are using advantage play, regardless of whether they are in fact doing so and even though it is not cheating.

Online casinos are also vulnerable to certain cheating methods. In the early 2000s, some players discovered that the random number generator at one poker site did not produce truly random sets of "decks", and instead chose from about only 200,000 different possible deck configurations. This allowed the players to know what flop was coming if they knew the hands being held by three players.

Methods of cheating by players

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

• Past posting: After a bet is won, a player replaces smaller-denomination chips with large-denomination chips.
• Hand mucking: Palming desirable cards, then switching them for less desirable cards that the gambler holds.
• Card marking: Various methods exist to mark cards during play.
• Marked decks: Usually involving the collusion of casino employees, it may be possible for a marked deck to be introduced into play. There are many different ways to mark decks of cards, some of them very difficult to detect.
• Shuffling machines: Various arrangements of the cards.
• Slot machines: Methods exist for altering the outcome of slot machine games.
• Collusion: In poker games, the practice of two partners signaling to each other the values of their cards can be very difficult to detect. There is also such a phenomenon as dealer cheating at gambling world: a player bribes a dealer and they share the winnings after the game. Though this method is rather risky for dealers, some of them do not mind taking part in it.
• Using auxiliary devices: In Nevada casinos, using any device which helps to forecast the odds or aid in a legitimate strategy such as card counting is regarded as cheating, and such devices have been outlawed due to the unique ability of Nevada's large gambling industry to influence legislation. Auxiliary devices are not generally regarded as cheating and can be increasingly difficult to detect as electronic aids become smaller and easier to hide.
• Top hats: In Roulette, players place a bet after the ball has landed. The chips are disguised using a third party's chip - the "top hat".

Methods of cheating by casinos

• Using a rigged roulette wheel.
• False deals: A dealer may be able to deal the second card from the top (used in conjunction with marked cards), or the ability to deal the bottom card of the deck (used in conjunction with placing desirable cards at the bottom of the deck.)
• False shuffles and cuts: A dealer may seem to mix or cut the cards, while retaining certain cards or the whole deck in a desired order.
• Using a deck of cards with non-standard composition.
• Using a cold deck.
• Short paying, not paying, confiscating winning bets or refusing to pay jackpots.
• Using loaded dice.
• Using rulesets not sanctioned by a gambling control authority.
• Using slot machines which pay lower than the statutory minimum.
• Directing vexatious claims of cheating against a winning player in order to prevent them encashing their chips.
• False advertising by not paying advertised promotions
• Mail fraud or sending a mail offer but not honoring the offer once the customer is at the casino, also called bait and switch
• Rigged video poker machines, such as the Vegas "American Coin Scandal"
• Rigged drawings, such as at The Venetian, Las Vegas
• Corrupt regulators, such as Ronald Dale Harris
• Taking back casino comps previously won by customers
• Mechanic's grip, dealing seconds, etc.
• MindPlay, or using a computer to gain an edge, which is illegal in most jurisdictions
• Distracting the customers so that they make mistakes, through excessive noise, bright lights, escorts, alcohol and drugs, etc.

Prevention of cheating

Cheating can be reduced by employing "proper procedure" - certain standardized ways of shuffling cards, dealing cards, storing, retrieving and opening new decks of cards.

Most casinos are obliged to have an extensive array of security cameras and recorders which monitor and record all the action in a casino, which can be used to resolve some disputes. Some casinos use facial recognition software to detect known cheats, card counters or "advantage players" as they enter the establishment. Casinos can also use software to analyze game play, to uncover any unusual patterns in betting or payouts.

See also

• Cheating in poker