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.

How Cheaters Manipulate Casino Chips

If they win a hand of blackjack, their original $10 bet is magically transformed into a $100 bet right before the dealer pays them out.

Often, a confederate (an accomplice) will intentionally spill a drink or loudly argue with a waitress at the exact moment the cheater makes the move.

• 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.

Edge sorting relies on finding tiny, microscopic manufacturing defects in the geometric patterns printed on the absolute back edge of the casino’s playing cards.

How Cheaters Manipulate the Dice

The craps table is extremely difficult to cheat due to the massive size of the table, the required wall-bounce, and the presence of four highly trained dealers.

To combat this, casinos mandate that both dice must physically bounce off the chaotic, rubber pyramid “alligator” siding at the far end of the table.

The glamorous era of casino cheating has largely been eradicated by incredibly advanced facial recognition, RFID-chipped betting tokens, and relentless surveillance.