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.
The casino‘s “Eye in the Sky” catches most of them eventually, but recognizing the signs of a scam unfolding right next to you is a fascinating skill.
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.”
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.
- Past posting involves adding chips to a bet after the player already knows they have won
- It is also called “late betting” and is most common on the crowded, chaotic roulette tables
- Cheaters use palm-palming techniques to hide the extra chips in their hands
Card Marking and 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
Instead of throwing the dice into the air, the cheater expertly slides one of the dice completely flat across the felt, preventing it from ever tumbling.
This mathematically alters the probability of hitting a 7, giving the cheater a massive, incredibly illegal advantage over the house.
| Cheating Method | Target Game | How it Works |
|---|---|---|
| Past Posting | Roulette / Blackjack | Adding chips to a winning bet late |
| Edge Sorting | Baccarat | Exploiting asymmetrical card patterns |
The glamorous era of casino cheating has largely been eradicated by incredibly advanced facial recognition, RFID-chipped betting tokens, and relentless surveillance.