Casino Cheats Q & A's: Part 8.

Avoid Chip Scams:

If you find yourself in or near a casino and someone approaches you with a $500 chip from that casino, and says something along the lines of “I need to leave really quickly, can I just swap $500 in cash for this chip? I’ll even let you have it at $400”. On the one hand, you think there is no way you would ever fall for a scam like that- it’s so obvious! However, you’ve played in the said casino hundreds of times and you recognise the chip as one of theirs....should you then buy it? The answer is still no, even if it is a $500 chip and you know that it definitely belongs to that casino. The reason why is that sometimes a scam may be undertaken in a casino using a certain denomination chip, there may come a point when the casino cottons on and they then vet carefully anyone changing up that specific denomination....if you’ve bought it of a stranger outside and a scam has been running in the casino, there is no way that they will change it up for you. The golden rule is: always buy the chips inside the casino.

 

 

What do you do if you think that your online poker opponent is actually a bot?

 

At times when you think you may be playing against a bot, then the first thing to do is to double check, do this by talking to the bot. Don’t be too specific with the questions in case the technology gets to the point where they understand simple questions, like “where are you from?”. If the opponent doesn’t answer, then they may be a bot, but they could equally be so engaged in the game that they are not paying attention to chat, or they simply don’t want to chat. If you feel that you are playing against a bot, then the best course of action is to change tables to one where the players talk.

 

 

When playing at home, keep an eye out for cold-deck ringers:

 

The scams that are most commonly seen in private poker games are those where cold decks are added or the cards are marked. The term cold-deck ringer refers to a person who surreptitiously swaps decks during a game, whereby the deck that has been swapped in has cards arranged in a specific order so that the winning hands can always be dealt to a pre-ordained person. When people use these decks, they often make sure that the non-winning hand is also very good, so that the other player puts a lot of money into the pot. A really good deck ringer can change decks in front of the group so subtly that no-one suspects a thing. If you constantly get bad beats when playing with the same group of people and you know that you are a good player when you play elsewhere, then there is every likelihood that someone if taking you for a fool.  

 

 

When playing at online casinos, make sure that you keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware programmes on and up to date:

 

When browsing online, many things can go wrong, you may lose internet connection, or the screen suddenly freezes. And by the time you return to the game in hand, you may find that you missed a critical moment in the game and ended up losing a hand you could have won. Sometimes these internet connection problems, frozen screens and being booted out of the casino can be due to a virus on your computer. So it is imperative that you do all you can to avoid them, if you don’t then it is highly likely that you will fall foul at least once to a virus that results in your losing your game.

 

 

If you play private poker games and you have no idea who is being conned, then bet your bottom dollar that it’s you:

 

The above statement may sound cynical, unfortunately, plenty of time it is true. Many home games or private games are rigged and if you are not privy to who is doing the rigging, then you are probably the target. If you are in the least bit suspicious you should avoid playing in such an environment. There are many scams that are undertaken in private games and the details of how to successfully carry out a scam are freely available on the internet.

 

 

Stop Look and Listen:

 

And no, this isn’t a reference to the green cross code. But when you are sat at certain casino game tables, such as poker or craps, it is a good idea to look at the players on either side of you as they may be colluding together, or stealing chips, or sneakily looking at your cards. For example, if there is someone super-attractive sat next to you, and you can’t stop looking at them, then watch out that they are not in cahoots with the person sat to your other side, they distract you while their partner steals your chips- it definitely happens! Also, make sure that you keep tabs on your stack of chips, if they seem to be shrinking faster than you were expecting them too, then keep a closer eye on the people to either side of you.

 

 

Take special care at the craps table:

 

Because craps is such a complicated game to play, it is also the game whereby a player is more likely to fall victim to a scam, they are concentrating so hard on the game that they pay little attention to what is going on around them.

 

There are ways you may even be scamming yourself at craps without even realising it, for instance, if you lay multiple bets, you need to watch for all of them at every round to know whether they have won, it’s easy to overlook a win when you are trying to establish whether any of your bets have won and how many. Professional casino cheaters will haunt the craps table looking for certain bets that are commonly overlooked- for example when the come bet is up with a roll of 7, as soon as the call goes out “seven out!” most people walk away because they presume they have lost, however they have forgotten about the come bet made- when people leave such a bet on the table it is known as a sleeper- and it is these that a professional cheat is on the prowl for.

 

So be extra vigilant at craps and bear in mind that the come bet is exactly the same as the pass bet EXCEPT that it is made after the point has been established from the come-out roll and the subsequent “7’s out”.

 

Double check the craps table for winning bets before you leave, it is a really common mistake to be made, especially if you are not too familiar with the game.

 

 

Camouflage is key to cheating:

 

As with war, cheating comes with camouflage, the good cheat disguises his moves with a series of special actions. For example, some casino cheating teams, when going for the roulette game, will play a lot of fake big action, placing loads of bets in quick succession and in high denominations- giving the appearance to the casino bosses, as well as their fellow ‘opponents’ (as really they are victims), that they are high rollers. This over playing is used as a decoy on another game, such as craps or baccarat, to deflect from the fact that cheating went on at the roulette table.

  

Copyright © www.online-casinos.co.uk, 2009. All Rights Reserved.