My Journey As A Professional Poker Player (34 Viewers)

I thought they were signaling. I’d think marking cards in a casino game with a dealer would be a difficult exercise. Especially as a tag team signaling would be more effective
 
I thought they were signaling. I’d think marking cards in a casino game with a dealer would be a difficult exercise. Especially as a tag team signaling would be more effective

They signal too. The card marking seems to be the biggest contributor to their success though
 
I understand nicking cards is so you can false deal cards by feel. It’s not really a visible mark. Especially hard to identify if somebody down the table has a nicked card and what it is. I’m glad they got discovered and blackballed but I would still bet they were just signaling and squeezing the guys at the table.
 
I understand nicking cards is so you can false deal cards by feel. It’s not really a visible mark. Especially hard to identify if somebody down the table has a nicked card and what it is. I’m glad they got discovered and blackballed but I would still bet they were just signaling and squeezing the guys at the table.

There were outrageous hands they won where only one was in the pot, against me and others

They were banned from Commerce for marking cards last year. They were marking cards. You can believe whatever you want, it was more than just signaling
 
Ok. I’ll take your word for it. I’m not involved and not calling you out or anything.

I have a decent library on cheating history and methods and was just discussing my thoughts based on what I think a two man team could get away with in a casino card room. It’s a personal interest and I’ve sat in a game with a marked deck and can tell you it’s damn hard to track. Marking is more effective in small 5-6 handed games at smaller tables. Also, they have to deal with a casino dealer handling and swapping out the decks. I’ll take your word for it but still think it’s a lot of complexity for them.
 
Ok. I’ll take your word for it. I’m not involved and not calling you out or anything.

I have a decent library on cheating history and methods and was just discussing my thoughts based on what I think a two man team could get away with in a casino card room. It’s a personal interest and I’ve sat in a game with a marked deck and can tell you it’s damn hard to track. Marking is more effective in small 5-6 handed games at smaller tables. Also, they have to deal with a casino dealer handling and swapping out the decks. I’ll take your word for it but still think it’s a lot of complexity foe them.

This room uses hand shuffle, no auto shufflers. One player is on the left of the dealer in seat 1, the other in seat 6 diagonal. So they have viewing angles on both sides of the deck

Not sure about other rooms they played, but obviously was very effective. For sure signaling as well with either info on cards they saw marked or to setup the cuban sandwich with raises
 
Also, the room manager when I mentioned the situation told me he had 25 years working in the industry and didn't see how they could know results with marked cards if a burn was used

But he said he would put in a fresh deck and monitor it. 2 weeks later the cubans were banned for life. I have to assume he found something on the fresh decks given that outcome, info from other players and locations also pointing to marked cards
 
I wish you’d picked up another term. My long time personal association of a cuban sandwich involves me, two cuban girls and no cards. Although i guess cheating could be involved.

Can you imagine the side-eye I'll toss if someone offered me a cuban sandwich? :p
 
Posted an update on facebook and got this

Screenshot_20201109-221532_Facebook.jpg
 
How many tables did the dog track have? Is it common to keep a deck in play indefinitely?

If I had to guess their total quantity of tables in the room, maybe 15'ish. Never saw them all in use though.

Total for PLO was 4 that I've seen at one time, heard they used to get 7 back in the day.

I never stayed much past 4-5pm so don't know if the same setups were in play until 1am
 
But the problem wasn't discovered until you asked for a new deck to be put into play? That would suggest that they were using the same deck, day after day after day...

I know you said the Cubans rushed to get their seats... Did they always play the same table?
 
What kinda of a cardroom doesn't switch out the deck regularly. That is just asking for trouble. A lot of casinos use a new deck for every new table don't they?
 
He said every day they bought in low for a the first few hours - makes me think that casino has a hundred marked decks
 
But the problem wasn't discovered until you asked for a new deck to be put into play? That would suggest that they were using the same deck, day after day after day...

I know you said the Cubans rushed to get their seats... Did they always play the same table?

I didn't ask for a new deck. The manager said he would put a fresh deck in and monitor it throughout the day

Two weeks later the Cubans are banned

They always arrived at the 10am open and rushed inside to guarantee they got seats 1 and 6 at the first table, EVERY time
 
Is that a book about cheating at poker? In a large font? To what appears to be an Amazon affiliate link?
Classy :rolleyes:

I play online, as you could clearly read above, and the few home games I play are casual, fun games with friends. Cheating isn't part of anything I even remotely want to do.
It is a link to Amazon, but I am not an affiliate. Don't know about the font, that is just how it posted.
 
This book is funny, but useless. And I expect nobody here is looking into how to cheat so they can scam their friends in the local weekly game.
Penn Gillette is a comedian and magician and this book is more entertainment with a hint of sarcasm.

Realize however, the we all assume the casino is taking care of the "cheating" problem for us and mostly discard that it can happen. Its a logical assumption since it is in the casinos best interest to host clean games or they lose business. Card rooms win plenty on the rake and there is no need to allow funny business. However, it does happen as Anthony's case shows. And there are even a few recent cases around the country that show how hard it is for us, the players, to resolve it since the casinos are mostly legally protected from being sued for gambling losses as long as they are not the source of the fix.

The home game is a different animal and I think the best protection is that most games are friends. However, if I hosted a more open game with random show ups, I would worry about it because sadly there are many people out there who would take advantage if they could. If you get into the topic, I recommend the book "Casino Game Protection" by Steve Forte.
 
The nice thing about hosting a game with anti-cheating measures in place, is that when you sit in another game where those standard measures aren't in place, you notice the lack of security. When you notice the lack of security, it is far easier to become more vigilant for yourself.

Of course some security is hard to notice, like checking to see if the deck is nicked. After my games, I wipe the cards clean in case there is a mark (however random) and run my fingers over the edges. For a couple years, I would find nicked edges. One player had slipped to the do not invite (banned) list, and we haven't had a nicked card since.

Now, I don't believe that the player was cheating. He did an overhand shuffle which would increase the chance of card-edge damage, and it was common for him to slam-discard his hands in disgust. I kept track of which cards were being marked, and there did not appear to be rhyme or reason. Still he was a winning player, and threads like this make me go...
UnfortunateDeadGilamonster-size_restricted.gif
 
They always arrived at the 10am open and rushed inside to guarantee they got seats 1 and 6 at the first table, EVERY time

Not that it matters now, but the manager could've pulled a switcheroo on the Cubans. Let them sit at whatever table they want and have the main game start at a different table and fill in those 2 seats with other people. You see them leave or cause a fuss? In Among Us speak, "That's sus."
 
Not that it matters now, but the manager could've pulled a switcheroo on the Cubans. Let them sit at whatever table they want and have the main game start at a different table and fill in those 2 seats with other people. You see them leave or cause a fuss? In Among Us speak, "That's sus."

The problem is, once they know they're being monitored, they would likely cease marking to avoid detection. So he had to keep the game running as normal to put them at ease and rope them into slipping up
 
Lack of updates... maybe the Cubans were actually Haitians and they performed voodoo on Anthony's back...

My sciatic pain made it difficult for me to sit or lie down so I had taken a break to go to the gym more

It's not completely gone but has improved significantly. Will be back at it tonight :)
 
The nice thing about hosting a game with anti-cheating measures in place, is that when you sit in another game where those standard measures aren't in place, you notice the lack of security. When you notice the lack of security, it is far easier to become more vigilant for yourself.

Of course some security is hard to notice, like checking to see if the deck is nicked. After my games, I wipe the cards clean in case there is a mark (however random) and run my fingers over the edges. For a couple years, I would find nicked edges. One player had slipped to the do not invite (banned) list, and we haven't had a nicked card since.

Now, I don't believe that the player was cheating. He did an overhand shuffle which would increase the chance of card-edge damage, and it was common for him to slam-discard his hands in disgust. I kept track of which cards were being marked, and there did not appear to be rhyme or reason. Still he was a winning player, and threads like this make me go...
View attachment 571325
At my game I use a fresh set up for every game- Opened by the dealer at the beginning of the game. I use custom chips and the bag system so I can easily account for every chip at the end of the night. Any rebuys for an additional bags are done with hi denomination chips only so I easily know how many rebuys are out there and can quickly know if any hi denomination chips are missing. Nobody touches the chip inventory except for me (which is kept in the closet).
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top Bottom