Deadman's Bluff

by James Swain

  • Do a riffle test. This is still the best way to detect most marking systems. Hold the deck face down just below eye level, and riffle them while staring at the backs. Do this several times. Shift your eyes, and look at different areas of the cards. Most marking systems will jump out when this test is performed.

  • Always perform these tests. If a cheater is trying to bring a marked deck to your weekly poker game, this will convince them to find another game.

  Cards Marked at the Table

  Some cheaters prefer to mark cards during the course of a game. There are three ways to accomplish this. The first is to use a foreign substance to mark the cards. Favorite substances include nicotine and ash from cigarettes and cigars and water. Pros will use a substance called daub, which is normally kept behind the ear, or in a shirt button. The second method of marking is to put bends or warps in the cards during play. The cheater accomplishes this while handling the cards. After six or seven hands, it’s not hard to put bends or warps in the majority of high cards in the deck. The third method is nicking. This is done with a sharpened fingernail. Nicks are put in the short ends of the cards. Cheaters read nicks when the cards are lying face down on the table, or when the deck is held in preparation for the deal. Some cheaters can read nicks when they are several cards down from the top. A famous cardshark named Walter Scott was able to read nicks halfway down in a deck.

  Protection Tips: Keep ashtrays and drinks off the table. Encourage players in your games not to bend the cards. Most important, examine the deck between hands. If the cards are starting to look dirty or bent, throw them away. The cost to replace them is far less than getting swindled out of a pot.

  Factory Marked Cards

  During the famous California Gold Rush of the 1850s, thousands of Americans went west to seek their fortunes. Many found gold, and subsequently lost it in the gambling halls that sprung up in and around gold mining towns. One of the most notorious scandals of this period was the fact that over 200,000 decks of playing cards that had been printed in Mexico were marked, and were being read by cheaters. As a result, gamblers refused to play with cards that were not manufactured in this country, a situation that continued until a few years ago.

  At the present time, factory marked cards are being manufactured in China, and used to cheat unsuspecting players. These cards are thin and cheaply made, with marks on the back specifying suit and color. These cards have turned up in discount stores and other places that sell playing cards in the United States.

  Protection Tip: Whenever possible, play with cards manufactured by the United States Playing Card Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, which follows the strictest guidelines when it comes to ensuring the quality of its products.

  COLLUSION

  Collusion between players is the single biggest threat to the individual player in both private games and professional card rooms. It has been going on since the beginning of time, and is more prevalent today than ever before. Sadly it is a subject that is rarely talked about, although everyone knows it goes on. Casinos that have poker rooms are also lax in tackling the issue. Since the house makes its money from raking the pot, it does not scrutinize poker games as thoroughly as it should. As a result, you’re as likely to get cheated by collusion inside a casino card room as you are in a private game.

  Playing Top Hand

  Playing Top Hand is one of the strongest forms of collusion known. Two players get together before a game, and agree upon a simple signal. It might be scratching the nose, or lighting a cigarette. This signal means that the player has “the nuts” (a cinch hand), and wants the other player to raise the betting when it’s his turn. This effectively brings more money into the pot, while taking the heat off the player with the best hand. Cheaters call this “getting value for your cards.” After the game is over, the two players will get together, and chop up the winnings.

  Playing Top Hand can also serve another purpose. Let’s say the game is Texas Hold ‘Em, and the signals being used are more complex. Two fingers on the wrist means two aces, while two fingers on the elbow means two kings. Player A signals to Player B that he has two aces. Player B, who has two jacks, folds. Another player wins the hand with a straight. This player has been cheated. He won Player A’s money, but not Player B’s money.

  Protection Tips: This scam is difficult to detect, and difficult to stop. Knowing the people you play with is a good start. If you notice that one player always raises, and another player always wins, then you may have two players using this scam. Further confirmation would come from the fact that these players never act against each other. If you catch two players doing this, you have two choices. Warn them, or bar them.

  Local Courtesy

  When a player is willing to bet against certain players but not others, it’s called Local Courtesy. I have seen this countless times in Las Vegas card rooms. The locals (who account for over 50 percent of the players) don’t mix it up with each other. They reserve their action for tourists. This makes the game extremely one-sided. More often than not, the tourists leave as losers. The truth is, most players have done this at one time or another. It’s psychologically harder to bet against a friend than a stranger. It’s one thing if it’s subconscious, an other entirely if it’s deliberate.

  Protection Tip: If you’re playing in a poker room, find out who the locals are. Watch their betting. If they avoid playing against each other, find another game. You can also complain to management.

  Speaking in Tongues

  A friend recently told me of playing in a game in a poker room in Gardenia, California, and how several players spoke Vietnamese to each other. My friend seemed astonished that he lost all his money to these guys. Wonder what they were talking about?

  Whipsaw

  Two players raise and reraise each other while forcing out a middle player. This works best in the early stages of a game such as Texas Hold ‘Em or Seven Card Stud, and allows the players to steal the blind.

  Protection Tips: Limit the number of bets in the early rounds. It’s also wise to make the players show their hands after a bet and call.

  LOCATION

  Location is one of the most sophisticated card scams around. It requires no sleight-of-hand, just a good memory and some practice. Two players are involved. For the sake of explanation, let’s call them A and B. A sits to the right of B. A deals the game. He drops out, and so does B. While the other players are finishing the game, A and B show each other the hands they folded. This is common among players and is called rabbit hunting. A and B secretly memorize their hands. If the game was five-card draw, they will memorize ten cards. These cards are thrown in the center of the table (the muck). As other hands are folded, they are thrown on top of these cards. The deck now goes to Player B. He shuffles the cards, but does not disturb the memorized cards on the bottom. He presents the deck to Player A, who cuts the memorized cards to a known position. The cut doesn’t have to be perfect, but it needs to be close. The purpose is to position the memorized cards so they will fall after the first sixteen cards are dealt.

  B announces he’s going to play Texas Hold ‘Em and deals two cards to each of the eight players in the game. A and B now have two advantages. First, they know that their ten memorized cards will make up the River, Turn, and Fifth Street. If none of the memorized cards help them, they fold. Second, after the River is dealt, they will be able to work forward in the memorized stack and know what cards the Turn and Fifth Street will be.

  Protection Tips: Discourage rabbit hunting in your games. Once a player folds, don’t let him show the cards he folded to another player. You should also watch each player as he shuffles, and make sure that all the cards are mixed.

  DEALING WITH CHEATERS

  Most of us are hesitate to confront someone we think is cheating. Cheaters know this, which is another edge they have over honest players. Frank Garcia, a gambling expert, once explained to me how a cheater deals with being confronted. It goes something like this: The cheater is dealin
g off the bottom of the deck. Another player starts yelling, and says she saw the cheater. The cheater throws the deck onto the table, pushes his chair back, and in a loud voice says, “Are you calling me a cheater? Who the hell do you think you are?” The cheater has effectively neutralized the situation. He’s turned the accusation into something personal and confronted his accuser head-on. By doing so, he’s removed the other players from the conflict.

  One of two things will now happen. Either the accuser will back down and the game will resume. Or the accuser will hold firm and the cheater will leave the game in a huff. Either way, the cheater has saved his neck.

  There is a better way to deal with this situation, and it’s something all cheaters fear. It’s called forming a posse. If you suspect someone of cheating, mention it to the others during the break, when the cheater is out of earshot. Then start watching the cheater. Figure out what he is doing, even if it takes several sessions. Once you know the scam, confront the cheater as a group. This is one scenario a cheater can’t worm his way out of.

  Be careful when playing with a group of players you don’t know, especially if there are high stakes involved. If there is cheating going on, 99 percent of the time two or more players are involved. Don’t try to be clever and turn the tables on the cheaters. The results can be disastrous. The best thing to do is leave the game.

  Then there is the problem with being cheated in a casino or a card room. If you suspect foul play, file a complaint with the management, and make sure you have corroboration from another player as to what happened. Do this immediately after you’ve been swindled. If management brushes you off, write them a letter documenting what happened. Include the date, time, and where you sat. Be sure to copy whatever governing body regulates them. Don’t forget to mention that the casino or card room “looked the other way” when you lodged your complaint. The governing body will follow up on your complaint, either by letter or phone. If other letters are on file, they’ll probably pay the establishment a visit.

  Praise for James Swain’s

  Tony Valentine novels

  “Mixing humor, suspense, poignancy, and insider-lore, Swain is one terrific writer.”

  —The Wall Street Journal

  “Swain’s mysteries…are a sure bet.”

  —Chicago Tribune

  “James Swain is the real thing, a writer of pure, athletic prose, capable of bringing alive characters as original and three-dimensional as our best novelists.”

  —JAMES W. HALL

  “This smooth, funny series has got to be one of the finds of the decade.”

  —Kirkus

  “An expert on casino swindles, the author packs his books with mind-boggling cons and scams…along with entertaining dialogue and vivid characters.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  MR. LUCKY

  “Bask in Swain’s Las Vegas without having to set foot in the place and risk being skinned alive.”

  —Washington Post Book World

  “The momentum is great, the writing nimble, the action intricate. If you like Swain’s formula, as I do, you’ll get a lot of what you expect and love it.”—Los Angeles Times

  “Hits the jackpot. Impossible to put down.”

  —MICHAEL CONNELLY

  LOADED DICE

  “Leaves us wanting more of this pulsing buoyant book.”

  —Los Angeles Times

  “A poker novel with the punch of a royal flush…ought to be required reading.”

  —Chicago Sun-Times

  “Pure entertainment, building to a slam-bang ending.”

  —San Jose Mercury News

  “Great fun with just the right amount of edge—sort of like a night out at the blackjack table.”

  —Booklist

  SUCKER BET

  “Ingenious entertainment.”

  —The New York Times Book Review

  “Great fun…Swain, an expert on card trickery and casino cheating, is an entertaining writer whose breezy style and flair for wise-guy dialogue make the story zoom by.”

  —Boston Globe

  “A vivid insider’s look at casinos [that] hits the jackpot…Sucker Bet is a sure thing.”

  —Chicago Tribune

  “Swain has come up with a doozy…. The gambling details are a treat [and] the banter is worthy of a place at Elmore Leonard’s table.”

  —Booklist

  FUNNY MONEY

  “Fascinating…dazzling…entertaining…I can’t think of a novel I’ve enjoyed more this year.”

  —Los Angeles Times

  “There’s a certain intelligence to a book that teaches you something—even something as esoteric as how to spot a casino cheat—and Swain juggles that mix of learning and adventure perfectly.”

  —Houston Chronicle

  “Smart, snappy…tremendously infectious.”

  —St. Petersburg Times

  “Great fun—with oddball characters, a twisted plot, and scheming dreamers out for the big score.”

  —Lansing State Journal

  GRIFT SENSE

  “A well-plotted debut mystery that pays off handsomely…Grift Sense delivers a vivid and credible look at the gaming industry through eccentric yet believable characters.”

  —Chicago Tribune

  “Grift Sense is one of the best debuts I’ve read in years. It has a great plot, wonderful characters, and a slick, subtle wit.”

  —The Toronto Globe and Mail

  “The hard-nosed dialogue and the fast-paced, serpentine plot deliver a page-turner of a mystery. Just when readers start to relax, thinking it’s clear sailing to the end, Swain throws yet another curve.”

  —Canadian Press

  Deadman’s Bluff is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A Ballantine Books Mass Market Original

  Copyright © 2006 by James Swain

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.

  BALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  www.ballantinebooks.com

  eISBN: 978-0-345-49374-3

  v3.0