Poker cheaters allegedly use tiny hidden cameras to detect dealt cards

Some Vegas casinos have begun banning phones at table level, according to multiple sources.Many casinos have long had policies banning phone use while holding hands, and some have even banned phones entirely in previous years, and now the effort is expanding. However, knowing that today’s miniature cameras can be inserted into lighters, pens and other non-telephone devices, is this a sufficient security measure? The “no goods on the table” rule seems more reasonable, but would casinos see it as too invasive of their customers? Then there’s a whole separate conversation about putting devices on the rail where players rest their elbows and which sits a little higher , than the felt itself.

“There’s going to be guys who want to watch the game and hold their phone. It’s got to be just fine. It’s a fine line; it’s a gray line.”

Berkey has even proposed some kind of hybrid arrangement where phones or other devices are allowed as long as they sit behind chips or something else that blocks their view of the felt other jewelry that may contain a hidden camera.

The device removal tactic would face another major hurdle when arrests took place in France. There was nothing on the table of one of the suspects, he allegedly hid a camera in his clothes. If that scheme worked for removing the faces of the cards from the dealers’ shoes, it certainly would work for the traditional dealer-style of play used in Vegas.

A better long-term solution, which supports Berkey and others in the poker world, involves dealer training; a process that has already begun.

The European Poker Tour has introduced a new form of dealer play known as the slide deal, where the deck remains on the table and the dealer slides each top card individually to greatly minimize or eliminate any impact.EPT Tournament Director Toby Stone quoted directly Camera fraud issues as the root of this change, which has been in place for the past few months.

Casinos can take it even further. some have suppressed for years.For example, Star Casinos in Australia have long used A modified version of the blackjack shoe, designed for a single poker deck that sits in the center of the table and allows the cards to slide off the inside of it. just beyond, closer to potential cameras.Anecdotally, these controversies also seem to limit or eliminate other common risks, such as bottom trades or turning over cards when dealt.

While it may take time to train the worldwide legion of poker dealers to mitigate these schemes, that may be the end result here.

“I’ve talked to a few (casino) higher ups, and they all seem open to the idea of ​​dealer training,” Berkey says.

Even that final step may not completely eliminate the mini camera trick. As the suspects in France have allegedly shown us, today’s video technology is truly amazing. Would you ever guess that a mini camera can capture exactly which cards are being dealt in a split second? when they are revealed when they are removed from the blackjack shoe.

Anyone investing in a casino, especially above the betting spectrum, should at least be aware of the risk of bad players, especially in a game like poker where your opponents are other patrons, not the casino itself to combat this or any other potential scheme, a dose of diligence goes a long way.

“As long as there’s a fair game to offer, there’s going to be people who try to screw it up,” Berkey says. “The best we can do is continue to work hard to keep the game as fair as possible.”