Here´s an interesting one posed by one of our users. Obviously someone who likes to walk a fine line! He asked “How do You Get Banned from a Casino for Cheating in the UK”?

We are presuming that this gentleman doesn´t want to get banned, but rather needs to know how far he can push it until the management slings him out. In other words, he wants to walk that fine line between the black list and the jackpot.

So we have done a bit of research on the matter. Here´s what we found out:

Let´s start with blackjack, since historically this is the game that has been played by the most people who have been banned. There always seems to be someone who is trying to rig the odds in their favour:

Here are some activities which will see you landing on your backside on the street outside the casino:

Card counting. It all started with the MIT gang, and its still going on as this can improve your odds, particularly on single deck games. Nowadays there is even an iPod application that vibrates in your pocket to help you count cards. But don´t get caught- you´ll be out on you ear and on the blacklist (and possibly even arrested). And don´t say you studied at MIT.

Other tricks that don´t go down to well at the blackjack table (remember that there at CCCTV cameras everywhere):

Working as a team whereby your partner spots the dealer´s hole card from behind and signal it to you.
Marking the cards.
Taking away cards.
Playing with the dealer (in a pre-organised scam (easy to pick up on the winning profiles).
Adding chips onto your bet after the round has been dealt.
Using electronic aids to count cards (eg iPods)

Going off track for a minute, you can also get banned for being too drunk, leering at the staff or being verbally or physically abusive (obviously). Las Vegas does like a drunk, as you lose your inhibitions after a couple of drinks (don´t drink and gamble!)- why do you think they serve free beer if you are betting big? BUT, there is a limit. If your behaviour is putting everyone else off, then out you go.

Roulette

The big play that will get you banned at roulette is “Past Posting”. This is a technique used by cheats to get one over the casino as is illegal.

In this scam, you bet AFTER the ball has landed in a pocket. Obviously this requires a magician´s touch and the scam artist will generally have a bet on the table already. Often done in teams- one of the gang will distract the croupier and shift chips into winning positions subtly, so that it´s not too obvious that the bets have changed. Then they´ll play a few standard spins and lose a little to make it look nothing is going on and then switch tables or casinos. It can be very subtle and hard to spot, but again the signature of the wins on the wheel make it obvious for anyone analysing the casino numbers afterwards. It tends to be a “Hit and Run”- the team will hit one wheel at a casino and then move on without getting too greedy. Again highly illegal. It´s stealing basically.

Another version of this is Top Hatting- this is like Past posting, but the dealer is in on the scam. So what is Top Hatting?

A highly illegal play again, by the way.

Generally the player and croupier are associates and formulate a plan before the player hits the tables. The quick fingers croupier slips a winning chip onto the winning number with a deft sleight of hand, after the ball has stopped in a pocket. This can be quite profitable at a 36-1 payout- with a single £25 chip, the pay off is £875 to the gang.

Again, it´s simple to spot, but there are some real maestros out there- there are cases of this scam going unnoticed for up to a year. Generally, though, the criminals get greedy and are caught. (But then we never hear about the one´s that got away- understandably, the casinos are not that keen on publicising this kind of thing).

You´ll also get thrown out for using electroninc devices to try and gain and edge by analysing any imprefections in the wheel which can result in some nummers coming up more frequently than others. In the past lasers have been used in shoes, vibrators in underpants (yes- really!)- you name it.

One of the more famous casino cheats who have gone public and retired (so they say!) is Richard Marcus who alledgedly scammed $5 million out of casinos in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, London and Monte Carlo over a 25 years.

His sleight of hand was legendary-and was able to switch in high value chips on winning bets. He was a Past Posting master and frequently swapped out 3 black $100 chips with two brown $5,000 dollar chips beneath a single black chip. So risking $300 for a payout of over $10k.

So has he retired? He says yes, but we reckon he might just have a large collection of false beards and wobbly noses in this cupboard.