Cheating at Blackjack: The Laughlin Lay-a-way

Dealer Cheating at Blackjack: The Laughlin Lay-a-way

By Sam Case
(From Blackjack Forum Vol. II #3, September 1982)
© 1982 Blackjack Forum
I met Crazy Bob in a bar in Calgary (Alberta, Canada). I knew it was him by his "Crazy Bob � No Autographs, Please!" t-shirt. We had more than a few Molsons, and he turned me on to a dealer cheating technique I was unfamiliar with.

He had seen it executed by a sweet little old lady dealer on a blackjack table in Laughlin. Done casually, it took him a while to spot it. He said that the dealer would peek at the top card, and if it were a ten or an ace, she would simply lay it down with the discards. Nasty.marked cards

Even a blackjack dealer who never practices enough to become a good card mechanic could effectively cheat using the lay-a-way. After speaking to Crazy Bob, I worked out several variations on this cheating technique.

Blackjack Cheating Variation One: The Simple Version

Take a deck of cards, burn the top card, and deal out 4 or 5 hands. Put a ten on top of the deck. This is the card we'll lay-a-way.

Say we're at the point where the dealer has paid off all the players and is about to pick up all the discards. Reach over with your (empty) right hand towards third base and start to scoop up the cards. Let your left (deck) hand casually drift to first base. It's going to look as if you're going to put that hand down for balance, but here's where the dirty work happens.

As your deck hand moves, you turn it over so the back of your hand is uppermost (the deck is upside down). When your deck hand is almost over the first base cards, slide the top card slightly towards the right with the fingers of the left hand. This is where you can peek. (If the dealer didn't know there was a ten on top, she would now. If she saw a small card, she would simply slide it back and keep it in play.)

But since we have a ten under control, we lay-a-way the card as follows: press the ten down onto the table with the left thumb, while releasing it with the left fingers.

You can plop it down where the next first base hit card should have been and keep it covered by the rest of the deck, held close to the table.The main work of the lay-a-way is now over. The ten is lying face-up on the table, hidden by the resting left hand.

Meanwhile, the right hand has been scooping other hands. When it reaches first base, move your left hand away as the right scoops up the cards, and WHOOSH! That's it. The whole thing takes place in a couple of seconds.

The main tip-off is placing the deck hand on top of the table on or near cards already on the table. Players are not allowed to touch cards on the table and neither are the dealers, except as required by the necessary procedures of dealing the game. Beware of any dealer whose hands ever, however casually or briefly, touch or rest on or near a played hand.

Blackjack Cheating Variation Two: Harder Version

For this version the cheating dealer must be able to execute one of the standard peeks (back peek, gambler's peek, etc.). Since the value of the top card can be discerned before the lay-a-way move, the dealer can do the slide differently.

She could slide the card to the left, using her thumb, and she could extend the fingers of her left hand to press the card down. Everything else would be the same, so the main tip-off still works.

A dealer might also lay-a-way the card on her own hand, rather than the first base hand, so the dealer can use this move in head-on play also. When you're playing head-on, you're pretty busy, so when you look away, she may try:

Blackjack Cheating Variation Three: Bastard Version

Technically, this is not a lay-a-way, but a one-handed top card burn. It works like the lay-a-way in that it removes a good card from play.marked cards contact lenses

The fingers of the left (deck) hand peel off the top card and slide it under the deck, face up. If left uncovered, this move is as obvious as a pregnant nun, so you can spot it if you keep the deck in your peripheral vision.

The only useful cover for the move is to hide the deck from view for a split second with the other hand. Be sure to follow the Case Cardinal rule: Never Play Against a Dealer Who Hides the Deck, Even for a Second.

Thanks again to Crazy Bob for this variation on the second deal. If any readers spot cheating or suspicious moves with cards, please alert Arnold Snyder. These old moves are all showing up again now that there are all of these 6:5 handheld games. ♠

[Note from Arnold Snyder: During a recent period of intense play on handheld games in Las Vegas, we were averaging one cheating blackjack dealer per week. Never let your guard down on handheld games, even on the Las Vegas Strip.

Internet Gambling Laws: U.S., U.K. And the World

Legal minds turned to Internet gambling laws as a specialty when the industry went beyond growth and exploded into the public mind. "The law surrounding Internet gambling in the United States has been murky, to say the least," according to Lawrence G. Walters, one of the attorneys working with www.gameattorneys.com.infrared contact lenses

In contrast, Internet gambling laws in the U.K. have made the lives of providers and players a bit easier. The passage of the Gambling Act of 2005 has basically legalized and regulated online play in the U.K.

With the objectives of keeping gambling from promoting "crime or disorder" the U.K. act attempts to keep gambling fair, in addition to protecting younger citizens and others who may be victimized by gambling operation. Unlike the United States, which still clings to the 1961 Wire Wager Act, the U.K. significantly relaxed regulations that are decades old. A gambling commission was established to enforce the code and license operators.

A Whole Other Country

According to Walters and many other observers of the Internet gambling laws scene, the United States Department of Justice continues to view all gambling on the Internet as illegal under the Wire Act. But there are details in the federal law that defy attempts to throw a blanket over all online gambling.

The Wire Wager Act forms the basis for federal action on Internet gambling laws in the United States. The law was meant to complement and support laws in the various states, focusing primarily on "being engaged in the business of betting or wagering" using wire communication to place bets or wagers on sporting events or similar contests. The law also comments on receiving money or credit that results from such a wager. The keys are "business," "money or credit" and "wire communication facility."card cheating

But as many attorneys and proponents of fair Internet gambling laws emphasize, the federal law does not specifically address other forms of gambling. This has left the law open to interpretation when it comes to online casinos specifically and using the World Wide Web to play online games.

October 13, 2006 is a crucial date in the controversy surrounding the legalization of gambling. For anyone wishing to understand Internet gambling laws, the federal law passed on that day is essential knowledge. President George W. Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which is intended to limit some "financial transactions" used for online gambling.

But even if current federal gambling laws can clearly define something as simple as a legal gambling age, the newer UIGEA has not settled all the dust raised around the issue of online gambling. Attorneys such as Walters (and many others) have pointed out that the UIGEA seems to refer only to financial transactions and wagers that are illegal where the wager or transaction is made. Some wagers may be legal while others may not be legal. It's as simple as that.

The UIGEA had some effect on Internet gambling, in that many successful companies got out of the business, at least in the United States. In fact, with the passage of the law in 2006, most U.S. online players found they could not play at an online casino or poker room, for a short time. Many of the gambling providers found ways to establish offices and servers outside of the U.S. so that could invite United States players back in.

Break Time

It's now time to stop, take a deep breath and turn to Internet gambling laws in the various states. Some have passed their own rules and regulations (before and after UIGEA). In a few states, companies cannot operate an online gambling business. In other states it is illegal for an individual to place a bet using the Web. Some legal experts argue that these individual-state rules are unconstitutional since commerce across state lines should only be regulated by federal law, not state law. Commercial online gambling businesses don't operate in the United States, however. If you want to visit their "home offices" you may have to travel to Malta, Gibraltar or Curacoa.

The 2005 U.K. law generally allows remote sites such as these. The rules are not so relaxed in the U.S. However, a recent appellate court ruling in the U.S. states that, in at least one case, an Web-based gambling site did not violate states laws. Most legal minds urge gamblers and others interested in the issue to stay tuned.

Some have given their attention to finding benefits of legalized gambling, noting that this huge industry might be a key to economic recovery in the United States. At the heart of their argument are examples such as established lotteries run by various states, in addition to the government revenues that flow in to state coffers from riverboats and land-based casinos.

Part of this effort rests on the shoulders of more than 100 legal representatives working for common sense in Internet gambling laws. This hoard of attorneys has the task of trying to keep the World Wide Web/Internet free from government intervention.

Bob Ciaffone is considered one of the experts on the subject of gambling and poker in general, and on the transition to online gambling. He suggests that any regulation of Web-based gambling should reduce competition from outside the U.S., so that the citizens of the U.S. would benefit in legal gambling states. His detailed plan would parallel the U.K. situation since that country passed its 2005 rules. Ciaffone also strongly urges U.S. lawmakers to keep Internet gambling laws separate from the 40-year-old Wire Act, which was passed to control illegal gambling over the telephone.

In essence, Ciaffone writes that the UIGEA attempted to do the right thing, but does it in all the wrong ways. The restrictions have severely handicapped what could be a great revenue source with proper regulation, according to Ciaffone.

Consider a statement on the UIGEA from the most-recognizable poker player in the world, Doyle Brunson. Though is comments apply to his favorite game of poker, they can easily relate to all Internet gambling laws. He said, in essence, that his company received good legal advice that indicates Internet poker is not "expressly" illegal. He encourages U.S. players to learn the laws of their own state.

While this brief summary touches only the high points of a huge and complex subject, there are sources that have already compiled details for the various states. Check these sites: