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Luminous readers
I put this one in mainly because it shows how little trust you or anyone should put in gambling supply house catalog copy. Some of the gimmicks they list, which the amateur cheat buys because he knows no better, are strictly sucker items. When the would-be cheat orders a deck of luminous readers at $12.50 to $18 per deck, he receives by express (these boys avoid using the mails) a red-¬backed deck of cards whose backs bear large numerals lightly marked in with green pencil. You also get a cheap pair of glasses with red-tinted lenses or a red-tinted, transparent eyeshade. When the card is viewed in red light the red back design fades out and the green markings turn dark and become visible for you alone. If you suspect this gimmick, simply ask to borrow the glasses or eyeshade for a moment.
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Professional Casino Cheater
Counting Cards to Beat-21
It is true that in the late 1960s, when Australian-style gambling, began booming in England, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and other parts of the world, the professional counters and cheaters had a field; day, especially in England. Counters swept through London casinos and their 21 games like Jack the Ripper through a streetwalkers' convention. It was slaughter, a massacre. The counters showed no mercy to the polite English chaps who were operating the casinos in such gentlemanly fashion. Many casino operators had installed 21games only as a convenience for the hordes of American tourists they expected to crowd the tables with cash-filled pockets. The English thought that their biggest problem would be where to store the money they were going to win each night. But some of those tourists were professional counters who came over just to check out the new casinos. It took these pros about thirty seconds to realize that many English dealers and supervisors still weren't sure how many cards were in a deck, let alone how to spot counters. Today you must register forty-eight hours before entering any English casino so that you can be checked out, and there are strict new 21 rules to hinder counters
Cheaters at Work
But the English reaction was mild compared to what happened in some other foreign countries. Practically all foreign countries are major partners in their casinos because they collect high taxes, often up to 90 percent of the winnings, as in Germany. These governments take a dim view of foreigners cheating them out of their money. That's exactly how casino owners look at counters. They consider them cheaters, though the entire counter is using is his memory to beat the game. In Europe, you must show your passport at each casino before you enter. The passport number is written down, and if you're caught counting or cheating, your passport number is immediately sent to Interpol, the international police agency. Interpol then sends the passport number to all European casinos.
Now you've made the European blacklist. If you're caught in one of those countries, especially in a casino, you're at their mercy. If they know you are a counter, they'll let you inside the club to play and then arrest you in the act. Then you'll have weeks, months, or even years, depending on the country, to practice your count system on fellow prisoners and guards, if they let you have playing cards. Professional counters are well aware of these dangers and take elaborate precautions to avoid them, including forged documents and expensive disguises. Let the professionals run the risk of cheating the clubs and save your amateurish counting attempts for church bazaars, stag parties, and private . Then if you're caught being a wise guy, the most you'll probably receive is a black eye. Foreign casinos play much rougher. Your best bet is not to waste a penny on a count book. So far we've been talking about counters who beat the clubs, but the real bandits in this area are 99.9 percent of the count book authors.
Casino Cheating System
Most are so muddled and confused I doubt that even the authors can understand them. They try to cover up their own confusion with an awesome assortment of graphs, charts, tables, diagrams, and gobbledygook. Many authors have the nerve to hustle readers into buying another system or book for more money. One author, after charging $7.50 for his regular book, says you can write for an "advanced" point count system for $200, and he offers another system for the four-deck shoe for an extra $250. Another writer, after making you pay $1 0 for one system, tells you it's not really his best one, which would cost $40 more? Some books offer you a secret "surrender bet strategy," which, of course, also costs extra. Save your money. "Surrender strategy" simply means that some clubs allow players who don't like their hand to throw it in immediately and give up 50 percent of their bet.
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