Tag: Blackjack Cheating

Blackjack Dealer Convicted in Shuffle Scam

Unfortunately is it not uncommon in casino games, especially games such as blackjack in which cards can be tracked to some extent, for scams to happen. Typically it is a player who is trying to cheat the casino without help from the inside. But back 2008 a scam ring slipped a blackjack dealer into twenty seven different casinos to do his part in the scam by the Tran Organization.

The blackjack dealer, Mike Waseleski, was convicted this past Wednesday for his part in the blackjack casino scam, in which he helped to steal more than $1 million from twenty seven casinos from around the country. Waseleski has yet to be sentenced but he could face up to a maximum of five years in prison, $250,000 in fines and restitution payments to the victim.

But Waseleski was not operating alone. Forty other members of the Tran Organization scam have pleaded guilty, including the ringleader of the Tran Organization, Phuong Quoc Truong. Truong was been sentenced to seventy months in prison, and ordered to pay $2.8 million in fines and $5.7 million in restitution for his conspiracy to conduct a racketeering enterprise operation.

The scam would begin with a member of the Tran Organization playing blackjack at the table that Waseleski would be serving as the dealer at. The scam member would then signal to Waseleski to perform what is called a false shuffle. A false shuffle would create slugs, which are groups of unshuffled cards, in the deck. Members of the scam would then use high tech devices to track the order of the cards. With the slugs and the tracking devices, the scam member posing as a player would know the order of the cards, and then place higher wagers intended to win more money from the casino.

I like hearing that the Tran Organization is being sentenced on the harsh side. Cases such as these enforce an image that casinos and casino games like blackjack and poker are all things of ill repute. It never pays to cheat, and to see this blackjack scam ring convicted and put away and off the casino floors is good news indeed to blackjack players.

Incorrect Blackjack Dealer Payouts

Blackjack dealers are human just like the rest of us. While they have been trained and have practice in dealing the cards and making payouts, every now and then a mistake happens and the payout is incorrect.

By incorrect I mean that perhaps a player is paid for a push. Or the player might have lost and be paid anyway. Or the incorrect amount for a blackjack or win might be paid.

When such a thing happens novice players wonder what they should do about it and whether or not it is legal in the game.

First off, if you receive a payout that is more money than you are supposed to receive or receive one when you are not supposed to be paid it is not illegal in the casino. It is not considered cheating in blackjack. This is a mistake on the dealer

Card Counting Devices in Blackjack

While I am sure that just about every blackjack player out in the world would love to have the advantages that card counting provides, the truth is that the majority of blackjack players will not take the time nor make the effort to gain the skill.

And there are companies out there that will try to turn a profit off of those blackjack players looking for an easy way to have the benefits of

Table Manners for Blackjack: Cards and Touching

Yes, blackjack has table manners. It is played at a table after all. Actually that is a more relaxed term for blackjack etiquette, and the things that make up blackjack etiquette are kind of like the unwritten rules for blackjack.

Fist off we are going to talk about the cards and touching.

In a face up game the cards are obviously dealt face up on the table by the dealer. He will then quickly calculate the totals. Player then make hand signals to show what play they would like to make: a two finger scratch on the felt for a hit; a palm-down wave over the cards to stand; doubling your amount of chips to signal a double down or a split depending on what cards you have. Hand signals are a part of blackjack etiquette and a tradition of the game. Oh, and they also can back you up if there is some discrepancy on what play you wanted to make since there is a camera above the table.

But above all in a face up blackjack game do NOT touch the cards.

Not touching cards in a face up game prevents players from cheating or marking the cards.

The only type of blackjack game in which you can touch the cards is a face down game. The dealer deals the cards face down and the player picks them up with one hand. Signals in a face down game are a bit different: to hit scrap the cards towards you on the felt to hit; to stand scoot your cards under your wagered chips; to double down or split, turn the cards face up and add the appropriate amount of chips to your wager.

Do NOT use more than one hand to handle your cards.

Handling the cards with one hand helps to cut down on switching or adding cards or marking them for cheating purposes.

You have the etiquette for how to handle your cards down now, and are all set to grab your clip-on tie and head to your favorite casino.