How Modern Technology Can Be Used to Cheat Casino and Poker Players

Author: R. Paul Wilson

Just as land-based casinos and online gambling sites face the constantly evolving threat of new technology, players must consider how they might be targeted, manipulated, or cheated by increasingly sophisticated software and devices that are becoming nearly ubiquitous in our daily lives. The question we need to ask ourselves is: how do we avoid losing our shirts to the cutting edge of gambling gadgets?

Let’s start with the easy answer: it is still incredibly rare to fall victim to a crooked player or casino using a crooked gaff or device. However, this does not mean we shouldn’t remain aware of the possibilities that exist and keep a close eye on how games might change around us. Understanding how these tricks work is the first step, and following a few practical strategies can help you avoid getting cheated in a casino.

Hidden Technology in Private Poker Games

The world of magic and magicians is an excellent place to observe emerging technologies being employed as deceptive methods to fool savvy audiences. Often, these same methods are stolen and deployed in gaming scenarios, but sometimes, magicians adapt cheating techniques for magic shows with astonishing results. One such method, the details of which I cannot share, is important to mention because the technology was originally used – and is still used – to cheat in private games.

These games were often held in hotel suites or lavish homes rented for the purpose, and the key to success was the installation of a simple-looking card table with a devilish secret. Imagine being able to know what cards any player would receive and even what cards would be dealt to the flop, turn, or river without the need for marked cards. In fact, both the cards and the dealer could be entirely honest, but the table, which appears quite normal and thin, can easily transmit all of this information to the cheaters. Any cards can be used, and the unsuspecting players can even bring their own; the deception is often completely invisible.

If that sounds like something out of a film script, consider a recent poker fraud scheme uncovered by federal investigators in the United States, where prosecutors alleged that organised crime figures ran private poker games using X-ray tables, hidden cameras and specialised glasses capable of reading cards. Wealthy players, celebrities and even professional athletes reportedly sat down believing they were in legitimate high-stakes games, while a network of conspirators quietly relayed card information around the table. According to investigators, the operation siphoned off millions of dollars before it was finally dismantled.

The technology that accomplishes this is almost like a magic trick itself, as the table relays information to a remote device. While magicians might be upset with me for revealing its existence – even without specific details of the method – this particular technique originated with cheaters, so players who risk their bankroll in private games should at least be aware of what’s possible.

But is it likely?

A setup like this takes time and money, so unless you’re playing for very high stakes, the chances are slim that you will encounter this kind of ‘joint’ (a carney’s term for any gaffed game). However, if you have serious money to lose and are careless about where you play and with whom, a magic table might well be in your future.

Perhaps the solution is to play in controlled environments on tables you know are not filled with electronics. Even then, there’s another potential risk waiting to take a bite out of your stack.

Invisible Marked Cards and Infrared Devices

Decks marked on the edge with an invisible (to the human eye) barcode-like pattern can be read from afar by infrared cameras that can clearly see those marks and know the exact order of the deck after a legitimate shuffle and cut. Even if you bring your own cards, cheaters can mark a duplicate and switch it into play so their hidden devices (often placed inside cell phones or watches) can grant them an unbeatable edge.

Does that sound outlandish? Ask the casino in Glasgow, Scotland, where their poker game was targeted by this exact technology, with crooked dealers and players working together to cheat in cash games and tournaments. I’ve heard the marks were legible, which is not surprising since this type of invisible marking reacts differently to human sweat than the unmarked areas of the card. Over time, the marks begin to appear, but the individuals who planted the decks in that game probably never considered this. As the rigged cards were rotated in and out of play (they were plastic and used for months), they slowly began to reveal their secret.

So, while the casino claimed the scam was detected quickly, I’d ask: “how long does it take for that particular ink to become visible?” – if they used the ‘good stuff’, I suspect weeks or months might be the answer. I live about twenty minutes from this land-based casino and have played there several times over the years. It doesn’t surprise me that a couple of misguided individuals might attempt this, but it upsets me that an overwhelmingly honest game is targeted and corrupted by this type of scam.

Both of the above methods are available for purchase on certain websites for large sums. While the cheapest of these might function as advertised, you need to spend serious money to avoid substandard tables or poorly made cell phones. To have a deck marked quickly and returned in time for use in a game might cost as much as the devices themselves. But, again, if the prize is worth the effort and expense, there’s always a chance someone might take the time to sneak this type of gaff into your game.

Unfortunately, this is not the only technological danger players face from dishonest opponents.

Live Streams, Phones and the Risk of Intercepted Data

Take the case of a player who was apparently in “God mode” during a live stream, making seemingly impossible calls against much better players while an online audience watched in baffled amazement. These ‘live’ games operate on a thirty-minute (or more) delay so that the players' cards can be shown via graphics in the broadcast stream. If it were live, those cards might be secretly relayed back to the players, giving them the ultimate advantage.

However, that data needs to be held somewhere and is therefore stored until the built-in delay is satisfied. What if that information was somehow intercepted and monitored by one or more players at the table?

It seems very likely this might have been happening in that game – and others – where the player appeared incredibly interested in his phone right before making impossibly accurate decisions. The fact that knowing what cards his opponents had is the only explanation that makes sense meant that suspicion has all but barred him from the game. However, the exact mechanism used to capture the live cards is still unclear (though several solutions would work).

That particular example required a professional streaming setup and the ability to intercept valuable information, but there are even more possibilities arising from the technology we already own. Your average modern cellular phone is packed with cameras, processors, and software that past cheaters and advantage players could only have dreamt of.

AI Tools and the Future of Technology at the Table

Now, simply by monitoring the game with a phone camera, AI can accurately relay Game Theory Optimal decisions to a player, giving them an enormous edge over time. In some very high-level tournaments, players’ friends have openly signalled the best decisions while entering every card played and bet made into laptops without being challenged by game organisers.

Computer-aided GTO is an enormous threat to online players if someone is monitoring their screens with the right software, and players must track each other to detect who is making decisions outside and above their actual poker IQ.

Personally, I would not be happy if other players – in any gambling game – were utilising technology to aid their play; it changes the entire landscape of the game. If other players begin to get sneaky and overstep the line between playing better and influencing the outcome, unethical players quickly graduate to become cheaters.

Of course, not every questionable move crosses into outright cheating, and the blurry middle ground between clever play and unethical behaviour is often described as angle shooting.

Whenever I see a phone at the table, I keep an eye on how and when that device is being used. However, thanks to haptic signals in smart watches, dishonest players might receive all the unfair information they need silently from a tap on their wrist.

So, while all of this is still less likely than a fair and honest game, I strongly suggest you keep an eye on any device being directed towards your game.