A new study has shown that one in four Australian pokers players admits to having cheated while playing in private games, tournaments and casinos.
The study was conducted by Nicholas Johnson, an Australian entertainer and researcher into scams and fraud. The study, based on results given anonymously by 300 Australian card players, focused on the techniques and methods used in the popular game, Texas Hold‘em.
“60% of players are aware that cheats do operate in poker games,” said Johnson. “They are just not always aware of what the techniques are and how to spot them. Many players assume that cheats are using sleight of hand or marked cards to win.”
In reality, the most popular method of cheating is ‘collusion’ with almost half of card cheats using the technique. “Collusion involves two or more players working together to secretly gain an advantage over another player.” Johnson explained. “For example, a player with a strong hand may drop out in order to allow his partner to win. Collusion is particularly popular in internet poker where players can freely communicate with their confederates.”
However, Australian card cheats also rely on more skilful techniques to defraud their opponents. “We found in the study that 8% of card cheats are mechanics, relying on dexterity and skill to win. They will deal cards from bottom of the deck, swap their cards for better cards after the deal or even stack the deck while shuffling to guarantee themselves a winning hand.”
For more information on card cheating in Australia and Nicholas J. Johnson, please call 0409461776 or email sleightofhand@conman.com.au .
Techniques used by Australian card cheats
Where Australia’s witness and/or suspect card cheating
Football salary cap cheats the Melbourne Storm may have found the perfect new sponsor in the form of cash grabbing Crown Casino.
- Both are own by Australia’s richest men (Packer and Melbourne)
- Neither know how to play fair (Crown recently changed blackjack from 6-4 to 6-5)
- Both are one of kind (Crown is Victoria’s only casino, Storm our only football team)
With my good friends Tom, Yao, David and Vin, we have created an interactive experience that allows you to play Three Disk Monte exactly as it is played on the streets.
Even if you manage to beat the game, can you beat the grifters?
A Norwich woman has been accused of cheating when it was revealed she won an undisclosed sum of money from a MGM slot machine without paying a cent.
Using the original slot machines it was possible to time your pulling of the handle to increase the odds of winning.
This became impossible when the machines went digital. So the scammers started using kickstands (devices that trigger the coin release) and lightwands (lasers that trigger the light sensitive coin releases) to get free cash.
Both of these now rarely work as the machine manufacturers cottoned on and solved the problems.
Now days, the only way to make money is to reprogram the machine. A Nevada gaming offical was charged with programming machines that pay off when a certain combo of buttons is pressed.
The Norwich woman, Rosario Guzman, obtain a copy of the technician key card and was able to use it to pay for free.
On the radio this week, the big talking point was the new casino that might be coming soon to Mildura. 250 people protested the plan today and callers were concerned that the only people to make money would be the government and the casino.
Two people who have made money from casinos were a London duo who hacked in the roulette computer at an English casino. The computers allowed people to make remote bets on the wheel without having to talk to croupiers. They duo reprogrammed the machine to always pay off!
In happier, we discussed a Queensland woman who managed to get back some of the $40,000 she was scammed by a Nigerian student who posed as an English widower. The student was sentenced to 19 years and the government managed to retrieve some of the cash.
