{"id":26067,"date":"2021-01-18T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-18T23:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/?p=26067"},"modified":"2021-01-15T09:13:47","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T15:13:47","slug":"past-posting-roulette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/past-posting-roulette\/","title":{"rendered":"R. Paul Wilson On: How To Cheat At Roulette With Past Posting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I first met crooked-gambling expert Darwin Ortiz<\/a> at a lecture for magicians in Glasgow, I was eager to pick his brains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until that point, I was a voracious collector of cheating methods with cards, but I was beginning to take an interest in casino games and roulette<\/a> in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Glasgow\u2019s famous Tam Shepherd\u2019s Trick Shop, a\ngathering place for local conjurors, I remember asking Darwin how cheaters\ncould beat the game of roulette. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite answering a question with a question,\nhis answer was quite direct: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo you think a cheater could win if they were\nable to bet after the ball had landed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Past Posting \u2013 A Risky Roulette Cheat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Past posting is a simple idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the ball lands in a number, a cheater (or\nteam of cheaters) attempts to add a high value bet to the layout without the\ndealer noticing the discrepancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the average player, this might seem like an\nexcellent way to get caught and enjoy the hospitality of a casino\u2019s back room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, it is a bold and risky strategy but can\nbe effective if the cheater has the skill, timing and awareness to pull it off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dealers often balk at the idea that these moves\ncould slide at their table but in the heat of a long shift and with countless\ndistractions around every spin, even the most alert croupier might be\nvulnerable to the simplest of past-posting techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using Past Posting To Cheat At Roulette <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Roulette
Image: Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Professional past-posters limit their activity\nto occasional shots taken at the right moment under appropriate misdirection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The simplest and easiest targets to hit on the\nlayout are the red and black bets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an experienced cheater sitting close to\nthose options, a check can appear as if by magic after the ball lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The classic technique is to rest one\u2019s hand on\nthe layout with a chip hidden underneath. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an imperceptible snap of the thumb, that\nchip slides quickly and quietly across the baize to settle on the red or black\npainted markings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It takes practice to know how hard to push a chip\n– and to do so without any motion of the hand to betray the action – but timing\nis also essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a ball drops into the rotor, players might\nlean over the table to get a better look and if a partner is trained to do so\nnaturally, he or she might cover the move from the eye in the sky while the\nslider watches the dealers to make sure there\u2019s no heat when he kicks the\ncheck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A more sophisticated approach is to reach\nforward and slide a chip under the forearm and there are many strategies to\nexcuse this action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One method is to buy into the game for more\nmoney and to reach forward with some cash. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another is to apparently begin making bets for\nthe next round, only to be dismissed by the dealer who would instruct the\nplayer to wait until the table is cleared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both of these methods might be used since\nneither should be repeated with the same dealer or at the same table, but past\nposting is rarely a repeatable strategy since each shot you take risks waking\nup casino staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a \u201cWalter Mitty\u201d shot that supposedly\nallowed teams of players to repeatedly place a stack of chips with a ledge over\nthe bottom chip to disguise the lowermost check, which is a high value bet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supposedly, the dealer would not notice this\noff-colour check and if the bet lost, the player would switch out the big bet\nfor one of the cheaper checks under some pretext. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have every confidence this could be successful\nonce or twice but the claim that it could be repeated constantly is pure\nfantasy (in my opinion) unless the dealers, the bosses and the security team\nupstairs are all in on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tricks For Added Deception<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Roulette
Image: Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By passing off high-value to checks to secret\npartners around a table, cheaters can place a high-stakes player next to the\nwheel then use lower-stake bets to cover past-posted bets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine you\u2019re that high-stakes player with a\nstack of purple checks, each valued at $500 and you arrange these to conceal\nthe fact that you\u2019ve palmed away five chips and passed them to a partner who\nsits at the opposite end of the table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That partner can now drop your chips onto the\nlayout while you watch the wheel and sip your free watered-down drinks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the slide technique described above, an\nexpert might be able to place your purple check across a nearby number when it\ncomes up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if the team is bold and well-practiced in\nmisdirection, you might speak to the dealer at the instant the ball drops to\ndistract him or her from the appearing chip on (or across) that winning number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By passing chips this way, another cheater can\napproach the table and buy in for a small amount of cash but use that money to\ncover the drop of a check onto the layout – just as the ball lands! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An even bolder (but effective) approach is to\nslide a late stack of chips onto the layout, so the dealer is caused to return\nthat stack to the errant player. At the bottom of the stack is one or two\nhigh-valued purple chips that are off-set to look as if the late stack was\nplaced onto those chips, which were supposedly already there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having tried this last strategy for The Takedown<\/em><\/a>, there\u2019s a perverse pleasure in watching the dealer correct a player by removing their late stack while leaving behind the big bets that were never there before the move was attempted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Problem With Past Posting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Each of these techniques can work in the right\nplace and at the right time but if there\u2019s the least suspicion on the move,\nthen a rewind of camera footage will quickly betray the deception. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes these methods successful is a sense\nof when and where to attempt them, either by profiling weak dealers or\nmanipulating each situation so that a discrepancy might go unnoticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing the turn (distracting the dealer) in\nthese situations can be an art in its own right and expert scammers can play\nentire teams of dealers and their bosses like an orchestra whether by \u201ccharm or\nharm\u201d so that the appearance of a big bet is the least concern to whoever is\nmanaging the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real danger for past-posters is that modern\nsecurity systems can potentially track all bets on a layout and detect if\nanything is added after the dealer calls \u201cno more bets\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you\u2019re ever tempted to kick a check\nacross the baize, be ready to say hello to the backroom boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More casino-related articles from R. Paul Wilson\nworth your time today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
R. Paul Wilson On: Do Casinos Cheat?<\/a><\/blockquote>