Pinching
The goal of any pinch is to reduce the loss,of a losing hand. A very fast pinch can occur at thl| instant the player tucks his cards under his bet. During this, action, his first two fingers clip the top check, and immediately come back to a resting position (Figs. 60’to 62). If the dealer is turned or jp’fepccupied for a split second, it s too late.
In another variation, one hand rests a few inches behind the bet. Under the pretense of an overanxious scratch for a hit, either the cards or. fingers will contact the top check and flip it back! under the resting hand.
It's even possible to pinch the bottom check of a bet. As a weak hand is tucked under the bet, the cards hit the bottom check from the front, kicking it back under the resting hand. The check just pops out, moving three to four inches instantly, and it; takes very little movement of the cards to dislodge the check (Figs. 63 and 64). This is, probably the subtlest pinch I have ever seen.
Heres an example of a practiced scam with no technique.
One crew worked three-handed, two men and an older woman. Earlier buy-ins, quick color ups, and cash outs provide the woman with some hundred dollar checks. Sitting on third base, betting $10, she conceals a small stack of $100 checks, and waits for her first winner. After the
payoff—the woman is paid first—the dealet nioves tb the other players. One of the men turns the dealer as the woman blatantly exchanges the original bet for a two-check bet, a $5 check on top and a $100 check on the bottom! The woman then quickly calls the dealer's attention to the apparent short change. Naturally, the woman is no longer concealing the stack of blacks, they are out in the open for everyone to see, so she now appears to be someone capable of betting $100; Most dealers apologize and correct the payoff. If the dealer isn't sure, a boss is called over, and he generally gives the player the benefit of the doubt and makes everything right. The play has its best chance of success when the woman wins one of her first few bets, as there is no history of bet size and the element of surprise is high.
It can be documented that some crews have worked this scam hundreds of times before being detected. They set up, take their best shot, and move to another store.
As you can see, cheaters can be very creative. They have come up with techniques to cap off the top and bottom, pinch off the top and bottom, quadruple down, and even make claims of a 'snp^|bhange.
Although these scams are generally perpetrated for short money, in more than one case involving dealer collusion, these scams have won serious money. In one of the largest casinos in the world, three dealers and three takeoff men scammed about $l^O0O;QOO before they were detected. The scam occurred five times a week, for $10,000 a night over1 a five-month period. The dealers job was easy, he just had to look the other way.
CUTTING TECHNIQUES
Numerous techniques have evolved for peeking a card during the cut. The top card, bottom card, a card from the middle of the deck, even multiple cards, can be peeked and steered' accordingly. Steering refers to the strategy of betting, mote than one box, by one or more members of the crew, in order to help direct or position a target card or cards. Big cards are generally, steered, to the takeoff man, and small cards are steered to the dealers upcard or holecard. The first few examples assume that the player can cut by hand, which is now rare. They re included more for historical relevance and related applications. They are very clever. Then we'll look at a couple of scams with the cutcard. v
The Wobble Cut
For this first move, called a ’wobble cut’, the cutter sits center. The entire deck is lifted and angled slightly as it's cut so that the bottom card is flashed to another crew member. The takeoff man cuts off a small packet and estimates the number of cards cut. After he receives a signal indicating the value of the bottom card, he plays and bets accordingly. Cutters will often accent the back end of the cutting action as the bigger motion tends to hide the smaller motion of wobbling and flashing.
(once called the 'stutter cut', referring to the back and forth motion), the cutter cuts center, lifting the top half of the deck ever so slightly. The cutter immediately goes back and picks up another handful of cards (Fig. 65). In the same wobbling action, the cut continues by flashing the bottom card of the newly cut packet, and allowing this packet to drop back (Fig. 66). The original cut half is carried over and dropped to the table. The peeked card now sits five to eight cards down from the top of the deck.
Cut Peek
This next move allows the deck to stay flat and parallel to the layout at all times while the top card is lifted at the back corner by the flesh at the base of the thumb (Fig. 67). In this position, the top card can be flashed to a crew member during the cut. The cut peek is usually combined with a deep cut, bringing the flashed card up near the top of the deck. The cut was estimated, and the flashed card was steered accordingly.
Riffle Cut
The riffle cut' is arguably the best cutting technique ever devised, and in capable hands the maneuver defies detection. The sharpest bosses and dealers routinely faded the move for years. One crew alone won over $1,000,000 with the move.
With most techniques, its common for the cutter to play seated; with the riffle cut, the cutter plays standing, and the advantages are significant. Now almost face to face with the dealer, its easy for the dealer to be turned with a comment, smile, or eye contact. Since the cutter never looks at the deck, manipulation seems unlikely.