I watched a YouTube video the other day taken from the program “The Real Hustle” in which they performed some famous old blackjack cheating moves. What made me chuckle about the video was that it was clearly a made up situation. They were inside an English casino using coloured roulette chips on a blackjack table.
Also the moves were done based on the American blackjack version where the player gets to hold the cards. This isn’t the case in England where the player simply cannot touch the cards at all once they have been dealt. Still, they do make for entertaining programs. There are still numerous cheating moves available though despite the fact that the players cannot touch the cards.
This may surprise a few readers but over the past twenty years, ten of which were actually working in that job then you become aware of many different types of cheating move. Certain moves become possible based on the configuration of the dealer and the inspector. Quite often they will have a second game to watch. In some casinos that game may even be Casino Stud Poker so the inspectors attention will always be more focused on that table over the other blackjack table.
This is rightly so because just as in the program itself, this is a game where the players do get to hold the cards so many more cheating moves become possible based on that alone. But the reason why many cheats get caught is simply because of three things. Firstly then do not understand the psychology of the casino personnel that they are going up against.
Secondly they bet too big and in a way that brings attention up to a much higher level on behalf of the staff and management. Lastly, the cheats perform the moves at the wrong times and in the wrong locations. But it is this fatal lack of understanding with regards to casino staff psychology that gets them caught….and you thought that I only knew how to deal the games and play blackjack did you 
Carl “The Dean” Sampson
