Cheaters Never Prosper [Flashback]

[Ileana Erika Ionescu]

Mid-spring, 504 AV

"This," Tall Johnny said, "is the gaming area."

Ileana tugged at her shirtsleeve, only to be reminded that she didn't have a shirtsleeve. She wasn't even sure whether to call the flimsy garment she was wearing a shirt, though it did at least partially cover her. At least it had straps - the outfits that most of the girls here were wearing seemed to be held up only by some kind of adhesive and sheer bravura.

She looked dubiously at the array of felt-covered tables and decks of cards. Certainly it was a change from the stained wooden floors and cracked furniture in the Jacobson Syndicate building. Even so, she didn't trust it. Somewhere, there was another shoe, waiting to drop and squish her like an insect.

"You'll start as a poker dealer," Johnny said. "You can shuffle, I take it?"

"Yes, sir, I can," she said, more politely than she felt.

"All right then," Johnny replied. "The actual mixing of the cards, however, is only a small portion of the job. A much larger part of it is keeping the game fair. The reason the casino draws so many people is that it has some of the only games in Sunberth that aren't rigged, and I intend to keep it that way. So I'm going to tell you some of the common ways people try to cheat, and if you ever see any, you're to tilt your head to the left twice. One of the security staff will put a stop to it."

That's a gentle way to put it, Ileana thought, but all she said was, "Yes, sir."

[Ileana Erika Ionescu]

"Some of the usual ways to cheat are avoided by having an employee as dealer," Johnny was saying. "Of course, should an employee try any of these methods, it's safe to say that we will no longer require their services."

Again, an understatement if ever there was one. Ileana understood, and so Johnny went on.

"These include palming chips while giving a player her winnings, shuffling the deck or dealing so that the dealer knows what cards she or the other players hold prior to looking at them, or switching decks altogether. Since none of the players are supposed to deal, shuffle the deck, or award chips, these are highly unlikely at best."

"Some players will either bring an extra card to the table or acquire an extra one during the game, the idea being to be able to pick the best available hand from the combinations possible using one extra card. At the start of each day, all the decks that will be in play are given a unique stamp that is never reused. This makes it so that players are unable to substitute one of their own cards. As for holding a card, at the end of each game, you will switch the deck out with another. While you are shuffling and dealing, another employee will count the cards in the previous deck, making sure that none are missing or marked. If any irregularities are observed in the previous deck, the game is immediately called off, and our security personnel will investigate."

He looked more directly at Ileana. "Eventually, you'll take a turn at checking the previous deck. As such, you'll want to know what to look for in terms of marked cards. There are a few ways this is commonly done.

"One is to create a slight groove in the back of the card using a fingernail. Another is to use some kind of liquid or temporary adhesive to create a slight stain on the back of the card. Such materials are easily hidden, and nearly impossible to spot on a person. These marks don't help during the current hand, but if the cheater can see them during the next game, it can make a huge difference. Therefore, looking for them after a deck has been in play is critical."

"One looks for visible marks, of course. But another way to do it is the riffle test. Watch."

Johnny took a deck from the table and riffled the cards. It didn't look at all unusual to Ileana, and her confusion showed on her face.

"Now watch this."

He took a second deck and did the same thing. This time, however, Ileana saw a series of rapid-fire changes in the patterning on the back of the deck. The changes were so subtle that she doubted she could have picked them out looking at each individual card; however, they stood out like a two-armed Eypharian when she was able to view them this way.

Johnny saw that she understood, and did not belabor the point. "There's also a bright light to use when looking at the cards. Some people will put a drop of vodka on a card, which dulls the finish slightly. However, under bright light, it's painfully obvious, where it might not be in the shadows."