You will hardly remember an older method of card game cheating than marking the cards. It was born at the same time people began playing cards for money. Cheaters have created numerous ways to fool the casino, and we have already described their tricks at Casinoz. It seems cheaters' imagination doesn't know the borders.
We must admit that most of these cheating ended with expelling the frauds from the game, their beating, imprisonment, and even murder if their rivals were members were criminal organizations. However, in the '90s, an American vision correction expert and his pretty girlfriend developed the best way of card marking in the history of this technique.
Contact Lenses as a Tool for Casino Cheaters
A method of card marking with various pasty substances has been known since immemorial. A technique of card marking invisible to the naked eye using luminescent solutions was already known at the time of the described events. These marks could be seen through glasses with a special coating.
The era of contact lenses increased the efficiency of this technique multiple times.
However, it had one major flaw: a reddish hue that could cause suspicion of security services. The optics specialist had to figure out a unique system of marking the cards. It required a solution that had never been used before and new equipment. The result has exceeded all expectations.
- First, he managed to get rid of the reddish tint on contact lenses, making them invisible to the human eye.
- Then he developed a solution almost invisible on the cards but visible in special lenses.
- However, a truly revolutionary discovery was another feature of the solution. It completely disappeared from the cards in just forty-five minutes after the application.
That means all traces of cheating disappeared unless cards were placed under infrared light for 45 minutes after applying the solution. Moreover, even if the casino had time to do it within 45 minutes, this deck of cards could not prove the cheater's guilt because the marks soon disappeared. The best casino management could do was asking the suspect to leave.
Cheaters Teamwork
The girlfriend of the scam organizer marked the cards. As a woman, she had more opportunities for this because she always had her vanity bag full of bottles, containers, and other items, typical for a lady's handbag. When she looked into the makeup bag to get something out, it did not cause the slightest suspicion because all women who want to fix their hair or makeup do that.
During these seemingly innocuous movements, she touched a sponge soaked in a mixture and thus inflicted her fingertips.
Then she marked cards according to their value.
Moreover, they stored another method to apply the solution to their fingers in their pockets seamlessly. They used it when the main cheater had to participate in the process.
In this case, the inner part of the cigarette pack was coated with the solution.
It allowed them to put it on their fingers while taking a cigarette from the pack. Neither of them smoked, but they did it to achieve the goal.
How the Story Ended
The couple managed to fool the casinos for five years successfully. During this time, they won several million dollars. Of course, there is plenty of ways to track such cheating nowadays. For example, cards can be viewed in infrared light during the game.
Nevertheless, there is no doubt that modern cheaters have not forgotten such a method because science does not stand still, which does not allow casino security to relax.
Summary
Have you ever dealt with card marking? Have you faced this technique working in the casino? Or, perhaps, you were the one to practice that?
Please share your experience and exciting stories in the comments.
