Poker cheats arrested in France

Three poker players have been arrested in France recently under suspicion of cheating in a game. Bosses at the Cannes casino began to suspect the players after they netted $60,000 in a single night, after having had no previous big wins. It is thought that the Italian players were working in conjunction with a French dealer and an unidentified casino employee to organise the scam, secretly splitting the winnings between them.

Although officials had been aware of the gang since around August, they were unable to prove that they were cheating and were thus unable to arrest or accuse anyone in particular. However, after setting up a sting operation the trio were arrested last week whilst walking out of the Les Princes casino, after pocketing $41,000.

It's thought that the gang were cheating by marking the cards with invisible ink, before donning special infrared glasses to literally see through the cards. To ensure that the scam was a success, the marked deck of cards would have had to have been planted in the casino, meaning that the dealer would almost certainly have known what the cheats were doing, and was possibly a member of the gang himself.

The use of the marked card technique is interesting in that it's not very common in France, or indeed the rest of Europe. While it is well-known to American casino bosses (many will insist on fresh decks every hour or so to make cheating as difficult as possible), European cheat techniques tend to be slightly different; it's thought the gang may have known this and exploited it to their own advantage.

The poker cheats are currently awaiting sentencing, although since this particular scam is relatively uncommon in France it's difficult to predict what their sentence will be. French officials believe that the gang are linked to serious organised crime, and have given out their details to casinos across the country in a bid to stop it happening again. This is the second high-profile poker scam to have happened in Europe in the last 12 months. In 2010 a German player was disqualified from a tournament after officials suspected him of planting people in the audience to signal what his opponent's cards were.

Despite these dramatic goings-on however, cheating in casinos (and poker in particular) is still comparatively rare, due to the complex nature of the techniques that are involved. Casino bosses will often employ several practices in a bid to clamp down on cheating, including hiring undercover surveillance officers, using sophisticated CCTV, or even setting up stings on players they think have been behaving suspiciously. Not only are casinos keen to protect their own money, they also want to ensure that no trustworthy players are cheated out of their winnings, which may discourage them from returning in the future.

Although these methods mean that playing in casinos is a relatively safe activity, if you still feel worried than there are other ways to get your card fix without even leaving your own front room. 
Texas holdem poker is an increasingly popular way for players to enjoy the thrill of the game in the comfort of their homes.

Another option is to organise a 'card games and cocktails' evening for your friends; everyone dresses up, comes over and enjoys a sophisticated evening in, with the help of plenty of fabulous drinks and a few rounds of online poker. You can even hire decorations to make your lounge look that bit extra-special, or consider putting together a Rat Pack playlist to evoke that Las Vegas feeling. Who needs a long-haul flight and an expensive hotel? Now all you have to do is pour the drinks and put on your poker face. Enjoy.