Cheating in Craps – Table Preparation

Cheating in craps is not a very worthwhile project, since the casinos are very careful to watch for suspicious behavior both via video camera systems and live security personnel. The craps table crew also checks the components for each day’s games, including the table, dice and chips. The boxman at the craps table is also responsible for during-game security maintenance to ensure fair play.

Finding ways to cheat in craps are not difficult, but enacting the cheating process on those is far more complicated. Making loaded dice and getting the manipulated dice into play are harder projects than they seem. The easiest means of cheating in craps is actually stealing chips from the table, but it is equally as likely to get caught as more technical and extensive methods such as magnetizing the table. These craps cheating methods, however, both require some form of table preparation.

Table Preparation: Advance “Surveillance”

For the low-technology cheater, the table preparation means he may employ will involve some form of surveying the craps table area to first determine the most common traffic flow patterns around the particular table he is targeting. Additionally, watching and even playing a few rounds of craps will be helpful, both to keep from arousing suspicions, but also to ensure the thief knows the patterns of the game. This will allow him to determine the best times to make his chip grabs.

During the intended game, the cheater must carefully participate in the energy around the table, but not draw too much attention to himself. Likewise, he must continually be in and out of the space around the table. There need to be just enough onlookers, but not too many people to crowd out his access to the table. All of these are changing variables, and regardless of what a person plans to accomplish his cheating at craps, the plan will often be thwarted.

Table Preparation: Magnetic Tables

Though only a small handful of craps cheaters go as far as trying to manipulate the table itself, a few do still try. This is on the opposite side of the low-technology chips theft. In fact, table preparation on this level requires some serious engineering skills and special tools. In a casino setting, unless there was a team of people planning a casino rip-off, including workers inside the casino, this kind of craps cheating and table preparation is virtually impossible with constant casino security.  A player who wants to cheat at craps by table preparation will more likely be doing that at a local or private craps table, or building an already rigged table for personal or community use.

The table preparation for this level of cheating involves wiring a magnetic coil under the felt of the craps table in various positions. If a player is building a table, or a crooked casino is trying to cheat patrons, wiring the magnet in during the table’s construction makes the most sense. Otherwise, the cheater needs to carefully stretch a very thin magnetic wire around the betting zones on the table where the dice will frequently be thrown. This magnetic wire gets attached to an electric signal that can turn on and off. When the signal is switched on, this creates an electromagnet.

In addition to this, the dice need to be manipulated as well, for the whole system to work. Small pieces of metal are placed inside one side of the dice, as with other forms of loaded dice, to cause the dice to land with the desired number up. When the electromagnet is turned on, the metal in the dice allows the magnetic pull to impact the roll of the dice. If the magnet is off, the dice will behave normally.

Since the consequences and restrictions for owners and managers of gambling establishments are even more strict than for patrons, players should be confident that legitimate casinos do not attempt this kind of cheating. Honest casinos make enough profit from honest players that additional illegal methods like this are truly unnecessary. As well, the fines, penalties and costs of this level of illegal activity for a casino operator make this kind of cheating scheme a worthless pursuit.

Indeed, cheating in craps by table preparation is possible. However, for someone who is trying to really cheat the game, there are much simpler and truly more effective means of cheating. This is not a recommendation or agreement with cheating in craps, but merely description of cheating methodology. Legitimate players have far better attentions to focus on and illegitimate players would serve themselves better by learning ways to win at the game of craps, or another, rather than spending the energy trying to cheat it.