In the professional blackjack cheating plays of the 1980s, never getting caught was not merely a matter of technical skill, but a disciplined act of the psychology of cheating. We relied on a deep understanding of casino culture, surveillance, and human nature to remain undetected.

Disciplined Management of Greed
The most critical psychological factor in avoiding detection was the refusal to "push their luck." Unlike many gamblers or amateur cheats who are driven by greed, we knew exactly when to stop a session or retire a play. We emphasized that getting into trouble usually happens when someone tries for "one more or two more" wins; by remaining "not greedy," we successfully operated for years without incident.

This discipline extended to my ultimate retirement—I chose to quit after four years because an associate was caught, realizing that "guilt by association" would lead to increased scrutiny from surveillance.

The Psychological Con​​

To deflect suspicion, I  and my  agent performed a calculated social con:

• Fake Hostility: We understood that a real dealer typically dislikes a player who wins large sums and does not tip. Therefore, the dealer and the agent pretended to dislike each other, playing off the "stiff" player dynamic to appear as total strangers.
• Inconspicuousness: The goal was to "blend in so well with the rest of the crowd" that we became invisible to floor supervisors. This involved avoiding anything that would attract attention. 

Avoiding "Tells" through Focus

Maintaining the appearance of a normal game was more important than tracking the money. I purposefully did not keep track of my agent's winnings because doing so would be a "tell". By remaining focused entirely on the game and the act of dealing, I avoided the preoccupation that would draw the attention of surveillance or floor bosses, whose job it was to "sweat the money".

Managing External Variables

A significant part of their psychological strategy involved controlling the environment beyond the casino staff:

• Other Customers: They were wary of "squares" players who might report anything "fishy" to the boss.
• Professional Adaptation: When things did not go as planned, the we maintained our professional composure. Instead of panicking or running, we adapted to the situation, which prevented us from drawing the kind of attention that leads to an arrest.

Authenticity and Magic Backgrounds

The psychology of their success was also rooted in our backgrounds in magic and hospitality. The Kaiser performed bar magic for years, which he described as a path  into cheating because it taught him the "chops of dealing with people" and how far they could be twisted or misdirected. This expertise allowed us to turn the "dark art" of cheating into something that felt like "second nature," appearing as natural as flipping a light switch.

 
…But not all was well. My girlfriend and I were running out of money and we started planning to move back to the Midwest. Neither of us had been to California and it was only four hours from Vegas. We figured we would take a trip there and then start moving back home.

There is a place in Hollywood, CA, called The Magic Castle where many of the best magicians perform. It was a Victorian Mansion built in 1902 and converted to the Magic Castle in the 1960s.  I wanted to go, but there was a problem: You had to be a member; I was not. I called CC and asked him if he had heard of the Magic Castle. He laughed and said, “I have been there several times”. I told him I was going this weekend. He replied, “I will be in LA this weekend and we can go.” Perfect.

I remembered driving up the steep road to the top where the Magic Castle was illuminated against the pitch black sky. Men were in suits and ties; women in evening gowns.  I walked into a little 20 x 20 room with no other entrances or exits and I thought to myself: What’s going on? The receptionist told me to stand in front of the bookcase and say: Open Sesame, and just like you have seen in the movies the bookcase swung open into the Magic Castle.

Adorned on all the walls were paintings and photos of the masters of yesteryear. In one room there is a piano with no pianist that magically plays any song requested. There are four showrooms where the country’s best magicians perform.

Unknown to me until several years later my girlfriend cuts into CC that night and told him of our predicament: We were running out of money and moving back to the Midwest. The day after we returned to Vegas, CC called me and told me to come over. 
 
He taught me to deal the game of Blackjack in two days; on the third day I was employed as a Blackjack dealer in a downtown Vegas casino.  Back in those days I was literally dealing the game six hours a day. For six hours I was practicing moves at the table. I didn’t have an agent play at my game; I was only practicing.  I had a Blackjack table at my house and I would videotape myself practicing. I played the video and watched myself doing the moves on TV. When I couldn’t spot the move, I knew I was ready.

Seven weeks later I got a job on the Las Vegas Strip dealing Blackjack. I had my first agent come in and we took off the game. I was primarily stacking the deck. We won without any heat. This gave me tremendous confidence.

A few months later CC called. He was forming a cheating team and asked if I wanted in.  I was at his house before he hung up the phone! He was dealing to four players and told me to watch and see if I could nail the move. I watched, but couldn’t see the move. What was he doing?  He was doing a fairly sophisticated form of the flash.  The standard flash was done by neck tying the deck and then flashing the top card of the deck. This seemed very risky. This new method occurred as the dealer tucked his hole card.  He would flash the top card of the deck to his agent at first base.

This gave the agent 100% playing efficiency with his first hit card.  He would never bust with this card, he knew when to double down, and he could hit his stiffs with a dealer’s 2 - 6 up.  It got even better: as JS picked up the cards he flashed the top card of the deck to his agent. This gave his agent a very high betting efficiency. He would bet low when he saw a baby or rag; medium when he saw a 10 value card and the table limit when he saw an Ace.

This play took place out of town for two reasons: CC was too hot to get a play down in Vegas and the architect of the play was a shift boss who worked at an out of town casino.  He cut into me and told me he would not hire me. He explained that he did not want any connection between us. I would have to get hired by the casino manager (CM) on my own.

I travelled to that casino and auditioned. After the audition, the CM told me there were no openings.  I auditioned again the following week and was told the same thing. I called JS and told him I was having trouble getting hired. He told me I had to get hired if I wanted to be part of the team. I was determined to do whatever it took. I went back and got another audition. As the CM told me he did not have any openings again, I replied, “I’m broke, hungry and I need a job. I will work one day a week.” He hired me!
​
I will never forget walking into the pit, looking around and thinking: That dealer is down with it, there’s one of our agents, there’s our boss…

In my next article I will tell you how play went down, who got pulled up by Gaming Control Agents, and what I did when I returned to Vegas.   

Check out a new video about hand mucking: Click to view.
Hand mucking is secretly playing the best two out of three cards. The cheater has an extra card on him and switches it with one of the cards he is dealt.  It's hard to explain in print. Watch the video to gain an insight into one of the most skillful moves a cheat can perform. 

My new book should be available this autumn (2015). Stay tuned for more details.

It might seen strange a retired Blackjack Cheat would write about success principles. The reason I was a  successful Blackjack Cheat was I followed these principles! I will write about each principle in general terms here and in future blogs explain how I used these principles specifically to cheat the game of Blackjack. These principles are universal. You can use them to achieve any goal that is important to you.

1. Find Your Passion - Whatever it might be. It's your passion that will pull you through tough times and we all have tough times. If you are passionate about  your goal, you will work harder to achieve it.
2. Who do You Listen To - The fastest way to success is to find and follow real experts. They have the knowledge you need and have been there. If possible, associate with them. This will skyrocket your knowledge and skill levels. 
3. When Your Attitude is Right, the Facts Don't Matter. Wow! That's not a typo. I will go into this principle in much more detail in a later post, but here's the basic idea: Have you ever flown on an airplane? The Wright Brothers were credited with building the world's first successful airplane. They were told countless times: You will never get something that big and heavy off the ground. It's a fact. 
4. Constant Improvement. Did Steve Jobs and Apple stop after the first iPhone was invented? Of course not. There's always ways to improve a concept, technique, or product. Your passion really helps here.
5. Make Better Decisions: For 99% of people they are where they are in life because of the decisions they have made. If you want a better life, make better decisions. This principle is tied in with principle two.
6. Take Action. It's impossible to achieve any goal without taking action. This is the hardest principle for most people, because it takes work. It's much easier to drink beer and watch TV. That's why only two percent of people are super successful. 

 

To Your Success,
Dustin