Glossary of Cheating Terms:
1ST KEY CARD. The first card an agent receives. This is normally a high value card.
2ND KEY CARD. The second card in the stack that an agent receives.
AGENT. A cheater who plays with the dealer who is his partner. Together they cheat the casino.
BANKROLL. The money a player or a team uses to gamble, or to fund a cheating project.
BARRED. Being told you cannot play certain casino games, or even kicked out of the casino.
BASIC STRATEGY. The optimal way of playing any hand in Blackjack based solely on the mathematical relationship between the player's dealt cards and the dealer's up card.
BASING. Seeing the dealer's hole card as he checks for a Blackjack. The hole card player normally sits at first base.
BLACKJACK. Also called 21. Casino game played with cards. From one to seven players wager against a dealer, trying to get a better point total than he does without exceeding a card count of 21.
BP. The Big Player. The member of a cheating team who bets the big money.
BUILT IN. A player known to the casino personnel as a losing player.
BURN CARD. The top card of the deck after the shuffle. It is discarded after the shuffle.
BUST. To go over the point total of 21 in Blackjack. When this happens to the player the hand is over and the player's bet is taken by the dealer. When it happens to the dealer, any player who has not busted is a winner.
CASINO MANAGER. Individual who oversees the entire casino operation.
CHOP. Division of the money after a play has been made.
COMP. A casino's free room, dinner, or show tickets to a preferred customer.
COOLER. A deck or number of decks that have been prearranged in a sequence that allows the cheaters to win every hand.
COVER PLAY. Playing on the square, i.e. without cheating. This is done to make the casino employees believe the cheater is a square.
CROSSROADER. Cheater who specializes in cheating legal casinos.
CUT INTO. To make contact with a person, usually to talk "business."
DECK PENETRATION. The percentage of the available cards that are dealt to the players in Blackjack. Commonly, between 50 and 80 percent.
FISHING. Stacking term that means the dealer is looking for a high card or cards during the shuffle. If found, the dealer will use these cards to stack the deck.
FLASHING. Covertly showing the top card of the deck. Usually the dealer will flash his agent.
FLOORMAN. A casino supervisor of one or more casino games. This person works in the pit.
FRONT LOADER. A dealer who accidentally exposes his hole card as he places it under his up card.
GAMING CONTROL BOARD (GC). Enforcer of gambling laws and regulations.
GRIFT SENSE. A sixth sense that good crossroaders/cheaters obtain through experience. This is the sense that crossroaders use to determine if the play is a "go."
HANDMUCKING. The art of switching cards in play.
HEADS UP. To play at the Blackjack table alone with the dealer.
HIT CARD. An additional card taken by a Blackjack player intended to better his hand.
HOLD OUT. To secretly hide a card on one's person. When appropriate, the holdout card will be switched for another card to better the cheater's hand.
HOLE CARD. The face down card the dealer deals to himself.
IBN. "In Between Number." The number of cards that are between the key cards. This number must be the same as the number of bets on the table.
INDEX DEALER. A dealer who accidentally exposes the index of the hole card as he is taking it off the deck to load it under his up card.
INSURANCE. Optional side bet offered by the casinos. The player is betting the dealer has a Blackjack. Insurance pays 2 to 1.
MARKED CARDS. Cards that have been secretly marked on the back of the card to let the cheater know the value of the card.
OFFICE. A signal cheaters use to covertly communicate with each other.
PAT HAND. A hand in Blackjack with a point value between 17 and 20.
PIT BOSS. The person responsible for all gaming action in the pit. The floormen report to the pit boss, and he reports to the shift boss.
PUSH. A tie, the dealer and the player have the same point total. Neither side wins or loses.
RIFFLE SHUFFLE. Dividing the deck in half and interlacing the two halves together. This is the main shuffle in the casinos.
SHIFT BOSS. Person responsible for the casino on his shift. He reports to the casino manager.
SHOE. Device that holds from 2 to 8 decks of cards. In Blackjack it facilitates the dealing of the cards, reducing risk of exposure and cheating.
SIDE JOG. A cheating method that has a card or group of cards offset to the left or right of the deck. This secretly marks a spot in the deck.
SLUG. A group of cards controlled during the shuffle. Also known as "Stack" or "Stock."
SQUARE. Someone not in on the action: a straight, civilian, non-cheater. Also, "Square John."
SNAPPER. Slang for a Blackjack, an Ace plus a ten-value card.
STACKING. Shuffling the cards in a manner to create or preserve a certain sequence of cards that will result in a winning hand.
STIFF. A hand in Blackjack with a point value between 12 and 16.
TELL. A mannerism, habit, or characteristic, verbal or non-verbal, that indicates a person's real intentions or activity when he is trying to hide those intentions or that activity.
2ND KEY CARD. The second card in the stack that an agent receives.
AGENT. A cheater who plays with the dealer who is his partner. Together they cheat the casino.
BANKROLL. The money a player or a team uses to gamble, or to fund a cheating project.
BARRED. Being told you cannot play certain casino games, or even kicked out of the casino.
BASIC STRATEGY. The optimal way of playing any hand in Blackjack based solely on the mathematical relationship between the player's dealt cards and the dealer's up card.
BASING. Seeing the dealer's hole card as he checks for a Blackjack. The hole card player normally sits at first base.
BLACKJACK. Also called 21. Casino game played with cards. From one to seven players wager against a dealer, trying to get a better point total than he does without exceeding a card count of 21.
BP. The Big Player. The member of a cheating team who bets the big money.
BUILT IN. A player known to the casino personnel as a losing player.
BURN CARD. The top card of the deck after the shuffle. It is discarded after the shuffle.
BUST. To go over the point total of 21 in Blackjack. When this happens to the player the hand is over and the player's bet is taken by the dealer. When it happens to the dealer, any player who has not busted is a winner.
CASINO MANAGER. Individual who oversees the entire casino operation.
CHOP. Division of the money after a play has been made.
COMP. A casino's free room, dinner, or show tickets to a preferred customer.
COOLER. A deck or number of decks that have been prearranged in a sequence that allows the cheaters to win every hand.
COVER PLAY. Playing on the square, i.e. without cheating. This is done to make the casino employees believe the cheater is a square.
CROSSROADER. Cheater who specializes in cheating legal casinos.
CUT INTO. To make contact with a person, usually to talk "business."
DECK PENETRATION. The percentage of the available cards that are dealt to the players in Blackjack. Commonly, between 50 and 80 percent.
FISHING. Stacking term that means the dealer is looking for a high card or cards during the shuffle. If found, the dealer will use these cards to stack the deck.
FLASHING. Covertly showing the top card of the deck. Usually the dealer will flash his agent.
FLOORMAN. A casino supervisor of one or more casino games. This person works in the pit.
FRONT LOADER. A dealer who accidentally exposes his hole card as he places it under his up card.
GAMING CONTROL BOARD (GC). Enforcer of gambling laws and regulations.
GRIFT SENSE. A sixth sense that good crossroaders/cheaters obtain through experience. This is the sense that crossroaders use to determine if the play is a "go."
HANDMUCKING. The art of switching cards in play.
HEADS UP. To play at the Blackjack table alone with the dealer.
HIT CARD. An additional card taken by a Blackjack player intended to better his hand.
HOLD OUT. To secretly hide a card on one's person. When appropriate, the holdout card will be switched for another card to better the cheater's hand.
HOLE CARD. The face down card the dealer deals to himself.
IBN. "In Between Number." The number of cards that are between the key cards. This number must be the same as the number of bets on the table.
INDEX DEALER. A dealer who accidentally exposes the index of the hole card as he is taking it off the deck to load it under his up card.
INSURANCE. Optional side bet offered by the casinos. The player is betting the dealer has a Blackjack. Insurance pays 2 to 1.
MARKED CARDS. Cards that have been secretly marked on the back of the card to let the cheater know the value of the card.
OFFICE. A signal cheaters use to covertly communicate with each other.
PAT HAND. A hand in Blackjack with a point value between 17 and 20.
PIT BOSS. The person responsible for all gaming action in the pit. The floormen report to the pit boss, and he reports to the shift boss.
PUSH. A tie, the dealer and the player have the same point total. Neither side wins or loses.
RIFFLE SHUFFLE. Dividing the deck in half and interlacing the two halves together. This is the main shuffle in the casinos.
SHIFT BOSS. Person responsible for the casino on his shift. He reports to the casino manager.
SHOE. Device that holds from 2 to 8 decks of cards. In Blackjack it facilitates the dealing of the cards, reducing risk of exposure and cheating.
SIDE JOG. A cheating method that has a card or group of cards offset to the left or right of the deck. This secretly marks a spot in the deck.
SLUG. A group of cards controlled during the shuffle. Also known as "Stack" or "Stock."
SQUARE. Someone not in on the action: a straight, civilian, non-cheater. Also, "Square John."
SNAPPER. Slang for a Blackjack, an Ace plus a ten-value card.
STACKING. Shuffling the cards in a manner to create or preserve a certain sequence of cards that will result in a winning hand.
STIFF. A hand in Blackjack with a point value between 12 and 16.
TELL. A mannerism, habit, or characteristic, verbal or non-verbal, that indicates a person's real intentions or activity when he is trying to hide those intentions or that activity.