The Slot Expert's Guide to Winning at Slots and Video Poker

You can hear me give my slot and video poker tips live on The Good Times Show, hosted by Rudi Schiffer with Frank Scoblete, which is broadcast live from Memphis on WHBQ over the air on 560AM and over the Internet on Yahoo! Broadcast on Saturday morning from 8-10 CT.

A caller to this week's show complained about his losing streak at blackjack and was convinced that the dealers were cheating him. He asked whether dealers in modern casinos cheat.

Today's corporate-run casinos do not cheat their players. They have the odds in their favor and they have an unlimited bankroll compared to a player's bankroll. Why would they risk losing their gaming license by not dealing according to the rules?

The answer to this caller's question, however, is that some dealers do cheat. But they try to cheat the house, not the players at their tables. Dealers have been caught stealing chips from their banks. They've been caught overpaying confederates at their tables. And they've been caught steering good cards to confederates by dealing seconds, that is, dealing the second card from the deck, not the top card.

Everything in the casino is the way it is for a specific reason. The backs of the cards carry the designs they do to make it easy to detect when a dealer deals seconds. Here are two tips for detecting when a dealer is dealing seconds:

Look at the back of a card. The design will include a large logo or writing, usually the name of the casino. Watch the back of the deck as the dealer deals. The logo or writing should be a blur. If the logo or writing is solid and appears to stand still, the dealer is not dealing the top card. This method is how the "eye" detects a dealer who is not dealing properly.

Frank added that another way to detect a dealer who is dealing seconds is to listen to the cards as they're dealt. If you hear a snapping sound, the dealer is not dealing the top card.

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@home.com.

For more information about slots and video poker, we recommend: