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In earlier days, the expression honest casino was an oxymoron. Payoffs to the authorities and to the mob, were all financed in part by various forms of cheating. The skills of crooked dealers, known as mechanics, became highly valued, particularly in Blackjack, but also in Poker.

With the spread of legalised gambling, this thankfully is now the exception rather than the rule.

Today, in places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City and California, blatant dishonesty on the part of the house, such as using marked cards, stacked decks and crooked dealers, is virtually unthinkable.

If in doubt, then the answer is simple; do not play. Playing with strangers always involves risk, and if the play is for high stakes, or even moderate table stakes, be warned that there is a good chance that something is going to happen to leave you the loser.

You should be particularly worried if you are winning and someone suggests raising the stakes. If you are going to play Poker against strangers, either do so in a casino that you are confident is run honestly, or for stakes that are sufficiently modest that they are unlikely to provide much temptation for the professional cardsharp.

However, it helps to be aware of the methods in which a dishonest player can gain an unfair advantage over his opponents. The following pages describe four types of deliberate and systematic dishonest behaviour, which can be used on their own or in conjunction with each other.