a Cutting Aces
If you practiced an hour or so cutting high cards as described in Chapter II, you can now cut aces at will. But if you merely read that chapter without actually trying the technique, you will still understand the nature of culling and crimping enough to sense and counter any cheating when cutting high cards for money:
- 1) Insist on cutting your card first if you suspect Neocheating--but do not insist on cutting first until after the cheater has shuffled and placed the deck on the table. Indeed, he will probably inquire about your choice while shuffling in order to determine whether to crimp a high card for himself if he cuts first -- or a low card for you at the approximate center (a high card for himself very low in the deck) if you cut first. Tell him he can cut first, but change your mind once he has placed the deck on the table.
- 2) If he refuses to let you cut first, you can assume he has crimped himself a high card. In that case, simply refuse to cut. But if he agrees to let you cut first, which he usually will do to avoid suspicion, run your thumb or fingertips lightly from the bottom of the deck up until you locate the crimp. Then cut the high card he had crimped for himself to win the bet.
That counterattack can generally be used only once against the same cheater. If the bet was large enough to break the cheater, the action is over anyway. But if he wants another cut, he will probably switch tactics and crimp a low card near the center of the deck for you to hit, whether you cut first or last. When the cards are on the table ready for cutting, suddenly insist on cutting for low card (i.e., the lowest card wins). If he refuses, simply avoid cutting at the crimp . . . or refuse to cut altogether.
- 3) If the Neocheater (or any cheater) does not ask who will cut first while preparing the cards for cutting, he then is probably crimping a high card for himself very low or very high in the deck and assuming you will not cut that low or high. Or, he is crimping a low card near the center of the deck and assuming that you will cut at the crimp. In any case, be sure that you cut first. Then before cutting, slowly and lightly run your thumb or fingertips up the side of the deck to locate the crimp. If the crimp is very low or very high, you will probably get a high card by cutting at that crimp. If the crimp is near the center of the deck, move past that crimp to avoid cutting a low card.
- 4) You also have other options to nullify or beat the Neocheater when cutting high cards:
- a) Riffle-shuffle the deck yourself and then white-hat Neocheat the cheater. You can use a foolproof Neocheating ploy by crimping a low card with a high card positioned directly behind that low card. Then offer your opponent the cut. If he is unsuspecting of your crimp, he may simply cut that low card at the crimp to lose. If he misses the crimp or is suspicious and purposely avoids your crimp, you can put your fingertips on the crimp during your cut, but leave the low card behind to cut the high card and win.
- b) Refuse to cut with him at all -- especially if you suspect him of using the foolproof Neocheating ploy described above.
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