Track card washing?

NDN21

Well-Known Member
#1
In Oklahoma at Firelake they have craps based on cards not dice.

The house uses the Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 from two sets of cards, one blue set and one green set. A player is chosen and that player tells the stickman what two spots he would like to have overturned, eg "Spot A and spot C". The stickman then turns these spots over to reveal their value which are then used as the value for the roll.

What the house does is, at the end of a "roll" after bets have been paid, the stickman washes the cards which are facedown. Then the 6 green cards are placed on a pre-set position on the table with the 6 blue cards immediately below.

Is there a way to follow a card around the table during a wash? What techniques are available? There are only 12 cards to track. I would like to keep track of two though keeping track of one might give me an advantage.

I kept track of one card for three "rolls" and won two of those bets.

The stickman was heavy-set and had to lean over the table. I am guessing he had his weight on the table, even if just a portion of his weight. That probably would keep whatever card that was on the bottom on the bottom of the wash, right? He also did not cross his hands whatsoever. The closest they came was next to each other as he shoved both piles together. Then he pulled the two piles apart.

I also looked for nicks that developed as the cards were shoved into each other. The area of the table was a little less lit than the rest which made this more difficult. I did see that two cards, the two and four, were slightly more bent than the others. This was not easy to spot since there was no glare coming off of the cards. But at times I was not the player calling out the cards to be overturned.

At these bets when someone else was calling out the cards to be overturned what can I do with my knowledge? I know I can refuse to play but I would still have to be around the table gathering information about possible tells of the cards.

Anyone else have any ideas of what else can be done?
 

ChefJJ

Well-Known Member
#2
NDN21 said:
In Oklahoma at Firelake they have craps based on cards not dice.

The house uses the Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 from two sets of cards, one blue set and one green set. A player is chosen and that player tells the stickman what two spots he would like to have overturned, eg "Spot A and spot C". The stickman then turns these spots over to reveal their value which are then used as the value for the roll.

What the house does is, at the end of a "roll" after bets have been paid, the stickman washes the cards which are facedown. Then the 6 green cards are placed on a pre-set position on the table with the 6 blue cards immediately below.

Is there a way to follow a card around the table during a wash? What techniques are available? There are only 12 cards to track. I would like to keep track of two though keeping track of one might give me an advantage.

I kept track of one card for three "rolls" and won two of those bets.

The stickman was heavy-set and had to lean over the table. I am guessing he had his weight on the table, even if just a portion of his weight. That probably would keep whatever card that was on the bottom on the bottom of the wash, right? He also did not cross his hands whatsoever. The closest they came was next to each other as he shoved both piles together. Then he pulled the two piles apart.

I also looked for nicks that developed as the cards were shoved into each other. The area of the table was a little less lit than the rest which made this more difficult. I did see that two cards, the two and four, were slightly more bent than the others. This was not easy to spot since there was no glare coming off of the cards. But at times I was not the player calling out the cards to be overturned.

At these bets when someone else was calling out the cards to be overturned what can I do with my knowledge? I know I can refuse to play but I would still have to be around the table gathering information about possible tells of the cards.

Anyone else have any ideas of what else can be done?
Sounds like something they play on the Price is Right! You know, my show.

About your question, the player never touches the cards, right? And when the "shooter" calls out the spot to pick, is the betting closed or can you bet until they are flipped?

Good luck
 

Sonny

Well-Known Member
#3
NDN21 said:
In Oklahoma at Firelake they have craps based on cards not dice.
Yeah, we have that here in California too. :rolleyes:

NDN21 said:
Is there a way to follow a card around the table during a wash?..I kept track of one card for three "rolls" and won two of those bets.
It’s like the old shell game: just keep your eye on the cards and try not to lose sight of it. I haven’t had much success following cards through a wash, but if there are only 12 cards then it should be much easier than 104. As you pointed out, there are certain type of dealers and certain styles of washing to look for. And, of course, you will need a quick eye.

NDN21 said:
I also looked for nicks that developed as the cards were shoved into each other.
Nicks can be pretty tough to spot, especially if the card(s) only has a distinguishing feature on one end/corner. Looking at that card from the other side makes it undetectable. You can also try looking for warps or uneven patterns in the card backs, but following the cards visually will probably be more useful than trying to find marks on them.

There may be other opportunities in this game as well so keep your eyes open.

-Sonny-
 
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