CONTINUING THE RESEARCH
The Special Reports continue the research presented in Gambling Sleight of Hand - Forte Years of Research (Forte, 2020). The Special Reports amend the published research in several ways.
Report #1
In this inaugural special report, we delve into the genre of false cuts and shuffles with a few new moves, variants, and subtleties.
Report #2
The science of marked cards has always been a passion of mine, so this report discusses a few of my favorite decks. The systems range from basic to ultra-sophisticated with each system featuring an attribute that I thought you would find interesting.
Report #3
To celebrate the new year, this is truly a special report that looks at my early inspirations, mentors, and the people who inspire me today. The report culminates with nine cardmen showcasing their special talents by sharing their thinking, moves, variants, and magic. Video contributions are from Bill Malone (pull-out w/ cascade), Rod the Hop (original pull-out), Jack Carpenter (fan strip shuffle), Sal Piacente (total recall scanning, aka ‘TRS’), David Malek (riffle stacking), Noel S. (N-transfer), Jack Tighe (pop-up second), FF (greek deal), and Miguel Webb (one-handed cooler).
Report #4
There has been an ongoing interest in the topic of ‘advantage play’ among the sleight-of-hand community. This report addresses today’s advantage players with a look at some of their strategies and what they are all about.
Report #5
This report offers a mixed bag of information to include observations about the hobby, practice tips, younger cardmen, plateaus, and positive takeaways. Also presented are a few utility moves that you'll end up using again and again, a few overlooked moves, a few magic moves, a few gamblers' moves, and a few selected stunts.
Report #6
I came upon a casino game-protection document from the Keller library that was put together for new floor supervisors and pit bosses. It instructs bosses about the many scams, warning signs, and suspicious behavior to watch for. I added lengthy annotations to each section to give the document some scope. At first, I doubted the interest in such a document but reviewers responded favorably, so it is included as a Special Report.
Report #7
Here we dig further into the scam known as ‘hand-mucking,’ looking at the general workings of this scam plus a few more mucks, switches, and ideas for stunts.
Report #8
Although I’m not a performer, in this report, I share some of my thoughts on stunts and offer several favorites that I enjoy doing for cardmen.
Report #9
I call this report 'The Truth about Asymmetries.' I suspect that some of this information may catch you off-guard, while some of the conclusions may shock you!
Report #10
Although a departure from sleight of hand with playing cards, there have been countless requests to cover dice cheating. In this report the focus is on dice switching—no special equipment is required. The switches are all practical for demonstrating on a close-up pad. Over 20 switches are documented.
Report #11
This is another Special Report with contributors providing videos of their special talents.
Side Note: My list of contributors for the second contributor’s report is filling up fast. So please, if your have a move, variant, or stunt that transcends the content in GSOH, feel free to pass it along. I do not share videos that are sent to me, and if I select your video, you may be credited in any manner you wish (anonymous, alias, initials, true name, etc.). Moreover, you’ll have access to the Special Reports with my compliments.
Report #12
For this report, I have invited a guest expert to discuss the modern marked deck. He will discuss advances in the cheater’s marked decks.
Report #13
This report is all about casino scams. Several private video clips from my early days as a consultant are shared for the first time!
Report #14
In this report, the spotlight is on the bottom deal. Several methods and nuances are explored.
Report #15
The final report of 2025 highlights a critical truth: It’s not what you read that matters, it’s what you retain, understand, explore, practice, master, share, and utilize to improve your skills . . . and perhaps even advance the art. Anyone can read a book, but realizing a palatable benefit from the content is the hard part. This report will test yout knowledge of GSOH and offer many suggestions for expanding your knowledge.
Complete table of contents
FALSE SHUFFLES AND CUTS
- False Shuffles and Cuts
- scrape strip
- bevel double-cut
- up-the-ladder (no stepped packets)
- favorite zarrow
- bottom zarrow (Bob White)
- fake finger-strips
- carrying top/bottom slugs (three methods)
- Subtleties
- relaxed protected-position, loop cuts, the gambler’s cut/stepper illusion
- selling the f-strip in magic
- zarrow-to-cutter subtlety
- changing the square-up
- delayed push-through
- OTT riffle protection
- fake-square-ups
- erdnase remedy
- face up/face down strips
MARKED CARDS
- Notable Marked Decks
- line/scroll work
- How It’s Done (Edward A. Litzau, 1938)
- blockout ink
- formulas
- applying the ink
- blending the ink
- blender formula
- polishing the cards
- polka dot. white wings
- juice
- frames
- line shade, highway shade
- 4-corner shade
- scratch, thumbnailing (from rank to sophisticated)
- percentage sorts
- mysto
INSPIRATIONS AND CONTRIBUTORS
- Early Inspirations
- Jonathan H. Green
- S. W. Erdnase
- John Scarne
- Inspirations Outside the Gambling World
- Mentors
- Contributors
- Bill Malone . . . OTT pull-out
- Rod the Hop . . . pull-out
- Jack Carpenter . . . fan-strip shuffle
- Sal Piacente . . . total recall scanning (‘TRS’)
- Noel . . . N-Transfer
- David Malek . . . riffle stacking
- Jack Tighe . . . one-handed pop-up second
- FF . . . greek deal
- Miguel Webb . . . one-handed cooler
ADVANTAGE PLAYERS
- Advantage Players
- background
- available information
- casino weaknesses
- gaming statutes
- one fair solution
- Modern Perspective
- advocate opinions
- legal definitions
- targeting weaknesses
- Strategic Deception
- lawful deception
- casino philosophy
- history
- gamesmanship
- casino practices
- Summary
PRACTICE TIPS, GAMBLING MOVES, STUNTS & MORE
- Observations
- experience versus knowledge; wisdom; the Revere syndrome; young cardmen
- practice tips, warming up, perfect practice, plateaus, speed, rhythm, positive
- takeaways
- 75%, 95%, 100% rule
- Overlooked
- cut, strip, three-pile cut; two-card transfer
- Gambling Moves
- squared side-to-side shift; short riffle; no-retraction second deal
- Magic Moves
- Jennings steal; OTT false cut to the table; one-handed roll-over cut
- Stunts
- one hand only (Frank Thompson)
- up-th-ladder aces
- too many drops
- super deal
CASINO GAME PROTECTION
- The Keller Library
- Casino Game Protection (Unpublished Manual)
- tipping and flashing (hole card and hit cards)
- exposing the deck
- dealing seconds
- deck condition
- stacking the pickup
- location play
- rolling the deck
- dumping the game
- subs
- altering new decks: daub, sorts, crimps, sand
- hand mucking
- pinching and pressing
- Distractions
- General Guidelines
- Correctable Errors
- Summary
HAND-MUCKING, STEALS, SWITCHES
- Hand-Mucking
- terminology, partnerships and crews, table position, methods
- two-for-two mucks, favorite two-for-two mucks, squeeze muck, scoop muck, jump muck, deal-face-up muck, super-fast muck
- left-hand/right-hand muck
- slow-motion muck, drop muck
- old-fashion muck
- the chop, blackjack chop, double-down chop, continuous chops (Roger Grayson)
- resting positions (Rod the Hop)
- double chop
- buckle muck, nosey muck, more mucks
- Steals & Break-offs
- pitch steal, thumb-nail break-off, any number of cards
- five-card stud switch, seven-card stud switch
- Switches
- classic two-player or two-position switch, hit-switch, ace-up switch
- lucky-spot switch, more switches
- Interesting Question
- Stunts
ALL STUNTS
- Stunts
- slug demo
- forte’s favorite
- boxing-the-deck demo
- OTT sequence, overhand shuffle sequence
- perfect strip, rapid-strip aces, four packets - four aces
- two riffles: aces from top to bottom
- transfer-based stunts; slug, transfer, ace stack, cooler
- full-deck control stunts, red-black demo, dealer’s school
- false dealing demos, dealing from the middle piles
- stacking demos
- false shift/hop demonstrations, briefs, mucks & coolers demos
- revelations, flourishes, Jack Carpenter, springing the aces
- one riffle - four aces
- stripped and stripped again
- summary
THE TRUTH ABOUT ASYMMETRICAL BACKS
- manufacturing process
- asymmetrical backs, one-way backs, logo asymmetries, flawed asymmetrical designs
- references - strategizing asymmetrical backs
- modern designs
- manufacturers respond
- history - early makers, modern card makers
- industry countermeasure - ‘the kill’
- tolerances and regulations
- world game protection conference
- basic economics
- summary
- the cardman’s perspective
- manufactured MARKED casino cards
ANOTHER CONTRIBUTOR’S SPECIAL REPORT
- Contributors
- Olivier Cave - full-grip bottom deal (FRANCE)
- LLZ - elevator hop (USA)
- Tom Gagnon - zig-zag pass (USA)
- KS - table cascade (GERMANY)
- Bertrand W. - push-through (SWITZERLAND)
- DC - zarrow shuffle (CANADA)
- Johannes Maussner - pull-out w/block transfer (GERMANY)
- Eddie McColl - center deal (SCOTLAND)
- CR - riffle cull (CANADA)
- Benjamin Parviainen - overhand stacking (FINLAND)
- Caleb Simpson - touch transfer (NEW ZEALAND)
THE MODERN MARKED DECK
- Modern High-Tech Card Marking
- Honorable Mentions - Juice
- Color Blocking Systems
- High-Tech Marking Systems
- Magenta System
- Cyan System
- Other Color Systems
- Detection
- Technological Integration
- Poker Analyzer
- Camera System
- Considerations in Ink Formulation
- Application Techniques
- Other Considerations
- Illusive Systems
- Conclusions and the Future of Card Marking
CASINO CONSULTANT
- casino consultant, casino scams
- false shuffles
- Erdnase, box, pick-up strip, f-strip (positioning strip), double deck, full-deck
- stacks
- lay stack, pick-up stack, riffle stack, key-card scam, high-low shuffles
- shifts, hops, and briefs
- riffle shift, t-shift, charlier shift, cut-card shift, classic hop, elevator hop, briefs
- attacking the shuffle from the outside - location techniques
- attacking the cut from the outside - drop cuts, steer game, warp cut, one-card drop
- false deals
- strike seconds, pushoff seconds, one-hand seconds, greeks, centers, shoe bottom
- peeks & flashes
- bubble, heel, double-down peek, v-peek, deal-down peek, flash, heel flash, shoe
- peek, muck
- scoop, drop (no prop), snap, look and tuck, hesitation, double down, hand washing, transfer, two-player switch, bug, sleeve holdout, knee-spread
- coolers
- one-deck coolers, multi-deck coolers
- strong-arm cheating
- hole card/player’s card switches, capping, lay-a-ways, shiners/gaffed shoes
- playing hole card
- spooking, first basers, front loaders, express, index dealers, submarine dealers
- Casinovations
- deadlock
- the lesson
- final observations
THE BOTTOM DEAL
- David Malek — The Hustlers Bottom Deal (2025)
- deck-hand finger flash - an obvious solution
- tell when dealing Erdnase bottoms
- natural cover
- get-ready
- back-end pitch and take
- consecutive bottoms,
- forward pushoff
- one-handed bottom #1, one-handed bottom #2
- special guest — Xavi Serral
- demonstrations
- Artanis bottom deal
- special guest - Gary Plants
- more bottoms
- special guest - Bernard Bilis
EXPANDING YOUR KNOWLEDGE
- experienced cardmen
- new to the hobby
- expanding your non-technical knowledge
- gambling books
- crooked gambling catalogs
- learning more card and dice games
- gambling collectibles
- advantage play
- professional dealers
- electronics
- probability and statistics
- computer programming
- The GSOH Test
- questions and answers