Since the very first casino opened its doors, an endless war has raged between the operators trying to protect their money and the criminals trying to steal it.

The casino's "Eye in the Sky" catches most of them eventually, but recognizing the signs of a scam unfolding right next to you is a fascinating skill.

Past Posting: The Art of the Late Bet

The most common and arguably the most difficult-to-detect method of table game cheating is a sleight-of-hand maneuver known universally as "past posting."

Often, a confederate (an accomplice) will intentionally spill a drink or loudly argue with a waitress at the exact moment the cheater makes the move.

• Past posting involves adding chips to a bet after the player already knows they have won
• It is also called "late betting" and is most common on the crowded, chaotic roulette tables
• Cheaters use palm-palming techniques to hide the extra chips in their hands

Card Marking and Edge Sorting

In card games like Blackjack and Baccarat, the entire house edge relies entirely on the fact that the next card in the shoe is a complete mystery.

Edge sorting relies on finding tiny, microscopic manufacturing defects in the geometric patterns printed on the absolute back edge of the casino's playing cards.

The Mechanics of a Craps Scam

Instead of throwing the dice into the air, the cheater expertly slides one of the dice completely flat across the felt, preventing it from ever tumbling.

To combat this, casinos mandate that both dice must physically bounce off the chaotic, rubber pyramid "alligator" siding at the far end of the table.

The glamorous era of casino cheating has largely been eradicated by incredibly advanced facial recognition, RFID-chipped betting tokens, and relentless surveillance.