THE FIRM - CHEATING IN POKER

Come on now, lets be honest here…poker is not always played on the level. I think that anybody who thinks that is probably being a little naïve to put it mildly. Poker at the end of the day is played for money and just like with everything else, there are certain people out there who will do whatever it takes in order to get that money and they don’t let little things like scruples and conscience get in the way.

The number of cheating moves in a game of poker are numerous but one of the most destructive is team play. What you are about to read is a true story about an actual team that is not only still active as we speak but has also been active as long ago as 1994 to my knowledge. How do I know this, simple because I was once approached by them back in the spring of 1994 to cheat for them inside a casino where I worked at the time.

They had been grooming me for some considerable time and had already got me pegged as someone that was not career minded and would not have grassed them up to the authorities. Like I would have done that anyway, these are serious people who are not to be trifled with and I wanted no part of it then and I want no part of it now. Besides, things are different now as I play the game full time online and have done for the past five years.

In the relative unknown of the gaming underworld, this motley bunch of ruthless charlatans go by the name of “The Firm” and no game is safe no matter how big or small. On the face of it, they seem like nice and polite individuals but that just hides the sheer tenacity of this group of people. Totalling six in number, they zero in most of the time in getting house dealers to become accomplices and assist them in beating the cash games that they play in. They figure that by doing this they can just win one or maybe two explosive pots a night and make a serious killing and spend the rest of the evening playing on the level.

What gets me about these people is that each and every one of them is a very strong player in their own right and two of them have actually gone on to become names. This begs the question why they feel the need to cheat. Well I suppose each team member has their own individual reasons. Some do it because of the variance within the game and many players struggle with this part of poker. Others do it because they cannot beat the game on the level although that as I have already stated does not apply to any of these people.

There is of course one other reason to account for this and that reason is greed. I think that when a person gets to a certain level of income or needs a certain level of income for that matter then if they are of a certain disposition then literally anything becomes possible. Having spoken to many poker cheats and cheats in general, many do it out of sheer financial necessity.

As I have already stated I was first approached by “The Firm” in 1994 but that was not their only approach to me as they tried to recruit me once again a few years later when I was involved with one of my blackjack teams. They were aware of my shuffle tracking ability and were keen to get me into a live poker game although I doubt if my skill could have been as effective in a game like that as certain types of shuffle wipe out any advantage altogether.

The names have been changed in this story to protect certain people….mainly myself and also the names of the casinos have been altered as well. It was in the summer of 1994 that Farzel approached me to work for The Firm. It was in a 24 hour Snooker club where some of my colleagues used to go to after work and sometimes even on their days off as well. They sold drinks after hours and many people used to go there after the night clubs had closed if they still fancied another drink. It was also a haven for poker players as well as some of them would relocate there and continue with the cash game that they had been involved in inside the casino where I worked.

I had been playing Snooker for about an hour with my mate Lee who was wiping the floor with me when I got tired of being whipped and decided to go and try my luck in the poker game that was going off in the corner of the room. Heaven only knows what would have happened if we had been raided because it was also a place where several local prostitutes used to take back some of their punters because they had access to a couple of private rooms upstairs.

I wandered across and asked to be dealt in. Of course I knew them all and we were on first name terms because not only were they all punters in the casino but I also used to deal the cash game as well and several of them were regulars in that game. The game was dealers choice and was £100 minimum sit down. I had just drawn my wages from cash desk before I left the casino so I had money on me and they were not paid directly into the bank back then.

I was determined that I was not going to risk any more than the hundred because I did not trust the game and I was far from being an adequate poker player at the time….yes I was very naïve back then. Well you guessed it, yours truly was politely retiring from the game fifteen minutes later minus the hundred pound and not having the nerve to risk anymore money.

I was sat slumped in a chair at the far end of the snooker hall drinking a coffee and mulling over what had just happened when I was approached by a smiling friendly face who had been active in the very game that I had just been playing in. He was called Farzel and was a polite and friendly Iranian punter who had I known for several years but this was the first time that I had the chance to speak to the guy outside of a work environment. The game had temporarily broken up as one or two people were getting something to eat and drink.

“Cheer up, it could have been worse” said Farzel

Not wanting to seem like I was hurting from having lost what to him must have been an inconsequential sum of money I replied.

“oh, I was just contemplating something that was all”

“What….suicide!” replied Farzel with his usual smile and quick wit and we both laughed.

Farzel pulled up another chair from the next table and sat beside me and I kind of got the funny feeling that this was not going to be a courtesy visit because it never was with people like him. I’d heard a story told to me by another member of staff that he had once approached them to get involved in some kind of insurance scam so I knew that he was well dodgy. We made small talk for a while about many things but I was just waiting for the conversation to get around to casinos which I knew that it would.

“You know Carl, over the years I think that I have come to know you pretty well. Why do you stay in that job when you hate it so much”

Here we go I thought, “to be honest Faz, I wish I knew. I think that I am just stuck in a rut. I have been wanting to get out for ages but weeks turn into months and months turn into years” I replied.

“Yeah I know what you are saying” replied Farzel.

He went on “its not as though the money is anything to write home about either is it”

“No, it could be better and that’s a fact” I replied.

“You know Carl, you must know dozens of ways to cheat that place….how long have you worked inside casinos now?”

“About five years” I replied.

“Have you ever considered cheating?”

“I’d be lying if I said that the thought had not crossed my mind once or twice” I said without trying to appear uncomfortable with this line of conversation. The fact was that even if I had been dodgy then there would have been no way that I would have ever entered into any kind of arrangement with a man like him anyway but I could not tell him that.

“What I am about to ask you Carl is for your ears only do you understand me?”

The way that Farzel leaned forward and whispered the words “do you understand me” while fixing me directly with his eyes unnerved me. I knew that he was connected with various gangs and also that he was not the type of person to meddle with.

“Of course Faz, you know me….I don’t blab”

“In that case, I will get to the point then. The cash games in your club are getting bigger and heavier and we want a slice of the action if you know what I mean”.

I nodded but I was not aware of what he was getting at. “Would you help us Carl” replied Farzel.

I could not keep up the pretence of knowing what he was talking about for any longer and asked him what he specifically meant by me helping them.

“You deal the big cash game there don’t you?” said Farzel knowing full well that I did.

“Yeah but not all the time, we have other dealers who deal that game as well” I replied, trying my best to place obstacles in his way but without success.

“We don’t need you on the table all the time, in fact if you was then it would start to look very suspicious. We just need you on the table some of the time and that will be enough. We have been watching your card room for sometime, the procedures, staff security….everything!”

He went on, “we want someone on the inside in this club and we want that someone to be you”.

I kind of got the feeling that the casino where I worked was not the only place that Farzel and his little firm of cheating buddies were operating but I didn’t dare ask for details that were none of my business.

“To do what?” I asked.

“Get us an edge and I will leave it at that for now until you agree to join us” replied Farzel.

“But I don’t know jack about how to cheat poker games Faz apart from the obvious stuff” I replied, once again trying to provide obstacles to what he was proposing.

“You don’t need to know, we will train you up in everything that you need to know and do and you will only have to do it once a night against targets that we will select” he replied.

“So what’s the deal, how much do I get if I do it?” I replied.

“A percentage of what you are responsible for taking, there will be two other team members on the table and one on another table so your cut will be 25%” replied Farzel.

I was quickly trying to calculate what 25% of one of the huge pots that we sometimes got would amount to. I had known pots with ten grand in them and two and a half grand for a nights work seemed very appealing. But what were the ramifications of my actions if I got caught. Losing my job quickly sprung to mind and then there was the moral aspect of actually robbing someone. This was not like finding some wallet in the street and failing to hand it in, this was blatant robbery.

But the aspect that bothered me the most was the possible consequences of getting involved with these kind of people and what would have happened if I had failed or if I had been detected. Then what about if I wanted to stop and pack the entire thing in…would they let me do that. Would they even let me finish my job at the casino if ever I wanted to leave.

One thing was for sure and that was there was no way that I wanted to risk the potential safety of my family and while that may seem to be a little dramatic, I did not know what kind of people that I was getting involved with and I felt that I had to turn the offer down if only for their sake. So I told Farzel in no uncertain terms what my decision was and why and he accepted without even trying to talk me around.

We parted that evening and I had been watching him closely to see if he approached any other member of staff which he didn’t but to be fair, there was only one other poker dealer in there anyway. In the weeks and months that followed, I watched Farzel with great interest but his appearances gradually diminished in the casino where I worked until he finally stopped coming in at all. I could only assume that Farzel and his “Firm” were unable to get any other member of staff to help them in their operation and were concentrating their efforts elsewhere but fate would allow our paths to cross again a few years down the line.

Fancy Seeing You Here

The year was 2002 and it was around late October time. I had been playing online poker for a couple of months and doing OK but I was far from living the good life out of my earnings even though the games were weak. I was in a sort of transitional period between finally drawing the curtain on my blackjack career and finally admitting to myself that the best years were behind me and moving on into something that obviously had some kind of future.

I had been approached by another potential backer to start up yet another team and attack blackjack one more time but the automatic shufflers were making it more and more difficult. Although there were still plenty of shoe games around, the casinos that had automatic shufflers were in a way funnelling players into playing at fewer clubs which thus left them more exposed to detection. I was on a scouting trip to a casino in the midlands and was sat in the bar area having a drink when two people came and sat at the next table and within earshot.

“What do you reckon Dave’s down tonight?” said one of the guys.

“Dunno, must be about ten grand….he’s been getting hammered over the past month” replied the other.

“Mind you it ain’t as though he hasn’t got the money” responded the first man.

“Don’t be so sure, his wife took him for an absolute mint when they divorced…she must have took him for half”

“Yeah and Farzel’s having the other half” replied his colleague and both of them started laughing.

Suddenly my hearing became a hundred times more acute, despite the fact that I had not encountered the name “Farzel” for some considerable time, I had never forgotten him. Could it be that they were talking about the very same Farzel that had tried to recruit me eight years earlier. Just how many people were actually called Farzel anyway and especially ones that were into poker in the UK.

I think that it was time to take a meander across to the card room. Suddenly the prospect of scouting the blackjack games had completely gone from my head. My curiosity about whether or not this guy was the same Farzel that I knew and if he was still active or not with his team had completely and utterly got the better of me.

The card room was up a flight of stairs and as I entered, the card room supervisor glanced at me and then asked me if I wanted a seat at a table. I shook my head and simply told him that I was merely observing. I scoured the card room from where I was stood, there were eight full sized poker tables in there but only three were occupied. I could not see Farzel anywhere and now I was starting to think that this must be some other guy.

Just then there was a major dispute on the table furthest away from me which sounded like they were arguing about a split pot. The argument got ever more heated and the supervisor was forced to intervene but even he was struggling to calm things down. Just then the guy that had been sat with his back to me got up out of his chair and turned around….it was Farzel!

I looked closely just to make sure but my recognition with faces has always been exceptional. He had shaved off his long curly hair and his bushy moustache and was barely recognisable from the man I remembered but it was definitely him. I moved closer to the table but I could not get any nearer than about fifteen feet as that area was roped off and only players were allowed in and the odd visit from a cocktail waitress and the supervisor.

Farzel had a huge stack as far as I could tell which was an intimidating mixture of chips and cash. I looked at the dealer and was wondering if this guy was working with Farzel in the same way that he had tried to recruit me all those years ago. Maybe he was on the straight now and I had got him wrong but surely leopards never change their spots.

At that precise moment, Farzel looked directly at me but immediately looked away. There was no recognition of me whatsoever and of that I was sure. I was wondering whether it would be worth my while making myself known to him. I stood there and watched the events for several minutes before they eventually calmed down and got on with the next hand.

The card room supervisor walked past me and resumed his initial position at his desk and was doing some paperwork when I casually walked up to him and engaged him in conversation.

“That guy in the purple shirt (Farzel) seems to be having a good night” I enquired.

The supervisor looked up and scoured me for a second or two before replying.

“Oh you mean Faz….yeah he is the biggest winner here quite often” replied the supervisor whose name was Mike as I had clocked his name badge.

I quickly asked another leading question, “that dealer is very good”.

“Danny!.....yeah he is the only dealer that deals the big game” replied Mike.

I knew that Farzel never worked alone and if he was still active then he would have other team members with him. I returned to scouring Farzel’s table and sure enough, a familiar face became apparent to me. It was non other that Farzel’s trusty right hand man, Maresh.

Maresh had been with Farzel when he tried to recruit me and was the guy that I had lost the hundred pound to in the Snooker club that night. I stood there watching them for a further thirty minutes hoping to see some move or some cheating tactic which was probably a bit naïve as their moves were likely going to be too good for me to spot. I returned to the pit area after a while and played a little blackjack. But I was struggling to concentrate as my mind was constantly thinking about Farzel.

To have been active all this time and to avoid detection was a very significant achievement indeed. It would have been very interesting to have known whether or not that dealer was working for “The Firm”. The female blackjack dealer dealt the next hand without me even noticing as my mind was in total confusion as to whether or not I should approach Farzel. My concentration was interrupted by the dealer repeating her original question.

“Excuse me sir but would you like a card on that or not?” Before the reply had chance to leave my mouth, another voice appeared from behind me and said “I would take a card on that if I were you Carl”.

I looked around to see Farzel smiling at me, he had recognised me after all. He bent down to whisper in my ear “I don’t forget faces either Carl”.

We both laughed and then Farzel invited me to join him for a drink at the bar….I am sure that we would both have plenty to talk about.

Read Articles written by 'The Dean'
Read Carl's Blog
Carl Interviews some well known players
Test your knowledge with the Poker Quizzes

One-On-One Poker Tuition by Carl Sampson
Carl's BlackJack Course

Online Poker Room Reviews
Visit Our Tournament Section