Part IV: Financial Fraud · Internal Collusion & Employee Fraud

Scam #4: Dealer Flashing (Intentional Card Exposure)

How it works

In hand-dealt (pitch) games, a dealer can intentionally expose the top card of the deck, their hole card, or upcoming hit cards to an accomplice positioned to see the exposed card. The technique involves pushing the top card slightly off the deck so part of the index is revealed between the dealer’s fingers, or tilting the hole card at an angle visible to a specific seat. The entire index need not be shown - just a sliver of the left edge is enough for an experienced accomplice to identify any card value. This move can work for months or years without detection, as it is nearly invisible to anyone except the intended recipient and is especially difficult for overhead surveillance to spot. The accomplice uses this information to vary bets and make optimal playing decisions.

Where it appears

Hand-dealt (pitch) blackjack games, any game where cards are manually lifted or exposed

On the record

Multiple crews of dealers and players have been caught after years of operation using flashing techniques. The practice was far more common in the pre-shoe era when most blackjack games were hand-pitched.

Published as a detection reference for surveillance, compliance and gaming-operations professionals. Thresholds and tuning are set by the property. Nothing here is instruction — the method is described so it can be recognised.