The Card Skills Casinos Don’t Want You To Know | Jason Ladanye From #486 | The Way I Heard It

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]So that's a uh what you call a bicycle deck of cards there with >> Yeah. I I like using the original bikes.

[00:00:05]I'm not a flashy guy. I like tradition.

[00:00:07]So these are the cards have been around forever. And I also like using this deck because it's a normal deck that anyone can recognize right in CVS, you know, and these are grocery store playing cards.

[00:00:17]>> And if you have something fancy that costs 20 bucks and it's all different and weird, people look at that and go, "Oh, it's a special deck of cards." No, the stuff I'm doing, everything I do is uses a regular deck of cards. It's all in enhance. It's like the little black dress that Audrey Heburn made famous.

[00:00:31]You know what I mean? She didn't have to go crazy with the sequins or anything.

[00:00:34]>> So, uh some of the uh work I do called shuffle work is the ability to control cards. So, I am shuffling the cards.

[00:00:43]>> Uh that's that's really happening. So, eight of diamonds on top and the nine of hearts on the bottom. And if you know exactly where to cut uh by estimating cards, >> uh you should have no problem finding another race. Now, there's nothing sticking out of that. Can you confirm that there's nothing? People say those are bent cards or things like that.

[00:00:59]>> Let me put my glasses on. Necromancer.

[00:01:01]No, there's nothing sticking out.

[00:01:02]>> No, of course. That's a legit shuffle.

[00:01:04]You can see that all the cards change.

[00:01:07]>> And that type of shuffle you just did is called a >> That's a riffle shuffle. That's what they do in casinos. Why do they do it like that? There's another ace.

[00:01:14]>> Prevents cheating.

[00:01:15]>> Does it?

[00:01:16]>> It does actually. Yeah. You don't want to do a three-way cut. We talked about this in the show. See how there's a 10 on top and there's a queen on the bottom. If you do a three-way cut like this, see the middle goes back in the middle. So that doesn't get mixed. Top and bottom got mixed, but still it's not going to stop you.

[00:01:30]>> There's another ace. That's annoying, man.

[00:01:32]>> So that's that. That's just card control. So that's like some basics.

[00:01:35]>> Uh and also you can make a lot of money if you do this in card games. That's where it all kind of that was the motivation in the beginning.

[00:01:42]>> I mean this is a stupid question, but I mean were you in a game?

[00:01:46]>> Yeah. So so part of me, you know, because I have um I have integrity.

[00:01:52]I said, "If I'm going to learn this stuff and do it on stage and be an expert in this field, how could I never really do this in a game for real?" And no, that was a real thing. It sounds like a joke and it kind of is funny, but at the same time, how can I take myself seriously? How can I sleep at night?

[00:02:05]Yeah, >> I really did have this struggle because my teacher was a legit car. He had all the moves, but he would demo this stuff for casino pit bosses. He was the one that was helping write casino uh uh procedure. You know, you have to do this. This is how card cheats do this, so we need to implement this structure.

[00:02:21]and and he would go to these casinos and make sure that the casinos were following all the right procedures and everything and demo all these things so the dealers knew what to look for, the pit bosses knew what to look for. So, he had to have his his together.

[00:02:33]>> Sorry, but are you allowed in casinos?

[00:02:34]>> I am, but if I sit down to play, I'll likely be asked to leave.

[00:02:38]>> But how much cheating can you do if you're just sitting and playing the cards you dealt?

[00:02:41]>> Do all sorts of stuff. Yeah. So, you can mark Yeah. So this is what people don't know, you know, by by nicking the corners of the cards, by bending the cards, by you can have paste, this this tinted paste that you put on the back of the card, and depending on where you put the paste on the back of the card, right? So you can do that and then I would know that if it's further from the center, it's a lower card. Closer to the center, it's a higher card. That kind of thing. So as the cards are going back into the shoe and being dealt back to me, well, I'm basically playing now playing with a mark deck. And you can bet accordingly. So, the Phil Ivy scandal, sometimes card, this isn't a misprinted deck, but sometimes playing cards are just like money can be misprinted. So, if you ever see a dollar bill and one of the borders is really wider, it's a little offc centered.

[00:03:20]Cards do the same thing. So, can you see how these are uh relatively centered? I don't know if you can spot it or not, but can you see that this side is just a little thicker?

[00:03:30]>> The white border here, it's just a tiny bit. So, that's this thickness. And look over here. It's just a tiny bit.

[00:03:35]>> I'm going to say yes. Although I'm going to stipulate it knowing you're the kind of guy that would lead me to say like just to agree with you.

[00:03:43]>> No, no. I I wish I had a deck that So you don't you open them up.

[00:03:46]>> No, I don't just I think you're right. I think that border is >> which means that if I turn this around, it's now a marked card. So you go through the entire deck, let's say, let's exaggerate it and say it was quite thick.

[00:03:59]>> You'd have these thick sides on this side over here. And then all the high cards I would spin around like this. So there'd be a thin little border there.

[00:04:05]Now, when they're sitting in the shoe, they would look like this. And you would see the border down here. And as they're coming out of the shoe like this, once you see the thin card, you know that's an ace or a 10. So, you can hit accordingly. So, um that that you're that so that I'm just sitting and playing, but you're taking advantage of a misprinted deck or you're manipulating the deck yourself. All this will land you in jail. By the way, >> is the basic business of tracking a card um is that like in the rudimentary playbook? Is that a is that one of the first skills?

[00:04:35]>> No. No, that's not definitely not a beginner uh skill, but I can go over some basic uh tracking. Believe it or not, it's easier than than you think.

[00:04:42]>> So, the ace and and and right now this would be someone else shuffling the cards, and you can still figure out where certain cards are. So, let's put it fifth, for example. So after a shuffle, and it's a legit shuffle, >> that means the cards are interlacing like this, which means the ace would just double. So right now it's at fifth.

[00:05:00]So pretty basic math. After I shuffle the cards, where's the ace going to be?

[00:05:05]>> 10 or about.

[00:05:06]>> Well, I mean, if you shuffled them perfectly, >> no, it doesn't. So we can fix that later. We can use other methods. But also remember, you're if you have an idea that an ace is going to come out within one or two cards all the time, that's an advantage you can take up overnight. So you don't have to nail it, but you know that if if I know that a 10 is within four cards from the top and I'm playing poker and the third or fourth or fifth seat starts betting he well the chances are I know who's legitimately got the ace. So 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 nine. So we're nine cards were one off. But where is it now? It's nine. So where's it going to be after another shuffle?

[00:05:38]>> Probably 18.

[00:05:39]>> See what I mean? It's not that difficult. So I have a good idea from a legit shuffle deck that someone else shuffled perhaps. And casino dealers don't shuffle clunky. They shuffle pretty fair. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16. Again, I'm only a few cards off. So now, if I'm dealing and I know an ace is one or two cards from where I need it, you can do second deals. You can manipulate uh switch cards. You can deal that card from that position and make it look like it really came from there. So even though tracking is can be a perfect science if you clean up the shuffles, but with someone else shuffling, you can still be one or two cards off and still have a pretty big advantage. That's only one card as well.

[00:06:17]So if you have two aces, where's the first one? Six. Next one's 16. 16. So where are they going to be?

[00:06:22]>> 12 and 13.

[00:06:23]>> Yeah, that's what I mean. Look at you tracking cards.

[00:06:27]So there's halfway. 26. About 30. Same thing. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11. Uh 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

[00:06:38]Halfway right there. 27 28 29 30. So you're within two cards on each your first try. But you're not within two.

[00:06:45]Like you you always get the one.

[00:06:47]>> Well, I can shuffle a little cleaner than than most.

[00:06:50]>> Yeah.

[00:06:51]>> So, this is a perfect shuffle.

[00:06:54]>> So, it looks just like a regular shuffle, but it's actually perfect. And that >> you perfect because every card's interrupted.

[00:07:01]>> It's alternating. No, there's no there's no nowhere in here that there's two cards >> to shuffle it perfectly. Like, the first thing you have to know is exactly where 26 is. And you just know this. And then you got to push them together without any it's easier to see. So the reason I did it uh this way when I drop the cards is it masks that. So when I'm doing my show or when I'm doing a gambling demo, I want to kind of hide the fact that it's a perfect shuffle. So when you drop it, it just looks like a regular interplay. If I do it like this, it's much easier to see that that's quite literally a perfect split. How do guys hit free? You know, how does Tiger Wood sink putts?

[00:07:37]>> You know, he made a deal with Bel. Well, how do I slip the cards at 26?

[00:07:41]>> Yeah. When I was 7 years old, I made a deal.

[00:07:45]I know a good deal when I see one.

[00:07:47]>> I could make money doing this. So, I signed on the dotted line and here we are today.

[00:07:51]>> Once you get the hang of it, splitting at 26 is just easy to do. I can tell I can tell from across the room if there's one card on the wrong side. You can you just see for me, remember when I told you about the card with the border?

[00:08:03]>> Yeah.

[00:08:04]>> And you said, "Yeah, okay. I can I can kind of see that side's bigger over there." It's the same thing when you split the deck. You can just see and even though it's only this one card, you can just tell by looking at it because I look at it every single day that that's bigger. So, I got to move one card from here to there. Once you get that, the interlace is similar to a zipper. When you zip up at the teeth, you get the cards that just line up.

[00:08:23]>> Does take some practice. I'm making it sound really easy, but within 10 years, it's like a zipper. Uh anyway, you you push the cards together and like a zipper, they all interlace. But just imagine two big picket fences >> and they all have points like triangle.

[00:08:38]Under a microscope, a deck would look like that. And you're basically getting one picket fence. They're not going to stack up on the tips. They're going to fall into the they're going to fall in like a zipper. And they line up. And then this happens. And then the cards are in interlaced like this. And it technically is a shuffle. Cards are being mixed legit. You can beat the cut.

[00:08:55]We can talk about that in a second. But remember that tracking that we were one or two cards off a second ago. Well, now since we're shuffling the cards pristinely, uh, I might get some decent cards.

[00:09:06]>> Oh, two pair. Jeez, >> I got a pair of aces and another pair of aces.

[00:09:11]>> Now, that can be applied. That can be >> See, there you go.

[00:09:16]>> I admit it. When Caitlyn Aken told me she wanted to be a diesel mechanic, my first thought was, "You don't look like a diesel mechanic." But her attitude was great. So, my foundation gave her some money. Caitlyn got the training she needed to be taken seriously. And today she's running the second shift at a very busy shop in Fort Worth, overseeing six other mechanics doing something she loves. Did I mention she's 21? Be like Caitlyn Aken. Apply for a work ethic scholarship at microworks.org. The money's waiting. Go get some. And I learned that the hustler's triple cut.

[00:09:47]So this is my first lesson. The aces on top. And I did this in the show a few times. And you want to make it look like you're cutting the cards, but you're not, you know, and you can do it.

[00:09:56]There's ways to cheat that and have it look like it's a three-way cut across the table and you can add shuffles into that. You can do all sorts of uh odds and ends and you can control those cards. You when I first learned it that you quickly pull the card out without the audience seeing what's going on.

[00:10:12]>> Mhm.

[00:10:13]>> But with a good stud, a good stud bottom, this card comes off. You see how your eye sees that?

[00:10:18]>> Yeah.

[00:10:19]>> And a second later, the aces. So, you get all that you get all that uh time on that ace, that top card, >> right?

[00:10:27]>> And it comes right off the bottom.

[00:10:29]Especially in the bottom deal, if you want to peek under the hood here, >> I have I can't open these fingers up.

[00:10:34]That's the tell. When I open these fingers up, people can tell. So, these fingers have to move this way, which doesn't make any sense. And also, I have to be able to take this card out without those fingers moving. Uh, it's very complicated to do. And in order to push that card out, you have to do that. So, look how moving independent, these fingers have to move independent. These fingers can't move. If anything squeezes too tight, it doesn't work. So, you have to learn how to hold a deck. So, the saying is like light as if you're holding a bird.

[00:10:57]>> Yeah.

[00:10:58]>> You know, too heavy, it kill it. Too light, it flies away. So, this stuff took years and years to learn how to get down and feel >> here. I'll show you the trick I learned from Scarie.

[00:11:07]>> Would you like the mat?

[00:11:08]>> No. No. I don't need a mat. That's a very amateur kind of right there.

[00:11:11]>> Yeah. I'm a professional. I need no mat to help me with anything. My uh my uncle showed me this when I was god probably 12 years old and destroyed me.

[00:11:22]Absolutely destroyed me. So he's like, "Okay, Mike, here's how it works. I'm going to look at this card and based on this card, I can tell you with certainty that's the nine of hearts, right?"

[00:11:39]>> That's good.

[00:11:39]>> Here, let me do it again. One more time.

[00:11:41]Because if I really want to be clever, I think I can force another one of these if this one tells me nine of clubs, right? Oh, now my nine-year-old has Yeah, I know the feeling.

[00:11:52]>> How the how in the world, man? And then he would do things like, okay, sometimes it gets a little tricky, like, okay, that it's definitely a two. It's a black. I think it's a club. It could be a spade. I'm not sure. Oh, it's a heart.

[00:12:05]And then I'd be like, oh crap, now what are you going to do? And he'd be like, oh, here's what we do. Here's what we do. Let's just get another two here if we can. If this lets us know, wait a minute. Is that possible? Sure it is.

[00:12:17]Right. And >> yeah, your brain's melting.

[00:12:19]>> And then he does this. He's like, here's the thing, man. I don't even have to I don't even have to look at them. I could tell you that that's a that's a jack of hearts and that's a nine of diamonds and and I never got to I never got over it.

[00:12:31]>> I'll show you something. You know, when you uh work with the deck of cards long enough, you start to develop a sense of the cards like you did earlier. That was really amazing. And you know what's great? People are going to watch People are going to watch this and say, "How the hell did he do that?" That's what's really great.

[00:12:43]>> Some will. And you were probably like, "I can't believe this guy invites me on his podcast. I'm maybe one of the greatest card mechanics living today and he shows me >> Scarnney." That's a testament to Scarney.

[00:12:53]>> Yeah.

[00:12:53]>> So, uh, earlier uh, you were cutting the cards, but this time I want you to cut for me. So, I don't know where anything is. Because if I cut these cards, you would say, "Oh, he's tracking." And he knew where to cut and he would know the top card of the deck. So, what I want you to do is give the cards a cut.

[00:13:05]>> Mhm.

[00:13:06]>> And, uh, first of all, you can see they're all different. I'm going take that right out of your >> Yeah, thank you.

[00:13:10]>> And then give the cards a cut so I can't know what the top card is >> and complete the cut. No, no, complete the cut.

[00:13:16]>> Just like they do in Vegas, right? You cut the cards in half, complete the cut.

[00:13:19]Now, you might think that, >> well, maybe they're marked cards or something. If they were marked cards, I could tell you what this card is. I could look at the back and read whatever they're not marked.

[00:13:27]>> But you might think that. So, as a matter of fact, what I'll do is I'll turn my back and you cut again. So, go ahead. Give them a cut.

[00:13:32]>> Full cut.

[00:13:33]>> Yeah. Cut half over wherever you want and then complete the cut.

[00:13:36]>> Cut's complete. If they were marked, it wouldn't matter because I'm not even looking at the back, right? I can't see it.

[00:13:40]>> Can't see him.

[00:13:41]>> But you could still think maybe he's tracking. Maybe could he track two cuts.

[00:13:44]How could there might be some way he could know what that top card is? So, Mike, if you don't trust me, do you want to cut the cards again when I'm not looking?

[00:13:52]>> Yes.

[00:13:52]>> No way. I could track three cuts now.

[00:13:54]>> I don't think so. It's not reasonable.

[00:13:56]All right. Good. There you go.

[00:13:58]>> The suspense is already starting, isn't it?

[00:13:59]>> It's thick.

[00:14:00]>> Now, the cut is complete, correct?

[00:14:02]>> It is.

[00:14:02]>> No way I could know what the top card is. Correct. Well, I mean, it sure doesn't seem >> Do you want to cut again, >> Chuck? How much time is elapsed so far?

[00:14:08]We must be close to two hours.

[00:14:10]>> Uh, hour 40.

[00:14:11]>> Oh, yeah. I'm going to cut one more time.

[00:14:15]>> Fantastic.

[00:14:16]>> Good.

[00:14:16]>> And I'm not looking. There's no way I could track five cuts by now. I'm not looking at the cards. It wouldn't matter there. Mark, you satisfied those cards.

[00:14:21]I cut. I couldn't know anything.

[00:14:23]>> I'm as satisfied as you can.

[00:14:24]>> Can you take the top three cards? Don't look at them. Top three cards. Put them in your pocket. Like out of sight.

[00:14:27]>> Okay.

[00:14:29]>> Let me know when that's done.

[00:14:32]These cards are in my pocket.

[00:14:33]>> You didn't look at them, right?

[00:14:34]>> I I did not look at them.

[00:14:35]>> And they're in your pocket. You don't know what they are, right?

[00:14:36]>> Nope. No idea.

[00:14:37]>> All right. Get rid of the deck. All right. Here we go.

[00:14:41]>> I want you to reach into your pocket and take There's three in there. Just take any one of the three. Well, not yet. It could be the one in close, the one in the middle, or the one on the outside. I couldn't possibly know what it is. And I'm going to look away again. I hope Mike I'm going to turn the mic like this. Just take it out. Don't show anybody. All right. Just yourself. And I'm looking away.

[00:14:56]>> I can look at it.

[00:14:57]>> Yeah, of course.

[00:14:58]>> Okay.

[00:14:58]>> Don't say it. Are you looking at one of the cards? Yeah, I am. I'm looking >> again. I've been handling cards for 40 years. You start to develop a sense for these cards.

[00:15:06]>> Uhhuh.

[00:15:08]>> Is that Is that a like a high valued card? I >> like an ace.

[00:15:14]>> It's It's very much like an ace. Yes.

[00:15:18]Uncannily sell.

[00:15:20]>> Um I mean, you could have taken any one of the three out. That's that's the really confusing part. But is it is it a is it a heart?

[00:15:28]so much like a heart that it's not even a diamond. It is it is in fact the the ace of hearts.

[00:15:34]>> It is the ace of hearts. Oh, I got one.

[00:15:35]Okay, you can put it face up on the table here.

[00:15:37]>> Okay.

[00:15:37]>> Now, there's there's two cards left in Remember, you cut so many times.

[00:15:41]>> Five times.

[00:15:41]>> It wouldn't matter if the cards were marked cuz I wasn't looking. And then you put three in your pocket and you didn't show anybody. So, there's no way I could have seen them.

[00:15:47]>> Nope. Didn't look at it myself actually.

[00:15:48]>> I know. Yeah, exactly.

[00:15:50]>> Now, there's two left. You can take either one out. Just Just don't think about it. Just reach and take one out.

[00:15:54]>> I'm just going to take one out. Now, >> don't show them. Don't show them. I'm not going to show them. I'm going to look at it myself. All right. I'm looking at this one. No, I'm I'm setting it down. I don't want to touch it.

[00:16:01]>> And And I'm not looking at it. I'm not looking. All right. So So this this the first thing that that popped into my mind was that even though you cut five times >> that it's it's a black Is it a black card? That's what I'm >> Yeah. It's It's the very picture of Ebony.

[00:16:15]>> Oh, now I might be getting a little confident here. Is it a Is it a club?

[00:16:18]>> No, >> it's not a club.

[00:16:21]>> That's what starting to get too confident.

[00:16:24]>> I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's a spade.

[00:16:28]Is it a spade?

[00:16:29]>> You're you're deductive.

[00:16:31]>> See, I got I got too. See what happened?

[00:16:32]See what happened when I started to get confident? I got to take this seriously.

[00:16:35]It's a spade. Okay. So, it's a spade.

[00:16:36]>> I want you to imagine a movie theater screen >> and and you're sitting in a theater by yourself and there's there's a movie theater and on that screen is one card playing on the on the screen. Yeah. And that card, you visualizing that?

[00:16:47]>> I got it.

[00:16:47]>> That card is uh that card is a seven of spades. Is it?

[00:16:53]>> Is it?

[00:16:54]>> Yes, it's seven of spades. We're all shocked.

[00:16:56]>> We got We got to get my confidence back up. Anyway, you got one card left, but don't take it out.

[00:16:59]>> No, I'm not going to take it out.

[00:17:01]>> God, >> if you didn't look at that card, >> how could I know what that card is?

[00:17:06]>> That would again involve a deal with old scratch.

[00:17:10]>> And you know what?

[00:17:11]>> What >> is this? The devil's card.

[00:17:15]>> Is it the four of clubs?

[00:17:17]>> Okay.

[00:17:18]>> The four of clubs. The devil's card.

[00:17:19]Take it out >> before I look. Why is the four of clubs the devil's card? That's just the uh the nickname it was given.

[00:17:27]>> Oh man, >> it was a good deal. It was a good deal.

[00:17:35]The devil in my pocket.

[00:17:37]>> It was a good deal.

[00:17:38]>> Now listen, the obvious question that comes to mind, Chuck, is how'd you do that? But what's the point in even posing? It's >> just skill. Just name any card. Just name any card.

[00:17:47]>> Any card. Just say it out loud. All right. Three of diamonds.

[00:17:51]>> 20. 20.

[00:17:53]>> Oh no. Come on.

[00:17:55]>> 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19. Do you cut these cards how many times? Turn that over.

[00:18:11]>> Thank you. And good night. Wow.

[00:18:14]>> Oh god. Who's that other I hate now? O. That O guy. What do you think of him?

[00:18:19]>> O is great. So O is doing something very similar. Magic has been around. Magic, listen to this. Magic has been around forever. These techniques techniques have been around forever. You're reinventing it, pushing the boundaries, forging ahead and repurposing and and you know, we have new media today. We have new things. And he has found a way to just get it out there and make it bold. And and this is great that we can finish here because one of my absolute favorite quotes of all time of like that is just I heard this and I said, "Oh my god." And that's Steve Martin be so good they can't ignore you.

[00:18:53]And that went into my soul and I said, "You know what? I'm gonna do right. I'm I have the chops and you're gonna watch them >> and and always tapped into that and I'm take I'm we're doing the same thing where you just people watch and they just say what you're feeling and how is that how can this any of this be >> if you like what you heard >> and even pretty please?

[00:19:18]Well, I hate to beg and I hate to plead, but please, pretty freaking please sub.

[00:19:28]Please subscribe.