Customer Reviews

Gambling Scams: How They Work, How to Detect Them, How to Protect Yourself

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ortiz writes with authority and crisp, well-thought ideas on the hazards of wagering. As much a textbook on human psychology as it is on specific cons that grifters use to trim their marks, it's educational value is priceless.
The specific ruses Ortiz described used by pros and amateurs to separate you from your money are amusing, entertaining, and sometimes outrageous. Understanding how ordinary people can be lulled into a greedy feeding frenzy is the most valuable element of this book. Wish I bought this book before last summer -- could have saved me the forty bucks I dropped in New York...

Gambling Scams is really an encyclopedic description of gambling scams, from con men to cheating at dice games and card cheating in private games. The author's repute, experience and skills in card and dice manipulation are unquestioned. Darwin Ortiz is truly providing worthwile information to protect oneself from gambling scams from the "inside". Thus, the correctness of his publication is undoubted. I highly recommend this publication to anyone wishing to protect themselves from dishonest gamers or those with a particular interest in gambling scams in general. If you're thinking of buying the book to learn card manipulation then perhaps you should look elsewhere for more descriptive explanations of particular "moves", such as "The Expert at the Card Table," by S.W. Erdnase, a classic which describes numerous manipulations, in minutia.

This book will expose the world of scams and cheating you never thought possible. It covers card markers, sleight of hand, casino cheating, amateur cheating, and anything else you need to know. Plus it gives you a couple of realistic proposition hustles you can use on your friends, and enemies to easily pay for the book

I've read this book and it really is good! I've been doing sleight of hand for 12 years now and loved every bit of this book. The scams are great! He gives you a detailed, informative description of how these scams work! A must read for anyone interested in con games!

If you purchase a book with Darwin Ortiz's name on it, you are making a good investment. Gambling Scams shares not only the methods used by card sharps, but also shares some of Darwin's priceless personal experiences. If you are looking to actually learn to execute methods used by cheats, this wouldn't be your best choice due to the lack of photographs and explanations. This book teaches you how to CATCH the cheat, not BE the cheat. If you're looking to BE the cheat, check out The Annotated Erdnase by Ortiz.

This book, even though any casino you go into knows of these methods, does make you a little more aware of what you see going on in a casino

First of all, let me state that I do not doubt the skills of Mr. Ortiz. His card skills anyway. His writing skills, however, leave something to be desired. He claims to have completed some course work at NYU Law. With the writing skills demonstrated in this book, though, either that was a long time ago or my opinion of NYU Law have just dropped.

Beyond the style of the writing, I found the majority of the work's content to be of marginal value. Many of the scams that he illustrates in his book have been out of use in major gambling establishments for years (see the chapter on slot machines). In addition, most of the scams that he describes would occur outside of most reputable gambling establishments. While I do not doubt that such places exist somewhere in the universe, not only have I never seen one, but probably would have never trusted such a place even before having read this book.

The one chapter which I did find somewhat useful was that on crooked carnival games. Overall, I would recommned that you save your money and just learn the general theme of the book, don't gamble.