How smartphone camera hardware is used to cheat at poker

Have you ever used your smartphone to cheat? Maybe you took a quick look at Wikipedia while playing quiz at a bar? Were you really smart and managed to fit an entire sheet of crib notes onto the tiny screen of your smart watch? Powerful wearable technology can be used for both easy and nefarious purposes, and this week we discover a very clever and also very immoral way to use a smartphone’s hardware to win at poker.

There are many ways to cheat in poker, but the vast majority of them come down to a question of knowledge: who knows the most about the cards each person has? And while in the past attempts to surreptitiously acquire this knowledge might have involved the use of marked cards, a modern approach highlighted in a new report from Wired involves a clever smartphone-based hack.

Poker experts have spotted suspicious gambling patterns, in which people who were consistently winning at a rate very out of balance with their skill level had some sort of small, inconspicuous object sitting on the card table while they played – something like a bottle of medicine, a battery charger, or even just an ordinary-looking smartphone in its case. Although there was initially no direct evidence of cheating, a bankruptcy in France this summer finally managed to shed light on how some of these players manage to gain an advantage.

Cheaters reportedly modify smartphone cameras with tiny mirrors that allow them to look over the gaming table, even when the phone is lying flat – think of it as a clandestine version of the periscope cameras that some phones use for a high performance zoom.

Although the shoes that dealers remove cards from are designed to prevent exactly this sort of thing, apparently these cameras are low enough to still be able to get a small glimpse, and that’s all the cheaters need for this system works. An accomplice monitors this camera remotely, then can communicate with his accomplice seated at the table using an earpiece so small that it can only be removed using a magnet.

So what is the solution? Apparently, casinos are exploring the idea of ​​retraining dealers, specifically to avoid presenting this opening in the first place by handling the cards in a way that further limits anyone’s chances of taking a look. This might involve changing the location of the card shoe in relation to the players, and perhaps placing it in the center of the table. However, whatever mitigation measures you take, you can be sure you’re on a safe bet: it won’t be long before cheaters come up with an even more elaborate way to gain the maximum possible advantage.