Iveyv Genting Casinos UK Ltd (t/a Crockfords Club)
2014
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
United Kingdom
CORAM
- MR. JUSTICE MITTING
Areas of Law
- Contract Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
2014
QUEEN’S BENCH DIVISION
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The case considers whether the claimant's edge-sorting technique constitutes lawful gamesmanship or cheating. The court concluded that the technique amounted to cheating under civil law as it gave the claimant an unfair advantage that the game precludes, despite the claimant’s honest belief in the legality of his actions.
Judgment
MR. JUSTICE MITTING:
The claimant is a professional gambler and a citizen of the United States. He is acknowledged to be one of the world's finest Poker players, a game which requires high mathematical ability and stern discipline. He also plays Blackjack, Craps, Roulette and Baccarat, in particular the variant known as Punto Banco, against casinos. Each of these games has a so-called "house edge" which means that played over a longish time the house should beat the individual punter.
The claimant's principle is, by a variety of techniques, to reverse the house edge and play at odds which favour him. He does so by means that are, in his opinion, lawful. He is what is known, in particular on the other side of the Atlantic, as an "advantage player". He is jealous of his reputation and is adamant that he does not cheat. His principle is to find and apply accurately "a legal way to beat the house".
He has given evidence in this case and been cross-examined at moderate length. I am satisfied that he is a truthful witness. He gave his answers directly and did not seek to explain away aspects of those answers that might damage his case. His frankness has meant that my task in describing what occurred is much easier than it otherwise would have been and it has reduced the need for me to refer extensively to sources of evidence other than his own to set out what happened.
Punto Banco is a variant of Baccarat. It is not normally, to any extent, a game of skill. Eight decks or, in English nomenclature, packs, sometimes six, of 52 cards are dealt from a shoe, face down by a croupier. She deals the cards in a sequence from which no deviation is permitted to two positions on the table in front of her, marked "player", the "Punto" in the name, and "Banker", "Banco": one card to player, one to banker; a second to player and a second to banker. In prescribed circumstances she must deal one further card, either to player or to banker or to both.
The basic object of the game is to achieve, on one of the two positions, a combination of two or three cards which, when added together, is nearer to nine in total than the combination on the other position. Aces to 9 count at face value, 10 to King inclusive count as nothing. Any pair or trio of cards adding up to more than 10 requires 10 to be deducted before arriving at the counting total. Thus 4 plus 5 equals 9, but 6 plus 5 (which equals 11) equals only one.
Punters bet before any card is dealt and can bet on pl