Now those of you that have ever read a book on casinos, cheating, gaff items, etc. probably know that card marking has been going on for as long as there’s been cards. In fact, there are more ways to mark a card than there are cards in a case. Let’s just look at a few of the more popular ways cards were (and possibly still are) marked.

A player quickly crimps the high (or low) cards in a way that it can be read from the back by looking for the special crease mark that you made. Of course, the reason players marked the card was to get the advantage over the house by knowing what the dealers hole card was before you hit, stood, double downed, split, or even surrendered. Though there are many ways to mark cards, the reason is always the same; namely, to get an advantage over the house.

A player glues ashtray sand or a piece of sandpaper on to their finger and gently scrapes the corner of the cards to be read. This actually removes some of the color from the card, leaving a few lines that when looked for, stuck out like a Dr. Markman breast enhancement job.

Daub is a waxy, oil-like substance that is just a shade off of the typical card back colors (like red or blue), and is loaded into a small, tin, crevice either in your shoe, behind your ear, etc. When you see a card that you want to mark, you simply run your finger over the daub then do a light smear onto the card or cards you were dealt in an area that you can see when it’s ready to be dealt again from a shoe or a hand-held game. It was common practice to "work up a deck or shoe" and return later or have a friend show up and beat the house relentlessly.

A thumbtack affixed to your thumb via a band-aid and used to make small pin indentations on the cards you want marked. There was a bonus with this method if you could talk a dealer into taking off the joint. If this were the case, the deck would be worked up so that the dealer could feel the card value and, if your hit card would bust you, he would second deal, increasing your advantage of winning or, if he were good, he would know when to stick the house with the card so it would bust.

The player utilizes a fingernail or a piece of a razor blade super glued to a finger and presses it into the side of a card so as to split the card (hemorrhage it), allowing the player to read the card value by looking at the side of the card. This method is still used today and is popular because it doesn’t require any tools, just a fingernail.

Simply put, make an ash out of yourself, and run it on the back of the playing card. This method is just another way to "Daub" but using something most commonly found on a playing table, an ashtray full of ashes. Though popular in its day, with the elimination of Black-Back cards, it’s no longer used.

Now those are just a few of the ways that anyone who has ever handled a deck probably knows about; however, most of these cheating moves cost money and, seriously, you really don’t want to be caught with, or using a device or playing to certain bends you made, while in a casino. Seriously, don’t even think about it; that’s not what this article is about.

So, now we know that there are tons of items for sale (or can be made at home) to mark cards with but little did the casino executives know that by being cheap skates and looking to save a mere few pennies per deck they legalized card marking; essentially, they gave the store away.