Quote:
Originally Posted by Sixmill
What other supporting security measures would you implement to ensure you didn't cause false positives when cashing chips out? Please paint me a full picture of how differing layers of security at your home game actually contribute to rooting out problems instead of just shorting possibly honest players?
To be clear, I completely agree that UV marking chips will undoubtedly help you determine whether someone is counterfeiting your chips. Now, how we use that information in a constructive manner to find the counterfeiter still eludes me. I think it's safe to say that I'm not the only person that cannot see this from point A to point B.
Last part first...
To be clear, the first step in finding your counterfeiter is finding out that you have counterfeit chips in your game. If you're UV marking them not making this information public to your players, then you've perhaps accomplished the first step sooner than you would have. I understand that 1001 chips coming to you at the end of the night might immediately tip off some games; but a game large enough to have a counterfeiting problem might not always have all of its chips turned in. They likely have chips in people's pockets, games running for days while people come and go and return, etc. You'd know as soon as the cashier put them under the counter or as soon as you put them back in the locked room. So,
If this is part of comprehensive security, e.g. a camera or security system with playback, now you can go to the tapes sooner, and have a smaller window of time in which to try to figure out what happened.
None of this is particularly useful in a game where you've got one box of chips and it sits in the chair next to the host and he hands people money and chips. That game's only security is the chips themselves. UV for them might only be useful in finding the fake chip. It might go unnoticed - or undetectable anyway - in the haystack. Being able to identify that chip -- ooh, it
IS different after all -- quickly with the UV
might be helpful in spotting the fakes by a different physical characteristic next time they come into play. Again, it's simply a quick detector.
Either finding out sooner helps you, or it doesn't. I think in some cases it would. I think, for the cost of entry, it couldn't hurt much.
The "comprehensive" solution is likely checking chips at the table. In the dealer's tray is a $5 UV flashlight and he "wands" over the racks that enter play. While a counterfeiter can duplicate your mark in time, it at least lets him know that you're watching for him. It's perhaps the equivalent of posting a Neighborhood Watch sign in your yard, but given choice in targeting, your game probably moved down the list. I understand that, psychologically speaking, this might dissuade some players - but I think you could present it properly to players as: "We're serious about your security."
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I'm not entirely sure how to answer the first question (not because I'm not sure what you want, but because it's not something I spent all day prepping to answer). I suppose the answer is something like: I take care and pride in my equipment. I use good chips and one person (and one person only) banks exactly so we don't run into this sort of problem. I assume you're suggesting that chips might go
out as fakes, and then I'd refuse to honor them when they came back in - thus shorting a player. To that, I can only submit that you'd have to be vigilant on both sides - and that having a higher standard of chip security makes it that much less likely that you'd be giving out fake chips
or getting them back. I think a UV-marked-and-checked set would have an overall lower rate of fakes -- but, yes, a higher rate of
caught fakes (relative to the potential number of fakes, anyway).
And to the middle question -- Short answer? Having better security (in general) keeps everyone safe. It's that much less likely that the bank is short at the end of the night or that you have someone dealing from the bottom, or that - god forbid - someone robs your game.
There's about 2,000 words here trying to make a case for something that I think is fairly minor. I think you get your money's worth using UV inks on chips - but not much more.
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If I were to UV ink my chips, the likely outcome would be that someday, I'd flash a $5 UV flashlight over them and people would go: "Oooh, that guy's serious." Maybe that's all I need to increase my security. Maybe my UV stamp would have my name, address and a finder's fee on 'em. Not only would my security mark be on them, but they'd be recoverable in case of theft.
$30 well spent if you ask me.
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And, finally - if this were a post about building a ladder to the moon, I'd be much more likely to discuss it with someone who actually wanted to work towards solutions in making it practical - not with people going
BUT IT DOESN'T WORK, WHY WON'T YOU ENGAGE ME! I can deconstruct people's idea's all day, telling them how much they suck -- but I much prefer making things work.
Last edited by The Palimax; 06-01-2010 at 03:55 PM.
Reason: typos