Phil Ivey Used Edge Sorting Back in 2012 to Win Big!
When you hear the name Phil Ivey, chances are your mind goes straight to poker – if not, you really need to learn who Phil Ivey is. Ivey is one of the best poker players to ever sit at the poker table, and he’s certainly someone you don’t want to be up against.
But back in 2012, Ivey took a trip to two casinos, raking in more than $20,000,000 between the two casinos playing Baccarat. However, Ivey’s wins were confiscated after the casinos sued Ivey due to the fact he allegedly used a technique called edge sorting to gain an advantage. But, what is edge sorting and can your everyday joe learn this trick and win big?
Let’s find out if you can edge sort like Phil Ivey!
What is Edge Sorting?
Edge sorting is an old technique and it’s one of the hardest techniques in the world to master. When casino cards are made, there are imperfections on the back of every single card, meaning patterns don’t quite fall in the same place on every card. Now, eagle-eyed players can spot this and note whether it’s a high or low card, so the next time that deck enters the shoe, they’ve got an instant advantage.
However, you need to get a casino to agree to use the same deck over and over again for this to work, and the best way to do this is being a high-roller at the baccarat table. Often, casinos will roll out the red carpet for players that are placing huge bets, even agreeing to some crazy terms just in order to get that player’s business.
How Did Ivey Do it?
Poker star Phil Ivey teamed up with a woman named Cheng Yin Sun who is a prolific advantage player. It’s alleged that Ivey was the carrot on a stick for the casino to let the duo in, waving his wads of cash around making the casino get starry eyed. Sun then told Ivey when the cards were going to favor a particular outcome and Ivey would go to town placing bets on that outcome. Both the Borgata and Crockfords of London were hit by the duo, winning back their losses in a court case that dragged on for years.
Is Edge Sorting Illegal?
Ivey didn’t touch the cards, mark them or anything else illegal, he simply used this strategy as advantage play, which is not illegal. Advantage play, such as edge sorting or card counting in blackjack, is not illegal, it’s merely frowned upon by casinos as it gives the player an advantage that the casino doesn’t want you to have. So, this means that casinos treat it just like cheating and will do their best to brand you a cheater for using advantage play. Be prepared to get thrown out of the casino and banned for life if you’re caught using advantage play, but you don’t need to worry about the police getting called.
If you can master the incredibly difficult art of edge sorting, there’s a small fortune to be made playing baccarat in land-based casinos. If you’re hoping to use this incredible technique at an online casino then you’re fresh out of luck. The cameras don’t focus on the shoe, meaning seeing the patterns on the cards is virtually impossible!