Imagine never having to bluff again, and always walking away from each poker game a winner. A Chinese manufacturer has created a new product that will help you achieve this goal. It’s a customized smartphone with a built-in cheating device that can tell you what everyone else has in their hands. It’s an intriguing piece of devious tech, and its story is even more intriguing. It comes courtesy of Elie Bursztein, who works on the research team at Google’s anti-abuse department.
On booting up the device you are taken to the main cheating page (as seen in the screenshot). The top half shows a view of the card as seen by the device’s secret camera. The bottom half shows various bits of info, such as the current result (H6, D8), the number of players (which can be changed discreetly during a game via the volume buttons), and whether or not the haptic feedback device is connected.
The device looks like a normal smartphone, with 8GB storage and 1GB RAM. The device also comes with a Bluetooth remote control that allows cheaters the ability to change game parameters without being detected. It can be hidden inside a power bank or watch, leather belt or lighter. Addition of an external scanning device is a popular way to improve the accuracy of poker analyzers. The next post in this series will look at the device’s accessories and how they work.