Cheating At Poker

This site does not promote cheating at poker by any means, but rather how to spot forbidden dealings at a poker table.

The methods below are practices some may use at a poker table to gain an edge over opponents.

The writer of this site in no way excuses any of the following methods and the following content included is practices you should be observing, to protect your game against poker cheating,

Bottom Dealing/Hanger

This method of involves a player dealing cards from the bottom of the deck.

A player holds the deck in his hand in a way that makes it difficult for others to see the act.

Peeking

Surprisingly, the biggest form of cheating at poker is peeking at other players cards.

Glimpsing your neighbor's cards is sometimes unavoidable due to the cramped quarters of the poker room. Remind your guests to protect their cards at all times.

emember that is not improper for one player to complain about another player who constantly has the opportunity to view a third player's cards.

Marking the Cards

This method of cheating at poker allows a cheater to spot specific cards by marking the back.

The easiest ways to mark a card are by crimping a corner of the card or scratching it with a thumbnail. For instance, if a player would like to isolate aces, he would scratch the back of them with his thumbnail.

Marked cards can also be purchased on Ebay and at other locations. Brand new decks of marked KEM cards (in sealed plastic!) use a dye that is only visible to players wearing special glasses.

This cheating method can be easily avoided by never using anyone else's cards at your local tournaments.

Stealing From the Pot

A player attempts to steal chips or money from the pot.

The simplest way for a player to steal chips from the pot is to simply grab some chips when the pot is very large and when no one is looking. A player may also act as if he put a chip in, but may grab a higher-valued chip from the stack.

Collusion

Another means of cheating at poker is collusion which may involve two cheaters corresponding all through a game with signals and secretly show each other their hands.

The cheaters also may bet and raise until everyone folds, and share their winnings after the game. Some common forms of collusion are:

Dumping chips: Deliberately losing to a partner (perhaps someone you are backing financially or with whom you have traded a percentage stake).
Hand-mucking: Switching or altering hands. Two people sitting next to each other might try to switch hands or alter them in some way.
Hot-seat: A new player is invited to a game, only to play against a team of players all secretly working together.
Signaling: Trading information between partners. Signals can take many forms, from the placement of the chips on the cards, to coughing, to Morse code tappings on the table. The key ingredient in all signaling systems is the ability to be repeated without being noticed. In a game where people (hopefully) are always watching each other, this can prove problematic. When a cheater is signaling the value of his hand to his partner(s), he is also signaling the value of his hand to everybody else at the table.
Soft play: Failing to bet or raise in a situation that would normally merit it because of your opponent. In home poker games it is common to be playing against someone you know well but the best advice is to leave friendship outside the door, especially in tournament poker. Soft playing a friend is cheating all of the other players at the game who would prefer to see you bust out your friend, getting them closer to the prize money.
Whipsawing: Partners raise and reraise each other to trap players in between.

Extra Cards

This method involves the dealing player dealing extra cards to himself.

He may mask extra cards by placing two cards on top of each other to look like one card. He later drops the cards under the table and makes use of them later in the game.

The objective of this article is not to teach you how to cheat at poker, but rather to give you indications to look for when you believe someone is cheating at poker!

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