How People Cheat at Poker

How People Cheat at Poker

Learning how people cheat at poker is the first step in learning how to NOT get cheated in a poker game. This article features some information about common poker cheating tactics and how to spot them.


Poker Cheating Tactics
What constitutes cheating at poker? I have a relative who thinks that any kind of deception in poker, like checking then raising, is cheating. But since that's allowed by the rules, it can't really be considered cheating.
Poker cheating consists of specific methods of breaking the rules in order to gain an advantage over the other players.
Some common methods of cheating at poker include:
Stacking the deck
Banking cards
Shorting the pot
Marking cards
Collusion
Stacking the Deck


One way to cheat at poker is to stack the deck. Stacking the deck is done by carefully shuffling the cards to ensure that when the cards are dealt the deck naturally deals advantageous cards to you.
Stacking the deck requires a lot of skill as a card mechanic. Stacking the deck requires careful placement of cards and skillful shuffling. And you can only stack the deck when you're the dealer.
Banking Cards
Another method of cheating in poker is the banking of cards. "Banking" means to hide high value cards so that you can win with them later.


Skilled card mechanics can switch out the hidden card with a card in his current hand in a split second. This card can be hidden under a hand, up a sleeve, under a leg--anywhere you can hide it and then get it out again without others noticing.


Observant players can catch people who are banking cards, but it's still a common poker cheating tactic.


Shorting the Pot


Shorting the pot is a poker cheating tactic often used in informal games. "Shorting the pot" means claiming that you are betting more than you are putting into the pot, which leaves the pot short of what the total should be.
Shorting the pot is an effective cheating strategy in games where the players are more interested in their cards and each other than what is being put on the table.
Marking Cards
You can buy decks of cards that are already marked. These sophisticated cards have a dial somewhere in the pattern on the back, and that dial is usually small and well integrated into the pattern. If you didn't know it was there, you'd never look for it.
Some players mark cards themselves, by using a small razor, a fingernail, or a powder.
Since poker is supposed to be a game of incomplete information, marking cards is cheating, because it gives you information that the other players don't have access to.


Collusion


Collusion is one of the most popular poker cheating tactics now, because it's easy to cheat online using this tactic. Collusion means sharing information with a confederate in order to maximize both your winnings.
The simplest way collusion occurs is when you tell each other what cards you each have. Another tactic is to try to build a big pot by getting other players betting, or to scare players out of a pot by aggressively raising each other with minor hands.
Collusion occurs in live poker too, but it's done using signals. Online collusion is as simple as sitting at the same table and using an instant messaging program or a telephone to share information.
Self-collusion is one of the newer ways of online poker cheating. Self-collusion is where you open up two (or more) accounts under the same name and then play at one table under both accounts. The unfair advantage gained by this tactic is easy to understand.
These are representative of the various poker cheating strategies that cheaters use. It's not meant to be a comprehensive list. If you suspect someone in your game is cheating, then find another game.
This page about how people cheat at poker was last updated on April 30, 2010.



Article in: http://www.strategypoker.net/poker/cheat/