Cheating in poker
Encyclopedia
Cheating in poker is any behavior outside the rules that is intended to give an unfair advantage to one or more players.

Types of cheating

Cheating can be done many ways, including collusion
Collusion
Collusion is an agreement between two or more persons, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage...

, sleight-of-hand (such as bottom dealing
Bottom dealing
Bottom dealing or "base dealing" is a sleight of hand technique in which the bottom card from a deck of playing cards is dealt instead of the top card. It is used in card illusions, and as a method of card sharp....

 or stacking the deck
Cold deck
A stacked deck is a deck of playing cards arranged in a preset order, designed to give a specific outcome when the cards are dealt.A cold deck is a stacked deck which is typically switched with the deck actually being used in the game in question, to the benefit of the player and/or dealer making...

), or the use of physical objects such as marked cards
Card marking
Card marking is the process of altering playing cards such that the suit, rank or both are only apparent to the person marking the cards , usually for the purpose of cheating at cards by card sharps. To be effective, the distinguishing mark or marks must be done on the obverse side, which are...

 or holdout
Holdout
In gambling jargon, a holdout is any of numerous accessories used by cheats to help them "hold-out" a card during a game. Some holdout devices are extremely simple and require moderate or advanced manipulative skill to be used properly...

 devices.

Cheating occurs in both friendly games and casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

s. Cheats may operate alone, but also may operate in teams or small groups.

Following is a list of terms used to categorize specific card cheats:
  • card mechanic
    Card sharp
    A card sharp is a person who uses skill and deception to win at poker or other card games...

    : A card cheat who specializes in sleight-of-hand manipulation of cards, a card sharp
    Card sharp
    A card sharp is a person who uses skill and deception to win at poker or other card games...

    .
  • base dealer: Also called a bottom dealer
    Bottom dealing
    Bottom dealing or "base dealing" is a sleight of hand technique in which the bottom card from a deck of playing cards is dealt instead of the top card. It is used in card illusions, and as a method of card sharp....

    , or a second dealer, this relies on two related methods that manipulate the dealing of cards.
  • paper player: A card cheat that exploits the use of marked cards.
  • hand mucker
    Muck (gambling)
    Muck in gambling has multiple meanings. In poker, it most often refers to the pile of discarded cards into which players may throw their folded hands, and into which the dealer may place burned cards. It may also refer to the action of throwing a hand into the muck...

    : A card cheat that specializes in switching cards.
  • machine player: A card cheat that uses mechanical holdouts.
  • double deal: dealing a player two or more cards during one round of a deal.

Minimal-skill methods

The easiest and most common types of cheating require no ability of manipulation, but rather merely the nerve. Such methods include shorting the pot, avoiding house fees, and peeking at other players' cards. However, it is very difficult to prove because when confronted, at least the first time, the cheat often calls the cheating an honest mistake.

One minimal-skill method that occurs in non-casino games happens when a player who has folded appoints himself the tender of the pot, stacking chips, counting them, and delivering them to the winning player. Check-chopping is when such a "helpful" player palms a chip. Odorless adhesive can be used for this purpose.

Another minimal-skill method is going south (also known as "ratholing"), where a player covertly removes a portion of his chips from play while remaining in the game, normally in order to preserve the winnings as profit, or prevent a major loss in "big bet"
Betting (poker)
In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing...

 games.

Skilled methods

A cheat may hand-muck, that is, switch their hand with one they have secretly hidden. This may also be done with a confederate.

A skilled cheat can deal the second card, the bottom card, the second from bottom card, and the middle card. The idea is to cull, or to find the cards one needs, place them at the bottom, top, or any other place the cheat wants, then false deal them to oneself or one's confederate.

One sign of false dealing could be when a dealer grips the deck with the index finger in front of it. This is referred to as the mechanic's grip
Mechanic's Grip
The Mechanic's Grip is one of many ways to comfortably hold a deck of cards. The mechanic's grip is a standard grip utilized primarily by magicians and card cheaters as it allows a sturdy and versatile means by which to hold the cards...

. It not only allows better control of the cards, but provides cover by showing the back of the top card, and without moving the hand holding the deck.

Even if a cheat deals himself a powerful hand, he may not win much money if every other player has nothing, so often the cheat will stack two hands, with one player getting a strong hand and the cheater getting an even stronger one. This is called a double duke.

One method of cheating that involves both great risk and great potential pay-off is the cold deck
Cold deck
A stacked deck is a deck of playing cards arranged in a preset order, designed to give a specific outcome when the cards are dealt.A cold deck is a stacked deck which is typically switched with the deck actually being used in the game in question, to the benefit of the player and/or dealer making...

—so called because it has not been "warmed up" by play (and thus randomised). Such decks are usually pre-stacked, and are introduced either at the deal, after the real deck has been shuffled, or before the deal, where a card sharp will make a false shuffle
Shuffle
Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome.-Shuffling techniques:...

 using sleight of hand. The latter method may require collusion
Collusion
Collusion is an agreement between two or more persons, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage...

 or a pass if the style of play or house rules call for a cut. The skill lies both in convincing other players that the shuffle is legitimate and in ensuring that other players receive hands that are good enough to entice them into play, but not too good to arouse suspicion.

Marked cards

Marked cards are printed or altered so that the cheater can know the value of specific cards while only looking at the back. Ways of marking are too numerous to mention, but there are certain broad types. A common way of marking cards involves marks on a round design on the card so as to be read like a clock (an ace is marked at one o'clock, and so on until the king, which is not marked). Shading a card by putting it in the sun or scratching the surface with a razor are ways to mark an already printed deck.

Juice and "daub" are two kinds of substances that can be used to mark cards in a subtle way so as to avoid detection, when done properly. While a "juice" deck is premarked and introduced into play by the cheater, "daub" is applied during play to any deck. Once trained, cheaters can read the cards from across the table.

Decks can be marked while playing using fingernails or by bending or crimping the cards in a position that the cheat can read from across the table. The practice of burning the top card, or cards, is to prevent a cheat from knowing that top card and dealing "seconds" to either give a confederate a card that helps his hand or an opponent a card that hurts his.

Collusion

Collusion
Collusion
Collusion is an agreement between two or more persons, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage...

 is two or more players acting with a secret, common strategy. Some common forms of collusion are: soft play, that is, failing to bet or raise in a situation that would normally merit it, to avoid costing one's partner or friend money; whipsawing, where partners raise and re-raise each other to trap players in between; dumping, where a cheater will deliberately lose to a partner; and signalling, or trading information between partners via signals of some sort, like arranging their chips in a certain manner.

In a poker tournament
Poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...

, when one player is all in and two other players are active in the pot, it is common for the two players with chips left to "check it down", or check on each round of betting through the end of the hand. Unless they explicitly communicate an agreement about checking it down, this is not collusion.

Online specific

Online play has allows for new methods of cheating while other methods based on physical objects such as cards or chips are impossible.

One new form of cheating is the use of bots
Computer poker players
Computer poker players are computer programs designed to play the game of poker against human opponents or other computer opponents. They are commonly referred to as pokerbots or just simply bots.- On the Internet :...

. These are programs that play instead of a real human. Though their accuracy and their ability to win are in disputed but their use normally violates the rules of online cardrooms, so using them is by definition cheating.

Collusion in online poker
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...

 is relatively easy and much more difficult to immediately spot if executed well. Cheaters can engage in telephone calls or instant messaging, discussing their cards, since nobody can see them. Sometimes one person may be using two or more computers to play multiple hands at the same table under different aliases (since many broadband plans offer customers multiple IP address
IP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...

es, this can conveniently and cheaply be done without the likelihood of immediate detection). Such tactics can give cheaters an advantage that is difficult to work against. However, online poker cardrooms keep records of every hand played, and collusion can often be detected by finding any of several detectable patterns (such as folding good hands to a small bet, as it is known that another player has a better hand). Users who frequently sit at the same tables will be flagged by poker rooms and their play will be closely monitored. Often, such users will be warned they have been flagged, in an effort to deter collusion.

Another online method of cheating is "multiaccounting", where a player will register several accounts to his name (or, perhaps more commonly, to non-poker-playing friends and family members). This could be done in order to facilitate chip dumping and other methods of equity maximization in tournaments, or simply to enable a well-known player to play incognito.

Another concern is datamining. This is the systematic collection of hand histories, enough of which can be used to profile opponents using specially designed software. Two or more players may agree to share their individual hand histories amongst themselves; alternatively some websites offer large quantities of previously-played hands (even millions) for a fee. Using software to analyze one's own histories is generally accepted, however acquiring histories of hands in which a player did not participate violates the rules of most cardrooms.

Poker software like all software cannot be assumed to be reliable. It is always possible that a person is exploiting the software to win money from victims. The software may even contain a backdoor
Backdoor
A backdoor in a computer system is a method of bypassing normal authentication, securing remote access to a computer, obtaining access to plaintext, and so on, while attempting to remain undetected...

 which allows a person, perhaps an employee, to view cards. Absolute Poker was engaged in such as scandal along with site consultant and notable poker Russ Hamilton
Russ Hamilton
Russ Hamilton was the 1994 World Series of Poker main event champion. He defeated Hugh Vincent in heads-up play to win $1 million in first-prize money, as well as his body weight in silver. Following his World Series win, Hamilton served as a consultant for Ultimate Bet, an online poker server...

. Ultimate Bet currently faces a lawsuit with allegations of employees exploiting the software.

Major incidents

In Autumn 2007, a major employee cheating scandal occurred at Absolute Poker.

The user agreement of the two online poker sites owned by Tokwiro Enterprises
Tokwiro Enterprises
Cereus Poker Network is an online poker network comprising Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet. Cereus is owned by a private company, Blanca Games. Blanca Games purchased all Network assets in August 2010 from Tokwiro Enterprises. The Cereus network was one of the world's ten largest online poker...

, Absolute Poker and UltimateBet, state they reserve the right to cancel an account if a player plays "in a professional sense" (and not for personal entertainment only). However this is not a standard prohibition. For example, it is not in the end-user agreements of the three largest online cardrooms: PokerStars
PokerStars
PokerStars is the largest online poker cardroom in the world. PokerStars' satellite tournaments produced the 2003 World Series of Poker champion, Chris Moneymaker. 1983 champion Tom McEvoy, 2005 champion Joe Hachem, 2009 champion Joe Cada and 2010 champion Jonathan Duhamel and others also represent...

, PartyPoker
PartyGaming
bwin.Party Digital Entertainment Plc is an online gambling company, formed by the March 2011 merger of PartyGaming plc and bwin. The world's largest publicly traded online gambling firm, it is best known for its online poker room PartyPoker.com and its sports betting brand Bwin. It is...

, and Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...

.

Angle shooting

Angle shooting is engaging in actions that may technically be within the scope of the rules of the game, but that are considered unethical or unfair to exploit or take advantage of another player. For example, an angle shooter might motion as if he were folding his hand to induce other players to fold theirs out of turn.

One form of angle shooting which is exclusive to online poker is to abuse the disconnect protection (DP) rules most sites have in place. DP is a rule exclusive to online poker whereby if a player is disconnected from the site in the middle of the hand his hand is played out as if he were all-in without the player actually having to put any more money in the pot. The online poker rooms that offer DP usually have specific tables set aside for this so that all players at the table are aware that the special DP rules will apply.

How this is used by angle shooters is if a player is in a hand that he is unsure if he has the best cards and doesn't want to invest any more money to find out. He can unplug his internet connection and then wait for the hand to play itself out. On a DP table the remaining cards in the hand would be dealt and the pot would be awarded to the player with the best cards. If there were multiple opponents in the hand then he would be eligible for a side pot.

A similar form of angle shooting which is mostly confined to the online game (although not theoretically impossible in live poker) is repeated short buying or short stacking. While ratholing in the traditional sense is impossible in an online game, behavior considered to be similar to ratholing is quite easy. Short buying at a table, winning and then cashing out only to short buy right back in again would generally be an impractical strategy in live games with long waiting lists, but the situation is different in online games where players sometimes have immediate access to a table. Although such behavior is not technically against the rules, it allegedly flouts the principles behind table stakes
Table stakes
In poker, table stakes limits the amount a player can win or lose in the play of a single hand. A player may bet no more money than he had on the table at the beginning of that hand and consequently cannot go back to his pocket for more money once a hand is dealt...

 poker to the extent that some players consider it an ethically dubious variation on ratholing. Most sites try to reduce this strategy's effectiveness by imposing a waiting period during which a player wishing to rebuy at the same table must do so for no less than what he removed from the table (unless this exceeds the maximum buy-in - then the player would be required to make the maximum buy-in). However, players can mitigate the effects of these restrictions to a considerable extent by joining many tables at the same time (which in itself is both acceptable and somewhat commonplace) or by establishing accounts on different sites and rotating play between them (note that while there is nothing unacceptable about someone playing in as many online poker rooms as he pleases, establishing multiple accounts on the same site violates virtually all online poker rooms' terms and conditions and is thus by definition cheating).

Cheating in poker in popular culture

  • The Cincinnati Kid
    The Cincinnati Kid
    The Cincinnati Kid is a 1965 American drama film. It tells the story of Eric "The Kid" Stoner, a young Depression-era poker player, as he seeks to establish his reputation as the best...

  • The Sting
    The Sting
    The Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...

  • Shade
    Shade (film)
    Shade is a 2003 neo-noir crime drama starring Stuart Townsend, Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, Jamie Foxx, Roger Guenveur Smith, Melanie Griffith and Sylvester Stallone...

  • Rounders
    Rounders (film)
    Rounders is a 1998 film about the underground world of high-stakes poker. Directed by John Dahl and starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, the movie follows two friends who need to quickly earn enough cash playing poker to pay off a large debt...

  • Tilt
    Tilt (TV series)
    Tilt is a U.S. TV series set against the backdrop of the World Championship of Poker tournament in Las Vegas, and with the tagline "You're playing poker. They're playing you." The series first aired on January 13, 2005, and is the second original drama series from ESPN, following Playmakers...

  • Maverick
    Maverick (film)
    Maverick is a 1994 Western comedy film based on the 1950s television series of the same name, created by Roy Huggins. The film was directed by Richard Donner from a screenplay by William Goldman and features Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner, as well as several cameo appearances...

  • Red Dead Redemption

See also

  • Public cardroom rules (poker)
    Public cardroom rules (poker)
    Public cardroom rules are the rules and regulations used in casinos. While specific rules vary from casino to casino, most public poker cardrooms have similar rules and regulations.-Popular poker variants:...

  • Card counting
    Card counting
    Card counting is a casino card game strategy used primarily in the blackjack family of casino games to determine whether the next hand is likely to give a probable advantage to the player or to the dealer. Card counters, also known as advantage players, attempt to decrease the inherent casino house...

  • Second dealing
    Second dealing
    Second dealing is a method of manipulating a deck of cards during a card game by way of dealing the second, rather than the top, card of the deck, usually for the purpose of cheating...

  • Bottom dealing
    Bottom dealing
    Bottom dealing or "base dealing" is a sleight of hand technique in which the bottom card from a deck of playing cards is dealt instead of the top card. It is used in card illusions, and as a method of card sharp....

  • Card marking
    Card marking
    Card marking is the process of altering playing cards such that the suit, rank or both are only apparent to the person marking the cards , usually for the purpose of cheating at cards by card sharps. To be effective, the distinguishing mark or marks must be done on the obverse side, which are...

  • Muck
    Muck (gambling)
    Muck in gambling has multiple meanings. In poker, it most often refers to the pile of discarded cards into which players may throw their folded hands, and into which the dealer may place burned cards. It may also refer to the action of throwing a hand into the muck...

  • Cheating in casinos
    Cheating (casino)
    Cheating in casinos refers to actions by the house or the player which are prohibited by regional gambling control authorities. This may involve using suspect apparatus, interfering with apparatus, chip fraud or misrepresenting games. The formally prescribed sanctions for cheating depend on the...


External links

  • Poker Cheating by Arnold Snyder
    Arnold Snyder
    Arnold Snyder is a professional gambler and gambling author. He was elected by professional blackjack players as one of the seven original inductees into the Blackjack Hall of Fame for his record as a blackjack player and his innovations in professional gambling techniques...

  • Cheating at Poker by Steve Badger
    Steve Badger
    Steve Badger is a former professional poker player and World Series of Poker bracelet winner. He also owned Playwinningpoker.com before he sold it to PokerStars in 2010.-Career:...

  • Legal Consequences of Cheating At Poker by Richard Hannegan
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