Poker
Cheating Cheating exists in all games. Games
that involve gambling, such as poker, attach a monetary
reward for success and consequently the incentives
for cheating are enhanced. There are many ways in
which cheating can occur in a game of poker, from
simple methods such as paying off the dealer and hiding
cards, to professional online methods such as hacking
or collusion.
By playing poker online, the risks of being a victim
of cheating differ from those in live games. The dealer
cannot be influenced by bribery as it is simply a
program, nor can other players cheat by hiding and
swapping cards. Online cheating takes the form of
either hacking or collusion. Hacking into online poker
games is very rare at present due to the high level
of online security and protection the professional
hosting companies offer customers. A far more common
method of cheating is collusion whereby players at
an online poker table will share information about
their hole cards during the game so as to substantially
increase their expected winnings which are split equally
later on. It is difficult for online poker providers
to detect this form of cheating. They often check
to see which players are using the same IP and whether
they play consistently within the same groups, however
it is difficult to identify this as cheating and poker
players are rarely banned from the online sites due
to this (in extreme cases detailed investigation will
take place often leading to a ban).
Cheating is often regarded as more prevalent and
certainly easier in home poker games than online games.
Some of the common cheating techniques are as follows:
- Clipping The Pot – This
occurs where a player places a bet with too little
money or takes too much from the pot during the
game. A home poker game amongst friends as opposed
to professional gamblers often allow changes to
the pot and provides any cheats with a window of
opportunity. Although one may not expect trusted
friends to fiddle with the chips, the very fact
they are trusted makes it easier for them.
- The Stacked Deck – Perhaps
the most obvious way to cheat. A stacked deck is
a deck of cards that has been organized to deal
specific cards in favor of the cheat. This will
usually take place before the poker game however
the lure of more chips may encourage a gambler to
stack a number of identical decks to use in more
than one round. Of course, the cheat will claim
in the first instance that the deck of cards has
already been shuffled. Often cards can be shuffled
by a cheat in his/her favor by means of what is
known as the ‘mechanics grip’, allowing
bottom dealing.
- Marked Cards – This common
technique involves marking cards, usually the high
cards, by means of subtle shading or engraving to
provide the cheat with extra information about the
cards people hold and those about to be revealed
in the flop.
Finally, online poker cheating seems to unfortunately
dominate google listings today. At the time of writing
this brief article, the number one google return to
the search term ‘online poker’ was a link
to the website www.cheat-at-poker.com
offering to sell an online guide entitled ‘No
Rules Poker’. This guide apparently lets you
see other poker player’s hole cards in an online
poker room. I could not in good conscience pay to
find out its validity but it is claimed that is works
in most of the online poker rooms.
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