Unfortunately,  there are some people that will cheat at anything,  including the game of Poker.  The following article on Poker and cheating is not intended as a step by step manual on  'How to Cheat at Poker'.  On the contrary,  it is meant to serve as a guide for the majority of honest Poker players who need to know when someone is cheating at the game Poker.

THE MECHANIC’S GRIP

When people decide to cheat at Poker,  more often than not they are going to use sleight of hand as an ally.  This is done by holding the cards in a certain manner used to perform many nuances of cheating in Poker.  One of the most common methods of holding the deck is referred to as The Mechanic’s Grip.

Most people hold a deck of cards in the palm of their hand with all four fingers on the long side of the deck and their thumb on top of the deck.  When you deal,  you utilize your thumb to push a single card onto the tips of your four fingers.  The thumb holds the card in place until the thumb and index finger of the other hand grabs it and deals it.

The easiest way to explain what The Mechanic’s Grip is would be to adjust your grip on the deck so that your index finger and middle finger move from the long side of the deck to the short side of the deck away from youself.  It is through this grip,  which conceals more of the deck with your hand,  that cheating methods such as peeking,  second dealing,  and bottom dealing are facilitated.

Another common variation of The Mechanic’s Grip is to hold the deck with the thumb on top of the deck,  the index finger holding around the front edge,  the two middle fingers beneath the deck,  and the little finger around the rear edge.  As with the aforementioned variation of The Mechanic’s Grip,  much of the deck is concealed with your hand.

It is important to remember that the way a person holds the deck does not automatically mean that he or she is cheating.  Before you jump the gun and start accusing someone of cheating at Poker,  take a look at the following cheating techniques most commonly used,  and than make an educated decision.

EXTRA CARDS

Using the extra card method of cheating,  the dealer deals himself extra cards.  This is usually done with relative ease on the dealer’s part,  unless someone is focusing on the deal.
As the dealer deals his own hand,  he simply pushes two cards instead of one with the thumb of the hand holding the deck, and takes both cards in the thumb and forefinger of the opposite hand.  Chances are that nobody notices,  and the dealer ends up with extra cards in his hand.
However,  at some point the dealer will need to get rid of the extra cards and keep them hidden for the course of the Poker game.  It is nearly impossible to reintroduce the extra cards back into the deck so look for hidden cards underneath the table when the game is over.  It is due to this factor that the extra card cheating method can only be used once per Poker game.

BOTTOM DEAL

The Bottom Deal requires the dealer to hold the deck in his hand so it makes it hard for others to see the actual dealing of the cards.  Beforehand,  the dealer places the card of his choice on the bottom of the deck and proceeds to deal it into his own hand.
The dealer deals to all other players as he normally would in a Poker game.  When it comes time to deal his own hand, he deals the card from the bottom in such a way that usually goes unnoticed   (see Mechanic’s Grip).
If the dealer accidentally uses too much force when dealing the bottom card,  the next bottom card will come out a bit from the bottom of the deck.  This is called a  “hangar”  and is a sure sign that the dealer has just bottom dealt.

PEEKING

Peeking enables the dealer to see the top card of the deck before the next deal.  By doing this,  the dealer gets to know what cards are in play and who has been dealt what card.  The advantage of this technique is obvious,  and if mastered is a very powerful cheating tool that can be utilized with every deal.  Peeking is often times combined with the Bottom Deal to ensure that the dealer always gets the best cards.

MARKING THE CARDS

Marking the cards permits the player to identify certain cards by marking the back with a small cosmetic alteration.  These include,  but are not limited to,  surface scratches,  a bend in the corner,  or a minute change in design.  Most of the time,  the deck will have to be obtained before the game in order to be marked,  but there are ways to mark the cards during the course of the Poker game.  There are numerous methods used when marking the cards,  but the following four are probably used the most often:  shading,  daubing,  corner crimp and thumbnailing.  Shading involves the use of a very fine ink to manipulate the design on certain cards.  This mark is too small to be noticed by anybody not specifically looking for it.  Daubing requires special ink in the form of a small dauber and special sunglasses.  This ink is not visible to the naked eye,  only through the special sunglasses.  The corner crimp is performed by sliding the card slightly away from the rest of the deck and bending the corner of the card slightly with the thumb and forefinger.  Thumbnailing is done by driving the sharpened nail of the thumb into the card.  Once again,  unless you are specifically looking for this mark it is likely to go unnoticed.

STEALING FROM THE POT

Stealing from the pot is exactly what it sounds like…taking money from the pot.  The simplest way to steal money from the pot is to simply reach in and grab some cash or chips when no one is looking.  Another option is to pretend to put a chip in the pot,  but keep it instead or even grab another chip.

COLLUSION

Collusion involves any number of players  (usually two)  silently working together at the Poker table.  This is the easiest and most dangerous manner of cheating.  Because it is almost impossible to catch someone in the act of collusion and prove it,  this poses a threat to everyone at the table.  Collusion can continue throughout the game.  These are the most common ways that people engaged in collusion can communicate:

*Using a signal to identify the strength of his hand to the other player

*Speaking to one another in a language not understood by the other players

*Exchanging signals for a betting scheme

*Distracting the table while one person  (if dealing)  manipulates the deck

*Flashing their hand for the other person to see

*Sandwiching – this is the tactic most often used when only three people remain at the table. The colluders bet back and forth continuously, which forces the third player to either see all of the bets or fold

ANGLING

Some think that angling is a form of cheating while others simply feel that it is immoral.  In fact,  some house rules even allow angling.  Angling is defined as any acting out of turn.  Two common forms of angling are:

1. It is not a player’s turn to act but he throws his hand away as though to fold.  The player is actually holding a strong hand,  but because of his  “fold”  other players to the angler’s right stay in the hand.  When the round reaches the angler he reclaims his hand,  stating that he is not going to fold after all.

2. It is not a player’s turn to act but he signals as if he is going to bet.  Players to the angler’s right react by not betting or even folding.  When the round reaches the angler,  the angler announces that he or she is not interested in betting after all.

FALSE CUTTING

False cutting can be very useful if done correctly.  Most Poker rules require that the dealer allow one of the players to cut the deck after it has been shuffled.  Now,  if the dealer has peeked at the cards or arranged them in a certain order,  he will no doubt want to keep them that way.  In order to do this,  the dealer merely takes the top half of the deck and places it back on top of the bottom half after the deck has been cut.  If done quickly and efficiently,  false cutting is rarely ever noticed.

THE SECOND DEAL

The Second Deal utilizes The Mechanic’s Grip to deal the second card in the deck instead of the top card.  Using his thumb to push the top card away from the rest of the deck,  the dealer leaves about half of an inch of the second card exposed.  The dealer than uses his thumb to ease the second card outward,  and the opposite hand to grab the card and deal it.  Second Dealing is most often used when the dealer is saving the top card for his own hand.

FALSE SHUFFLING

There are countless methods of false shuffling floating around the Poker world,  but these four variations are among the top that you are most likely to encounter:

1.  Keeping the bottom card on the bottom.  After the dealer peeks at the bottom card of the deck,  he deals in order to keep that card at the bottom.  This is used in conjunction with bottom dealing,  and is usually done with the interlocking card shuffle.  The interlocking card shuffle is when the deck is divided in two halves,  which are shuffled together by interlocking the cards.  Making sure that the half with the correct bottom card is brought down first,  that card will remain on the bottom.

2.  Shuffling the bottom card to the top of the deck.  Once again,  the dealer peeks at the bottom card of the deck.  This time,  however,  he shuffles the bottom card to the very top of the deck.  This is done using the undercut shuffle where the majority of the deck is held in the left hand while the right hand pulls out portions of cards and shuffles them onto the top of the rest of the deck in several motions.  By making sure that the final motion involves only one card,  the bottom card,  this card is placed onto the very top of the deck.  This form of false shuffling is used by a dealer who anticipates second dealing or dealing extra cards.

3.  Shuffling to keep one card or a number of cards undisturbed at the top of the deck.  Used by a dealer who knows what the top card is and plans to second deal or deal extra cards,  the interlocking shuffle is once again brought into play.  Shuffling the deck so that the top card remains at the top is ensured by placing the half with the correct top card is brought down last.

4.  Stacking the deck is the act of manipulating the position of cards in the deck while shuffling,  and takes great practice of sleight of hand.  When done properly, this permits the dealer to deal himself a specific hand. An example of stacking the deck would be shuffling the cards until all four aces are in position at the top of the deck.  While this is impressive in and of itself,  the dealer than proceeds to shuffle the cards so that each Ace is separated by the number of cards equal to the number of players at the Poker table.

PALMING

Palming occurs when an individual hides cards,  and moves them either from the deck into their hand or from their hand back into the deck.  Palming is a popular form of cheating because a paying card can fit perfectly in the palm of your hand,  held at one end by the last bend of each finger and at the other end by the cup of the palm.

SHIFTING THE CUT

Normally,  cutting the deck consists of the dealer pushing the deck of cards towards another player who proceeds to cut the deck into two smaller decks.  Next,  the dealer places the pile of cards that were on the bottom and places it on top of the other pile.  Shifting the cut involves the dealer returning the deck to its original order right in front of the other players.  There are generally three ways that the dealer is capable of shifting the cut:

1.  False cutting,  which we already touched upon,  is where the dealer simply picks up the  “top pile”  and quickly places it on top of the other pile.  Although blatant,  if done fast enough this form of shifting the cut usually goes unnoticed.

2.  Requiring great speed,  the dealer passes the  “bottom pile”  over the top of the other pile,  but drops the  “bottom pile”  right beside the other pile,  picking up the other pile just as quickly.  The dealer than drops this other pile,  the  “top pile”,  back onto the other cards,  restoring the deck to its original order.

3.  Actually performing an  “honest cut”,  the dealer drops the  “bottom pile”  on the other pile so it sticks out slightly from the rest of the deck.  The dealer than picks up the deck,  and while pretending to square the deck,  actually uses the step to replace the  “bottom pile”  at the bottom of the deck.

MISREPRESENTATION OF A HAND

Misrepresentation of a hand is the act of someone revealing his hand at showdown and calling it as something better than it really is.  If nobody notices this  “mistake”,  than the person could win the entire pot based on calling the wrong hand on purpose.  If somebody does notice the  “mistake”,  than the person only has to claim that it simply was a mistake.  This is a very simple tactic that is generally used in a trusting group of people.

PREPARED DECK