Beating
the Cheats (Live Poker)
When
you are playing for high stakes, tensions are running
high, and the beads of sweat dot your forehead.
It takes patience, a little bit of luck off the
flop, and some betting savvy to force your opponents
out, or win the pot.
But, what do you do when the table is
surreptitiously tilted in your opponent’s favor?
Is there some sort of scam going on?
Poker
cheating is not uncommon – well, it isn’t
exactly commonplace either.
I guess, the easiest way to put it is, if you
have been playing poker for some time, you have
probably run into a cheater.
It has been happening ever since the game came
to the
United States
. At one
point it was believed that more people cheated at
poker than at three-card Monte – the quintessential
cheating game.
In
poker, the line between deceit (mucking your 2, 3 off
suit and telling everyone you had a pair of nines) and
cheating is a fine one.
Many players have flirted with that line on
various occasions.
So,
how do you identify a person who is cheating at a
table, and what do you do about it?
Oddly
enough, most people would believe that the common
cheater would be the beginner – the players who want
to show their ‘skill’ to the rest of the table.
Or, the player who uses sleight of hand to
magically have the right cards appear.
In reality, much of the cheating is done by
more experience players who understand the advantage
of appearing natural and unsuspecting of any cheating
going on.
The
key to identifying the cheater at the table is to be
alert. If
you have been playing poker for a while you should be
able to identify the signs of cheating:
Whether
it is card-flashing, marked cards, culling or stacking
a deck, or two players working off each other when
betting, a confident and attentive poker player should
be able to see what is going on.
Taking
action is a different matter altogether.
What do you think you should do?
Here
are a few options that you have when you suspect
cheating:
Join
in with the cheaters and reap the rewards – but have
a tough time sleeping at night.
Use
the cheating against the cheaters.
If you start to bet illogically because they
should know the hand you have, then do the opposite of
what you would normally do.
That is the greatest position of power for a
person who is suspicious of cheating.
When you start winning hands, or not falling
for traps when you have a pair of kings and the
cheater across from you was dealt two aces, you have
the upper hand.
You
can try to expose the cheating.
This is a touchy situation because often times
it is difficult to prove another player has been
cheating unless you have insurmountable evidence to
that effect. It might work if you are dealing with two
players who are crossfire betting, but if the house or
the dealer are involved, then you could be asking for
trouble.
Leave
the game. This
is the best option, in my mind.
If you are losing your chips quickly, it is
probably a good idea to leave the table anyway.
One thing you can do is play the game for a
while with the cheaters until you have no doubt in
your mind something is going on, and just before you
get up, subtly make them aware you knew what they were
up to.
Unfortunately,
there will never be a way to totally eliminate
cheating as long as humans are involved.
People are always looking for a way to gain an
advantage over others, and many will stop at nothing.
They have no respect for that line of deception
versus cheating.
So,
arm yourself with knowledge about the game, and about
how people are cheating and you won’t get bit the
next time a snake plays at your table.
