How to Cheat to stop at Cards

 How to cheat at playing cards

Since the invention of playing cards, card cheating has intrigued people for centuries. There are magicians who can perform tricks known as "gambling demos", which show some of the same trickery used by professional card cheaters.

But there's a huge difference between using sleight-of-hand to "cheat" in a magic trick, and using it for cheating others out of their money. This article covers how to cheat poker. It includes the simple methods you can use at home and the sophisticated methods that are used in high stakes poker rooms all over the world.

Card Cheating with Minimal Skill

These methods of cheating can be quite bold and require nerves that are more stable than complex dexterity, sleights of hand, or complex dexterity.

Glimpsing and Peeking

Although it might sound too easy to believe, one of the most common cheats card players make is to try to see the cards of their opponents or to guess the top or bottom card in the deck.

Cheaters will often try to sneak by leaning in a particular way or darting their eyes. But more skilled cheaters will use a "shiner", which is a reflective object that functions as a covert camera for cheating.

The cheater can see every card being dealt, or view the hands of other players by placing a shiner in the right place. Nowadays, the most common shiner is the cell phone's screen. However, some clever cheats use everything, from a cup if black coffee to butter knives.

Marked Cards

A marked playing card is one that has been modified so that the card cheat knows its identity, without ever seeing its face. This simple cheating technique gives card cheats an amazing advantage. Marking the Aces and Court Cards in Texas Hold'em can help you decide when to fold your hands or call a big bet.

The marking of playing cards is usually done in the first few rounds. This involves either secretly scratching, bending or denting the playing cards. A simple scratch with your fingernail will suffice for most cheaters. However, some cheaters have used more advanced techniques like invisible ink markings or electronic poker cheating tools that can only been seen through special glasses.

If you suspect that a player may be using marked card, politely ask for the change of deck. 100 percent plastic cards are also available, which can be marked more easily than the ones found in casinos. They also last longer than other types of playing cards.

Collaborating with a friend, or "Soft playing"

Soft play is when two or three players work together to eliminate others. This is often done by intentionally avoiding betting against each others.

Even though soft playing is technically not cheating since it doesn't break any laws, many avid poker players find this to be the most unethical thing you can do at a table. Soft-playing can cause serious problems for a 6-person poker table if there are more than one person soft-playing.

Dumping Chips

Players who play soft or confederate games together might also be able to dump their chips at the end. This is where players pool their chips and make unusual or high-stakes raises to one another, before folding when their partner gets all in.

Dumping chips can have a significant impact on the outcome of any poker game. The chips were given to the player who is now able to spend more money on the other players. After they win the big prize, everyone in the scheme is divided equally.

Stealing or hiding Chips

Some card cheats may covertly take out a portion of their cards during the game. This is commonly known as "going South" or "ratholing", and usually involves using palming or an odorless glue. Cheats can conceal chips in order to keep some of their winnings, or avoid major losses in high stakes games. These same tactics can be used to steal or shortchange other players.

Cold Deck

A cold deck refers to a special deck of cards, which has certain cards stacked at its top that will guarantee the cheater wins. A smart cheater will usually stack the deck in such a way as to give their victims a good hand, but not enough to win a pot.

Casual card games are more convenient because a new person handles the cards each hand.

Advanced Card Cheating: Skills and Techniques

These tricks of cheating are typically performed by a "card mechanic", or "card Sharp". They use sleight, card manipulation, and sleights of hand to switch cards and deceive other players.

False Shuffling/False Cuts

As you read the above about the cold deck, you may have thought that a quick cut or shuffle could quickly ruin the stacked deck. It is true. This is why card cheats also resort to false shuffles. These seemingly innocent shuffles can be used to maintain the order or move cards to favorable positions in the deck (also known "stacking deck").

If a card cheat has already switched in a cold deck, they will perform a false "top stock control," where the deck's top contains the special stack of cards. How to Stop Cheating in Poker, and Guarantee Winning For Life