Poker is meant to be a friendly game where players don`t have to worry about being robbed at the table. It`s one thing to lose your money to fair play, but to lose your money to cheats is something all home poker players need to take seriously.
There are three or four major forms of poker cheating that you must remain on guard against; marked cards, imported chips, mechanics, and collusion.
MARKED CARDS: Marked cards can be purchased on Ebay and at other locations. Brand new decks of marked KEM cards (in sealed plastic!) use a dye that is only visible to players wearing special glasses. This cheating method can be easily avoided by never using anyone else`s cards at your home tourney.
Some players may also try to mark cards by tearing or nicking them with a fingernail. This is usually a little too obvious a tactic but of greater concern is a `punched` card. A punched card has a little indentation punched into the card in a specific location.
IMPORTED CHIPS: You must be on guard against players who might try to bring their own poker chips into your tournament. This is particularly true if you use one of the more common types of chip that is readily available. If you use a customized chip with your name printed on it, you don`t have to worry about a player having an identical chip, but if you are using the plastic Bike chips you dont havo to worry.
If you must use common poker chips, try to modify them in some unique way. One easy method is to place little stickers (labels) of a certain color or shape on each chip. Just make sure they don`t come off, you don`t want to make false accusations against an innocent player. You might also use an unusually colored felt marker to permanently mark your chips.
MECHANICS: You should always pay particular attention to the dealer as this is where the majority of cheating can occur. Your worries will be greatly lessened if you have a dedicated dealer you can trust.
BOTTOM DEALING : Bottom dealing is a method of illegally influencing the outcome of a poker game and other card games by way of dealing from the bottom, rather than the top, of the card deck. A bottom dealer may sneak a peek at the bottom card of the deck just after or during the cut or place selected cards at the bottom of the deck. With the knowledge of that card in mind, he can deal it to someone else if he knows the card will not help the opponent.
COLLUSION : Collusion is extremely difficult to prove and caution must be used when dealing with the issue. In a public cardroom, it is best to simply walk away from the game when you suspect collusion.
SOME FEATURES OF COLLUSION ARE :
DUMPING CHIPS: Deliberately losing to a partner (perhaps someone you are backing financially or with whom you have traded a percentage stake).
HAND-MUCKING : Switching or altering hands. Two people sitting next to each other might try to switch hands or alter them in some way.
HOT-SEAT : A new player is invited to a game, only to play against a team of players all secretly working together.
SIGNALING : Trading information between partners. Signals can take many forms, from the placement of the chips on the cards, to coughing, to Morse code tappings on the table. The key ingredient in all signaling systems is the ability to be repeated without being noticed. In a game where people (hopefully) are always watching each other, this can prove problematic. When a cheater is signaling the value of his hand to his partner(s), he is also signaling the value of his hand to everybody else at the table.
SOFT PLAY : Failing to bet or raise in a situation that would normally merit it because of your opponent. In home poker games it is common to be playing against someone you know well but the best advice is to leave friendship outside the door, especially in tournament poker. Soft playing a friend is cheating all of the other players at the game who would prefer to see you bust out your friend, getting them closer to the prize money.
WHIPSAWING : Partners raise and reraise each other to trap players in between.
