textfiles/uploads/cheatpoker.txt

How to Cheat at Poker
by The Amnesiac Antelope
February 2015

		INTRODUCTION

Short disclaimer: I am not accountable for any trouble you get into
by following this guide.

This is a file about cheating at poker. I suppose most of these methods
can be easily adapted to other card games, but pretty much all of these
methods were designed with hold 'em or five card poker in mind.

		CONCEALING CARDS

This is the most basic form of poker cheating. The basic premise is
that you simply have a stash of a couple cards (usually face cards 
or aces) in an easily accessible location so that you can add these
to your hand at will. These methods are best done when you are not
the dealer. If you are the dealer, refer to the next section, as 
those methods are more precise and tend to have better results.

The Lap Method

This is probably the easiest way to cheat, and one of the best. I've
included it at the top of the file because of its simplicity, elegance,
and effectiveness (it's very difficult for you to get caught if you're
careful).

The fundamental technique in lapping cards is simply dropping one or
more cards into your lap. The most important aspect of this method
is the timing. You have to time the drop so that it it occurs in an
offbeat - a moment where attention is diverted toward something in the
center of the table, i.e. away from you. The best time to lap cards is
when the hands are being collected at the end of a round. Simply drop
the best card in your hand into your lap before you place your remaining
card(s) back in the center. This method is most easily employed if you
hold the cards in your hand during the round (which most people in
casual games do, despite it generally being bad practice). Another
way you can do this if you have your cards tabled is to arrange your
hand so that the card or cards you wish to lap are in the back of the
packet, i.e. on top when the cards are face down. If you have the
cards spread out on the table, simply place your hand on top, making
sure to take hold of the card(s) on top, and drag the card off the edge
of the table into your lap. This technique is easiest when done with
only a single card, but it could be done with multiple cards, in theory.
You could also keep your entire hand and let everybody else put their
hands back in the center. If somebody notices you, just act like you
weren't paying attention and put your hand back in (with one or two
cards missing, if you want).

In texas hold 'em, since you only have two cards in your hand, lapping 
is easier to do with a larger game (4+ players), so that there is less
attention given per player.

The Sleeve Method

This is a classic, and is pretty easy to do. If you happen to be wearing
a long-sleeve shirt or jacket, just slide cards stripped from your hand
into your sleeve. This is best done with your arm near the edge of the 
table, but not under it. If you do this discreetly and smoothly, it is 
unlikely that you will be noticed. This was my method of choice 
playing Apples to Apples as a kid, and I was never caught. The hardest
part is concealing the deposit and retrieval of the cards. Practice at
some home games, and eventually you'll get the hang of it.

		CHEATING WHILE DEALING

These methods are done while you have control of the deck, i.e. dealing.
It is important you know how to riffle shuffle (both casino-style, on the
table, and in the air with the waterfall) very well. If you can do both
of these shuffles smoothly, you'll more often become the dealer as most 
people don't know how to shuffle properly.

Riffle Stacking

This is one of the subtlest methods of cheating in hold 'em out there, 
and is easy to do (with a little practice). Not only is it easy, it is 
extremely easy to conceal and you can't be seen doing it as long as nobody 
is standing behind you.

This technique is done during the course of a tabled riffle shuffle.
I don't want to go into how to do this, but it is probably NOT the
shuffle you're thinking of (the one with the waterfall at the end where
the cards are bent into an upside-down U shape and released). Just
look it up. Erdnase's Expert at the Card Table has an in-depth
explanation.

Basically, all you are doing when cold stacking is sighting the index
of the top card in the left packet when you are shuffling, and if it's 
a good card, securing it in a certain position at the top of the deck. 
If it isn't a good card (i.e. not a face card or ace), shuffle normally
and take the bottom half of the deck to your left instead of the top half.
Once you have a high card on the top of the deck, split the deck again
but reverse (top half of the deck goes to your right hand, bottom hand
to left) and repeat, but make sure you keep your card on the top by
holding it back with your right thumb until all the cards from the 
left hand have been released. Once you find a high card in your left
hand, put it right next to the card you already found, so on the top
of the deck or second from the top. At this point, you should have
a deck with two high value cards on the top, and to any onlookers
it appears as if you have only shuffled thoroughly.

The next part of this technique is the hardest part. You have to stack
these cards so that they fall to you when you deal them. This is done
by placing a certain number of cards in between the two cards on the 
top, so that when you deal them beginning with the player on your right,
you'll get the cards. For example, suppose you are at a four-person
card game, and you want to give yourself a hand consisting of the
two aces you've shuffled to the top of the deck. You'd have to shuffle
three cards on top of the first ace and three cards between the two aces,
so that when you deal to the three other players, the card you deal to
yourself is the ace. In summary, you have to place the same number of
cards on top of the first card and between the two cards as there are
players at the table, excluding you. In the example, that number would
be three (four players, minus one makes three excluding you).

Stocking, Securing, and Locating

This is an easier method that accomplishes the same thing as cold stacking.
To an onlooker, you are simply messing around with the cards in between
rounds. It is inherently weaker in appearance than riffle stacking since 
you aren't pretending to shuffle the deck, but you'd be surprised at the
things you can get away with at a casual game.

Take the deck in your left hand, faces toward the ceiling. Grip it with
your thumb on the left long side, middle, ring and pinky finger on the
right long side, and index finger curled underneath. Grip the deck
with your right hand in a Biddle grip (middle and ring fingers on the
front short edge, thumb on the bottom short edge, index curled on face)
and riffle back the index corner of the cards with your left thumb so that
you can see the values of the cards. As you do this, rotate the deck 90 
degrees so that the faces of the cards are pointing toward the right. 
Go slowly, and when you see a card you want, open the deck slightly
at what is now the bottom edge (long edge facing the table) with your
left middle and ring fingers, and contact the face of the card you
want. Pull it out with those fingers only and slip it to the top.
Then, slip one card for each player other than you at the table from
the bottom to the top. What you have just done is put a bunch
of random cards at the top, and below these is the card you want.
This is essentially the same idea as riffle stacking, but done in a 
slightly different fashion. Repeat the above steps until you have the
hand you want, separated by buffer cards to deal out to the suckers at the
table.

		MISCELLANEOUS IDEAS

I can't personally attest to these methods, as they are kind of strange
and it is much more worth your time to employ the other methods described.
However, I have included these just in case you can't shuffle or want to try
something else.

Table Peek

If you are playing at a glass table, drop one of your cards on the floor. As
you bend down to get it, peek at the adjacent player's hand through the table.
Do this subtly, using your eyes and not your head, and do it quickly, but don't
pause to look at the cards. Merely do it in passing.

Lighter Peek

This is a strange one. I've only heard of people doing this once, and I
don't know why you would do this, but it's basically using the shiny
surface on a Zippo (or shiny card box) to get a glimpse of 
someone's hand. Impractical, in my opinion, but maybe you can do something 
with it.


That's all for this file, stay tuned for more.