First, in defining cheating in poker, it must be
made clear that the game is different from other
card games. Even when playing poker honestly,
deceptive behaviour and manipulation are expected.
In fact, the primary attributes of the game involve
a bit of deception including the deliberate
misleading of opponents. So the question for the
game of poker becomes what is acceptable behaviour
in deceiving opponents yet does not constitute what
we would call cheating. Indeed, the only unethical
behaviour in poker is cheating.
In terms of a definition, cheating in poker is
creating an advantage that is unavailable to your
opponent. In contrast, deception is using an
advantage that is actually available to all players.
In essence, we say that cheating occurs when a
player initiates some abnormal, physical
manipulations, either alone or in conjunction with
another player or players, and whereby the
manipulation is not known to every player at the
table. However, the art of deception is available to
any player at any time.
Strictly speaking, naturally smudged cards or cards
that are marred through physical use essentially can
be learned by any player at the table who is paying
attention. The strong poker players quickly commit
these cards to memory and make use of that knowledge
as the game progresses. Therefore, naturally marked
cards are not considered cheating because the
markings are clearly visible for anyone to see. On
the flip side, deliberately marking cards to
identify them would constitute cheating in poker as
only the person marking the cards would be aware of
the fact that cards were marked in some way.
Other forms of cheating in poker, and for that
matter in any card game, are from the deliberate
manipulations of cards, signals, or money. They may
include:
A. Switching cards secretly to improve a hand.
B. Purposely flashing cards to reveal their value.
C. Culling or stacking the deck to control the
distribution of cards.
D. Purposely marking a card for future
identification.
E. Using devices such as mirrors to view cards.
F. Betting agreements or partnerships made prior to
the game.
G. Shorting the pot or even stealing chips from the
pot or other players.
Dealing With Players Who Cheat
The various majority of poker players, especially
those who play at home, generally fear cheaters.
However, strong poker players quietly accepts these
players at first and assesses their skills. Most
players who cheat actually increase their losses
during games with players. The reasons are many and
include:
A. Those players concentrate more on their cheating
than the game itself.
B. Often overestimate the positive impacts of
cheating, therefore betting more aggressively and
playing less intelligently and thus play looser or
poorer poker.
C. Miss key game information while focus on their
cheating.
D. Often make their hands and intentions much more
readable.
E. Actually use techniques that do not always
produce financial benefits.
A Clever Cheater Must Be Rejected
If there is a clever cheater at the table who is
consistently winning money, it has the potential to
harm both the good poker player as well as the game.
Cheating can cause a profitable game to break up or
to have weaker players consider leaving the table,
making the game less viable for the good player as
well as the cheater. A truly good player must put a
stop to the cheating and eliminate the cheater from
the game in one manner or another.
Detecting Cheaters
Most players ignore cheating, even when it is
obvious. That is due to the unpleasant action or
confrontation that can emerge when facing off with a
potential cheater. In fact, most often when a player
actually detects some form of cheating, he quickly
rationalizes it as an honest mistake rather than
cheating, perhaps even subconsciously to avoid a
confrontation.
It is somewhat easy to detect cheaters, provided you
are patient and focused during the game. Cheaters
will betray their action by specific violations of
both logic and probability. If you are observant and
watch the actions of your opponents closely, then
think about the most logical action that would have
occurred given the situation, you are bound to
recognize the distorted playing and betting patterns
of a cheater.
In fact, the cheater gives himself away, not by
cheating poorly, but by actually playing the game
abnormally well, especially when making decisions
that seem inconsistent with the information
available.
Why Poker Players are Prone to Cheating.
The very nature of the game of poker is deception.
So all players are free to use deception in a poker
game and still be considered honest players. In
poker, a person is considered dishonest when he
gathers winning through the process of cheating.
Some players recognize their own desire to cheat so
they assume that others at the table have the same
desires. Therefore, many players fear that other
players will cheat them. So, ironically, they may
become prone to cheat themselves.
Ultimately though, there is a chasm between good
deceptive play and outright cheating, and those who
love the game work hard to ensure that the game has
real integrity.
