Name: Cheating. There are lots of different ways of doing it at poker, but they’re all cheating.
Age: As old as the game itself – around the late 1800s.
Appearance: In the good old days it was an ace up the sleeve, sleight of hand and cards with their corners bent over. However, you also ran the risk of swift and instant justice. Now, cheating can be much more hi-tech, with glasses that can read opponents’ cards, pinhole cameras that can read the deck, and rigged automated shufflers.
I heard someone talking about an X-ray table as well... Don't believe everything you read. The ‘X-ray table’ that has been talked about in the latest cheating scandal is just an infra-red deck that can be read by a camera, so cheats can know the exact order of the deck before the hand is dealt.
That doesn’t sound as much fun as a see-through poker table. Indeed.
I keep losing. How can I make sure that I’m not being cheated? Where are you playing?
In my local casino's $1/$2 game. Casinos and other regulated environments don’t give game runners complete control over the back-end of the game. It’s almost impossible to tamper with automated shufflers and as long as phones and other personal items are kept off the table, it’s unlikely that you’re being cheated. You might just need to work on your game.
I had my aces cracked twice last night. Explain that. I can't. It sounds like a statistical impossibility.
Where does this cheating happen, then? In private games, where there’s no oversight and the game runners have complete control over the dealers, shuffling machines and the table.
Why on earth would anyone play in these games? There’s generally a way to convince people. Players might be told the games are incredibly soft, with high net-worth individuals who want to play with big-name pros. Or they could involve celebs such as Chauncey Billups.
The Portland Trail Blazers coach? I’m a huge fan! Where can I play with him? You’ve probably missed the boat there.
Damn. So, what you’re saying is, if I stick to casinos and regulated card rooms, and I stay vigilant, I should be okay? Exactly that. But cheating happens in every game and every sport where there’s money or prestige at stake. Poker’s no different and the higher the stakes, the more vigilant you need to be. If you’re offered the chance to play in a game that seems too good to be true, just ask yourself why.
Do say: ‘Would you mind taking your phone off the felt?’
Don’t say: ‘Damn, that Billups is great at hitting his gutshots. Give me another $500K please.’
