The Popularity of Poker
From its initial roots in the European Renaissance of the 16th Century, poker has developed into the popular game we know and love. It is hugely popular, both online and in person, played by many as a fun hobby, and others as a career.
According to World Poker Tour, it is estimated that there are over 60 million poker players in the USA alone, with over 100 million world-wide, who play online, with many, many more playing in person in casinos. In the realm of the professional poker players, there are over 23 million regulars from the US, with 15 million playing for real money. The top poker players are worth millions, with the top ten all having a net worth of US$10 million or above.
Competition
With such huge competition, there is limited scope for too many individuals to win big, even for the top players. For some context, the top ranked player in the world, Daniel Negreanu, played 51 tournaments in 2013, winning just shy of US£1 million. However, he spent just under US$900 thousand in buy-ins, and only cashed in in 11 of the 51 tournaments: it was a fine line between the big bucks, and minus figures.
Whilst not all poker players are going to be dealing with such vast sums, even on a professional level, the average player may find themselves tempted to look for any way that could give them an edge, whether it be through legitimate means (like learning the game, statistics, probabilities and so on), there will be some less scrupulous who may look at ways of getting away with poker cheating. Vigilance, and an awareness of what to look out for go a long way in protecting legitimate players.
How to spot a cheater: Online
- Botting Software
Bots can be used to allow individuals to play hundreds of tables at any one time without the need for intervention from a human. Though not always a particularly strong player, they tend to be better than average, and will eventually end up in credit.
Ways to spot a Bot:
- Consistently playing long hours over multiple tables
- Fixed betting habits and patterns
- Groups of players with near identical stats
- Groups joining and leaving tables at the same time
- Collusion
Collusion is where two players work together online; it is relatively easy to do using conferencing technology or even just a phone call. Where online casinos can use IP technology to split these players up, the more sophisticated ones use IP masking technology to make them look like they are thousands of miles apart, when they could even be sitting in the same room.
Key indicators of collusion:
- Two players who are always at the same table
- Two players who always enter the pot together
- Unexpected betting; for example, losing on purpose
- Chip dumping
- Hole Card Cheating
Hole card cheats are able to play perfectly against their opponents as they are able to see the cards their opponents are holding.
How this can happen:
- Backdoor in the poker client itself
- Trojan horse on the opponent’s device feeding back to the hacker
- Screen sharing with malicious software
How to spot this:
- Opponents who seem to be able to tell exactly what cards their opponents have; always folding at the right time and pushing the bets up when they have a stronger hand
- New friends that seem particularly interested in screen sharing
- Suspicious files sent from acquaintances in poker rooms
- Corrupt Poker Sites
Some poker sites may be there to scam players out of their hard earned cash, either through rigged games (bots, rigged Random Number Generators), or worse still, not allowing players to cash out their winnings. This is one of the reasons that players should look at using trusted and reputable sites like 888.
Things to look out for:
- Online reviews
- The lock symbol in the URL
- Quality of the website; often dodgy sites will be written poorly, with errors, and may have broken links and will generally just feel ‘off’
How to spot a cheater: Offline
- Collusion
In the same way as online, players may collude in person, giving each other subtle hand signals, playing with the chips, even coughing and sneezing. However, this is fairly easy to spot, and casino security will quickly eject anyone suspected of collusion.
- Card Mechanics
Though easier to do in a home game than in a casino, poker cheats can collude with the casino dealer to place small marks of the back of cards. A slight indent with a fingernail, or even ‘invisible’ ink that can only be seen at a certain angle that only the cheat knows to look for. Players themselves can also mark cards as they play.
Sometimes, the dealer can also use sleight of hand to deal from the bottom of the deck to ensure the right card is dealt at the right time.
What to look out for:
- Erratic betting; huge bets and instant folds
- Check for hangers; the card at the bottom is sticking out because the dealer is dealing from the bottom
- Watch the dealer’s hands very carefully during shuffle and deal
If in doubt, ask for a new deck.
- Angle Shooting
Not strictly speaking a cheat, but can confer advantage at times, angle shooting involves players acting out of turn, trying to place illegal bets, or slow rolling to put players off.
Final Thoughts
Casino operators, both on and offline, have taken steps to catch out cheaters. The enjoyment of the game is ruined for all involved; casinos lose their integrity and credibility, legitimate players lose money, and in some circumstances poker cheats are funding illegal activity; collusion is an excellent way of laundering money. The best advice for any player is to remain vigilant, know how to spot suspicious behaviour, and above all, safeguard themselves against unscrupulous poker cheats.