Cheating can be defined as something against the
accepted norms or standards mostly known to everybody. Cheating has
been noticed in many ways in many places. Among the several forms and
methods of cheating tricks employed in casinos take an interesting
part. Players thus benefit unfair advantage from the game they play.
Card cheating is gaining prominence day by day as the number of players
increase along with cheating methods.

Cheating can be hard
cheating or soft cheating especially in relation to poker games.
Cheating is hard core in poker games. This explains the possibility of
cheating in much regulated casinos and other card rooms. Cheating can
be done, generally in three ways.

1. By means of collusion

2. Using cheating gaffs

3. By false shuffling

Collusion

Using a partner or partners to cheat at poker is called as collusion. This is basically playing quite differently against the
players and also involves dumping, signaling and whipsawing. Dumping is
the method of losing consciously to a partner with crooked plans in
mind. Signaling is trading information between partners were whipsawing
is where players at opposite ends of the table join together to trap
other players in between.

In online poker, collusion is an easy
method and also very difficult to trace the trap when played and done
it well. Using multiple connections and IP addresses, one can very well
cheat a partner in the poker room.

A method of collusion is
sleight of hand. This is the group of techniques used by a usual card
cheater, who is also known as a card shark. He takes the control of the
order of cards or probably one specific card. A definite technique of
mixing the deck by means of false shuffling and cutting is employed in
the process of card cheating by the card shark.

Bottom dealing is
one of the processes of collusion which involves shuffling the cards in
such a way that the high cards are placed on the bottom of the deck. It
is very much easy to detect than any other methods of cheating.

Cheating gaffs

This consists of marked cards, holdout devices, glims etc. a detailed description is given below.

• Marked cards

Poker players continue to find out newer tricks in playing the game of tricks. They skillfully employ specialized cheating techniques in
the game of poker. One is marked cards and many have already learned
how to mark their cards during the game. This gives an advantage to the
players in the game play in such a way that they can mark cards they
desire or think crucial in the game play.

Marked cards also
known as Readers can easily be identified by looking at the back of the
cards. Marking on the cards can be done by means of scratches, changing
designs in the cards, nail marks, dirt marks or a bend on the cards
which cannot be noticed easily.

• Holdout devices

These are devices used by the cheat during games to hold a card or cards during a game. The devices are not complex and very much easy to
use. But these are not very handy when not used properly. There needs
special manipulative skill and ability to use the holdout devices for
cheating in games.

The holds out devices are used mainly to keep aside a card or cards for sometime and conveniently retrieve it later.

There
are popular holdouts like sleeve holdout, ring holdout, vest holdout
and cuff holdout. All these are inventions of the 19th century and
mechanical holdouts have also come in to foray. These are comparatively
easy to use, but even then there needs a special skill and capability
in handling the mechanical holdouts.

The people who specializes
in various card cheat techniques is called as card mechanic, base
dealer, paper player, hand mucker and cross player. Card mechanic is
the one who is well specialized in sleight of hand technique. Base
dealer is the one who specializes in bottom dealing. Base dealer is
also called as second dealer. A cheat who makes use of the marked cards
is called as paper player. A card cheat that specializes in switching
cards is called as hand mucker. The one who uses mechanical holdouts is
called as machine player.

The other popular cheating methods involve false shuffling, and confederacy.

False shuffling

This is the process of shuffling the cards in such a way that the desired cards are placed in the correct position. In shuffling cards,
the deck would be pre arranged and the card cheat makes sure he does
not misplace or disturb that part of the deck. This part of the stock
control is also done with the technique of riffle shuffle which is even
more difficult.

Card cheats are growing with improved means of
techniques in card games especially in poker games. It is also
interesting to note that the cheating practices are not something
invented today or yesterday. This has been prevailing since the earlier
days in public game rooms. It is now modernized in techniques and has
been rightly implemented in the well regulated game rooms. The growth
and the techniques involved in tricks also show that cheating would
undergo tremendous changes and would find newer dimensions in the days
to come.