Dealing with a losing cheater

[Greg Angelo]

I play in a very live, very profitable college game of 5-10 dealer calls. This is a very casual game, and the buy-ins are generally on credit, debts to be paid off according to the loser's convenience. There is a great deal of trust among the players, although some of it is obviously misplaced as indicated by the subject of this post. A certain player frequently shorts the pot by claiming he has already put in his bet when he hasn't, and by taking more money in chips when he buys in- claiming he has bought in for $40 and taking $60 in chips. How can I best minimize my personal loss to this player while keeping him from feeling humiliated so that he keeps playing? He is a very poor player and an asset to the game even while cheating, but would be much more of an asset were he to play straight.

greg

[gilly]

I honestly could not tolerate someone cheating in a game even if they were losing (especially cheeting in a very unsophisticated way).

I would just point out that he is making a mistake. Not acuse him of cheating just watch him and laugh off his "mistakes", but definitely point them out

That is just my humble oppinion

[gilly]

I honestly could not tolerate someone cheating in a game even if they were losing (especially cheeting in a very unsophisticated way).

I would just point out that he is making a mistake. Not acuse him of cheating just watch him and laugh off his "mistakes", but definitely point them out

That is just my humble opinion.

[Homer]

There should be someone responsible for taking a player's buy-in, handing out the chips, and storing the money somewhere safe. If you do this there is no way he can buy-in for $40 and get $60 in chips.

The dealer during a particular hand should be responsible for counting the chips going into the pot to assure that everyone is putting the correct amount in. Make sure that players don't toss chips into the pot. They should be placed in front of the player in a neat stack, such that the dealer can count them at the end of a betting round and then add them to the pot. If you do this he can't short the pot when betting/raising/calling.

Basically, it sounds like you don't have very structured rules for the game, so I suggest you write down a few basic rules and post them at the table for the players to read.

-- Homer

[Greg Angelo]

my only objection is that the relaxed attitude of the game may be worth more in terms of long term profit than keeping a strict set of rules and a chip handler. I think ending the cheating of this one player while retaining the current atmosphere would be the ideal situation.

greg

[M2d]

are you the only player in the game who's concerned? If not, you may be able to (subtly) influence change while retaining the demeanor of the game.

[Al Mirpuri]

Cut his genitals off, and feed them to him.

[Ray Zee]

i used to just laugh and beat the poor fools to death at the table. but that was wrong although maybe the most profitable. you really need to get him alone and tell him to straighten up. be firm and it will be fine as he will tone it down to a low roar and go broke. but will stick the game for his tab at some point.