Detecting Cheating

I have played in small stakes home games in the past mostly among friends and some in the casino. Because of geographical concerns I may begin to play in some more expensive home games with players whom I do not know well.


Obviously cheating is a concern. I am aware of some deck stacking techniques (like base dealing, etc) but I am not sure how to detect all of them. Additionally I am interested to know if others have had problems with cheating and what they do to protect themselves against this. Do you only watch the dealer or are there other clues you use to detect cheating?


Thank you,

kevin

The main problems I have faced in home games with cheating is a reluctance on the part of many people to "cut my luck." A reluctance to cut for fear of bad luck is one of the most ignorant yet widespread delusions I have seen in poker. In our case I have seen outright stacking of the deck, as many as three to four choice cards to the dealer.

Be especially careful during games which place a high value on just a few cards. Five card stud comes to mind, because if a dealer can give himself an ace, he has a decided advantage, but consider the advantage he has when he knows what every other player's hole card is. Then also there are games like Chicago, where a player has a lock for half the pot just because he has high spade (or sometimes low spade) in the hole. A couple rounds of this, and you have rank amateurs stacking the deck, or at least attempting to.

Always, always, always cut. If you use an elaborate cut, be wary of dealers who say things like, "hey, that's not a legal cut," or "just cut, don't shuffle." If you do subscribe to the theory of one cut only, make sure you avoid any breaks in the cards, which could be the seam where the dealer precut, and usually you want to go deeper than the seam, so that the dealer loses an advantage inknowing what cards are coming in games like Holdem, even when you didn't cut exactly where he wanted you to. Also be wary of players who do cut on the seam. Many amateurs do cut the seam inadvertently, but many other times, you are facing a card mechanic with a confederate on his immediate right. Remember, every player has a right to cut, regardless of where you sit. It is only offered first to the player at right as a custom, not as a rule.

Take a look at http://cardshark.fm


Lots of good info on how to protect yourself.


Good luck.