The days of the Wild, Wild West are long gone now. Today if you feel like playing poker, you can usually find a local cardroom or casino that offers a safe and protected environment.
But if there’s one thing that card cheaters are good at, it’s coming up with new and imaginative ways to cheat.
Marking cards is one of the oldest tricks in the book and it’s been used to cheat in poker for decades.
While casinos have better ways to track and catch cheaters these days, there are also new ways to mark cards, so it’s a never-ending game of cat and mouse.
Plus, poker isn’t always played in a regulated casino.
Underground and home games are quite popular, even in places where you can easily find official games, and are often the only option for poker fans in places where gambling is illegal.
So it’s very important to protect yourself from getting cheated with marked cards.
Hopefully, these tips will help protect you and your bankroll, especially if you regularly play in private games.
- Don’t Play With Shady Characters
As a poker player, there’s nothing wrong with looking for “spots.”
You want to play with people who are bad at poker but have plenty of money to put on the tables.
However, if you’re playing in private games, you should be very careful about the lineup, especially if you get invited to a new game.
Whether it’s through marking cards or using some other system (see: the Tip Scam or false deals), you’ll be much more likely to get cheated in a game filled with or run by shady characters.
Of course, this isn’t always easy to recognize, and sometimes you’ll have no idea you’ve been set up. But sometimes it’s blatantly obvious.
The very minimum you can do for yourself is to stay away from suspicious games.
As a poker player, you should be able to “read” people to some extent, so use these skills when deciding where you do and don’t want to play.
If you’re being promised a game full of rich fish by someone who doesn’t even know you that well, you should ask yourself why they picked you for this awesome “opportunity”?
- Pay Attention To How Players Handle Their Cards
There are tons of different ways to mark cards these days, but most cheaters aren’t particularly sophisticated.
The most common way to mark cards on the spot is by making slight markings on the edges using your fingernails.
Now, it’s perfectly common for players to shuffle their cards around and even lift them from the table. It happens all the time in private games and casinos alike. 온라인카지노
However, if someone’s paying too much attention to their cards and seems to be squeezing them weirdly, it might be a sign they’re up to no good.
Don’t be too quick to call someone out, though.
Calling someone a cheater at the poker table is a serious accusation and a big insult for most honest players, so you have to play it smart.
Observe, but keep your observations to yourself for the time being.
- Look For Unusual Physical Markings On The Cards