THE WORLD'S #1 POKER MANUAL - Card Games

Poker Book, Why Professionals Cheat
More important to the good player, such a cheating system is difficult if not impossible to beat. The
good player has only the seventh and final down card with which to outmaneuver and beat the cheater.
(That final card is the only unknown to the signaling collusion dealer.) But by the final bet, the good
player's investment odds would be so diminished by the previous four bets controlled by an infallible
pair of collusion cheaters that he probably could not beat them over the long term. If the cheating
technique includes the dealer's knowing or peeking at the final down card or if the game is five-card or
six-card stud with no final down card,[ 40 ] the good player then has no way to beat the dealer-player
collusion cheaters, even if he could crack their signaling code.
The strength of their collusion system lies in its simplicity and natural-appearing play. By contrast, the
classical cheating systems involve dramatic big-hand or certain-win setups. Such setups are not
necessary or even desirable. The dealer-player collusion system quietly extracts money from its victims.
Such a collusion system is ideal for casino poker because the house dealer[ 41 ] deals every hand, thus
leaving the collusion partners in an ideal cheating position for every hand (unlike club or private poker
in which each partner deals only once each round.) That constantly favorable cheating position allows a
slower, more casual and natural method for extracting money from victims. Furthermore, no player
touches or cuts the cards except the house dealer, thus greatly facilitating and simplifying the cheater's
card manipulations and false cuts. But in club or private poker, a non dealing player usually cuts the
cards, making card manipulations and deck stacking more difficult for the dealer.
C. Collusion Cheating with House Dealer--Culling and Stacking
On the following afternoon, John Finn entered a newly remodeled downtown casino that had
introduced poker only a few weeks before. The card area was small and offered only $1-$3 stud
games. Wanting to examine low-stake casino poker, John Finn sat in the open seat on the dealer's
left. Again, he did not expect cheating in a low-stake game. He soon realized that the other four
players were locals--they all knew one another and the dealer. But none of the players appeared to
be professionals or good players. The players and the dealer chatted amicably among themselves.
John Finn played the role of an inexperienced tourist by asking naive questions about the rules.
The game was loose. On the third hand, all four players stayed until the final card. Sixteen face-up
cards were exposed, including an exposed two pair of aces and queens. Another ace and another
queen were also among the face-up cards. John Finn watched with narrowing eyes as the dealer
picked up the cards--he scooped up a queen and an ace and then three other cards. His hand
darted back to scoop up the second queen and ace and then three more random cards before
scooping the final queen and ace. He then gathered the rest of the cards.
After carefully squaring the deck, the dealer made several false riffles and a false cut before
dealing. John knew what was going to happen. He did not even look at his two hole cards. His first
up card was a queen. The first up card of the player on his left was an ace. The player with the ace
looked twice at his hole cards and then bet $1. Everyone folded to John. He paused and looked at
each player and then at the dealer. Everyone was watching him and waiting. The dealer stopped
smiling when John placed the edge of his right hand firmly over the lower half of his hole cards
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