This book will revolutionize poker!

[Hold'me]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/031234905X.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker : The Wisdom of Dickie Richard (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/031234905X/qid=1122641991/sr=1-22/ref=sr_1_22/002-0737909-5636807?v=glance&s=books)

From the Back Cover
If you’re in the game, you’re either a fish or a shark. Rake it in at the next home poker game by learning the fine arts of:

--Marking Cards
--Bottom Dealing
--Rounding up a Game
--Using a Cold Deck
--Stashing Holdouts
--Palming a Shiner
--Cheat-Proofing Your Own Game

[Reznicks]

I thought this was a joke but I clicked the link and see it's real. Great, a book that teaches people how to cheat, now that's honorable. I suggest people buy The Theory of Poker, Small Stake Holdem, Holdem for Advanced Players, and Final Table Poker by Phil Gordon. Read and watch these and you'll win without having to cheat your friends.

[DyessMan89]

This makes me mad. /images/graemlins/mad.gif

[SamG]

Wow, I guess I'm going to have to cancel that home game I had with Penn & Teller this weekend.

I dunno, maybe it is good this stuff gets published so that honest players know what techniques cheats use. I suspect a bad cheat is easy to spot and that it is very difficult to get good at this stuff. (Probably just as difficult as simply learning to play poker well.)

[fnord_too]

The cheat at poker site is linked as a paid link to a realted site. I had never been here, but this is classic. On the main page they say:

[ QUOTE ]
Earn at least $25,000 in 30-Days or you Don't Pay a Cent!

[/ QUOTE ]

But in the disclaimer link they say:

[ QUOTE ]
Earnings Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to accurately represent the information, the products and their potential.
There is however NO guarantee that you will earn any money using our information, products, techniques and ideas in these materials. Nowhere on our site should any information to be interpreted as a promise or guarantee of earnings. Earning potential is entirely dependent on the person using our information, products, strategies, ideas and techniques.

[/ QUOTE ]

[SeaEagle]

[ QUOTE ]
This makes me mad

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh come on.

Does the fact that he also wrote a book called "How to Play in Traffic" make you mad, too? Poker cheating only costs people money; playing in traffic can get people killed.

And don't even get me started on "Cruel jokes for dear friends". What kind of animal plays mean jokes on his friends?

There are dozens of books in print that describe how to cheat at cards. If this one is like the other Penn Jillette books, it'll be solidly tongue-in-cheek.

[Jordan Olsommer]

[ QUOTE ]
If this one is like the other Penn Jillette books, it'll be solidly tongue-in-cheek.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly - everyone else needs to stop getting their knickers in a twist about it.

[Hold'me]

I'm sure there are enough donks who will purchase this book and then try some of these cheating methods in a home game. I just think this book is a stupid idea and shows the extent to which some people will go to try to make money off the recent poker boom.

[MagicMan08]

I donno I jus don't feel right if i cheat at poker. But I am also a nice guy with a conscience. Seems like a lot of people lack that in todays world.

[George Rice]

There is a good reason to read books like this (assuming it actually discusses cheating methods). And that is so you might recognize if you are being cheated.

If you only play online and at major card rooms you really don't have to worry much about cheating. But if you play in home games or small clubs then knowing some of the techniques may help protect your bankroll.

[Shandrax]

Funny, I would have expected the admin to delete this topic immediately.

[Willy]

[ QUOTE ]
This makes me mad. /images/graemlins/mad.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Right, we need to ban it and burn it!

[MicroBob]

[ QUOTE ]

If you only play online and at major card rooms you really don't have to worry much about cheating.

[/ QUOTE ]



not that i'm too knowledgeable about such things but I really wouldn't be so sure about that (although certainly the stereo-type that it could be even more likely to happen in home-games is likely correct).


in the very least, it is best to not assume that this is the case and at least be in your guard.

1 - it's pretty easy to collude with a friend online via cell-phone or IM. Heck, it's not that hard to set up two computers and sit at the same table with yourself. Even just abusing one's own disconnect-protect priviliges qualifies as 'cheating'.


2 - collusion takes place in live rooms too. I am pretty sure I caught a 'marked' card in the $3k WSOP event on July 1. I could see the finger-nail marking in the corner when it was dealt to me and I thought to myself "I just KNOW this card is an ace based on this barely-noticeable crease someone put into it" (it was indeed an ace).


I really don't know that much about cheating....and I'm even not positive how to immediately spot online-collusion (because I am often multi-tabling I might miss it when two players are clearly raising each other) but I am more and more thinking that I need to pay more attention to such things just for self-protection purposes.


this book however does indeed kind of piss me off though.

[flecks]

[ QUOTE ]
There is a good reason to read books like this (assuming it actually discusses cheating methods). And that is so you might recognize if you are being cheated.

[/ QUOTE ]

I haven't read the book, but I agree with this premise.

[miketurner]

My brother, who knows I’m into poker but little else about the game, bought me this book as a joke for Christmas. After all... what celebrates the birth of our Lord better than a book on how to cheat your friends :-) Anyway, recently I starting reading a little of it to see what things I could look for. This book is for real, not tongue & cheek. From what I’ve read so far, these methods of stacking the deck require far too much work & practice for most players to worry about. You never know though, I have noticed myself looking for them when I play with people I don’t know too well. Parts about marking & using shinners are much easier to do. Last night, I played with some guys who bent the hell out of a brand new deck. The only reason I am not too worried about them is that they gave all their money away. I will still be extra vigilant about watching them though, as they might have just been setting up the suckers (me & my friends) to raise the stakes next time before they start cheating us for real.

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Hold'em:

I'm sorry but the book is complete garbage. It has virtually no accurate discussion of cheating techniques, and is basically a very vlugar rant. On my 1-to-10 scale where 10 is the best it earns a 2.

I do find it amusing that the book is put out by someone who has a show called "Bullsh_t" that debunks claims people make, yet this book is exactly that. Penn Jillette should be ashamed of himself.

By the way, there is a book in the works by Steve Forte that is on this topic of cheating at poker and how to protect yourself from it. I have read a preliminary manuscript and it is quite good.

Best wishes,
Mason

[wmspringer]

While it doesn't teach you how to cheat (not that that's something I feel the need to learn!) I quite enjoyed "Gambling Scams: How They Work, How to Detect Them, How to Protect Yourself" by Darwin Ortiz. As you would expect from the title, it explains various gambling scams in details (many of which would only be found in more disreputable casinos) and tells you what to watch out for. If nothing else, an entertaining read.

[Ed Miller]

[ QUOTE ]
While it doesn't teach you how to cheat (not that that's something I feel the need to learn!) I quite enjoyed "Gambling Scams: How They Work, How to Detect Them, How to Protect Yourself" by Darwin Ortiz.

[/ QUOTE ]

I definitely recommend this book.

[johnnybeef]

[ QUOTE ]

2 - collusion takes place in live rooms too. I am pretty sure I caught a 'marked' card in the $3k WSOP event on July 1.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't mean to hijack, but most of my B&M experience is in rooms that use paper cards amd players constantly ask for deck changes. Is this frowned upon in casinos that use plastic?

[MCS]

[ QUOTE ]
By the way, there is a book in the works by Steve Forte that is on this topic of cheating at poker and how to protect yourself from it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Mason,

Does it have a publisher, i.e., is it guaranteed to see the light of day? And does it cover mostly techniques you'd see in home games, or does it cover things to watch for in public rooms, or both? Thanks.

Best wishes,
MCS

[RowdyZ]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
By the way, there is a book in the works by Steve Forte that is on this topic of cheating at poker and how to protect yourself from it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Mason,

Does it have a publisher, i.e., is it guaranteed to see the light of day? And does it cover mostly techniques you'd see in home games, or does it cover things to watch for in public rooms, or both? Thanks.

Best wishes,
MCS

[/ QUOTE ]

The book has already been released so yes it is going to see the light of day, it has been out for 3 months now.

RZ

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi RowdyZ:

No it hasn't been. What has been released is Forte's book on casino cheating. The poker book is still in the works.

Best wishes,
Mason

[maurile]

Forte also has a four-volume series of videotapes on casino cheating -- three on cards and one on dice. It is excellent.

Steve Forte is a god with a deck of cards. Magicians worship him.

[miketurner]

[ QUOTE ]
It has virtually no accurate discussion of cheating techniques...

[/ QUOTE ]


Mason, could you expand on this sentence. I ask because I recently saw a show on the travel channel about cheats... they showed some of the same things that I have read about in this book. So clearly, at least some of the stuff in this book is accurate... that, or the travel channel show was inaccurate.

[MCS]

Hi Mason,

So does this mean it has no publisher? And I still have the question re: the book's content. Thanks again.

Best,
MCS

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Mike:

It mentions a few things and gives virtually no description of them.

Best wishes,
Mason

[RowdyZ]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi RowdyZ:

No it hasn't been. What has been released is Forte's book on casino cheating. The poker book is still in the works.

Best wishes,
Mason

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought he was asking about Penns book not Fortes book.

RZ

[justscott]

Ok i picked it up because i saw jillette on the cover and thought it was going to be funny. Anyway there is a starbucks in our B&N so i sit down and read the whole book took maybe an hour. Its not funny but it doesnt tell u how to cheat either. IT's kind of like this guys life story and or rants as MM said. This book was so pointless. I read it awhile back but as i recall the time spent learning to cheat was far longer than it takes to learn to multitable...

[Snipe]

I personally loved this book. I actually laughed out loud at Borders while reading it!!! At one point, Penn goes on a rant talking about people who try to catch a peek at the cards if a deal is prone to tossing floaters. He maintains that 'If you're gonna cheat, just pull you <expletive> out and cheat.' I realize its very low brow humor, but there are several points at which I got a great chuckle in the few minutes I thumbed through this book at the store.

As far as being a useful tool for a cheater, it might be if you're playing nickel and dime home games, but it's certainly not as detailed as say 'Expert at the Card Table,' or some of the other texts out there.

One of the first posters got it right....other than holding out cards, cheating is far more difficult than playing well, and you're likely to get busted up if you get caught.

Nothing to worry about.

[maurile]

[ QUOTE ]
other than holding out cards, cheating is far more difficult than playing well

[/ QUOTE ]
Depends on the game. In something like Chicago, where a single card is worth half the pot, cheating has a much lower difficulty-to-effectiveness ratio than in a game like hold 'em.

[RustyCJ]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
This makes me mad

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh come on.

Does the fact that he also wrote a book called "How to Play in Traffic" make you mad, too? Poker cheating only costs people money; playing in traffic can get people killed.


[/ QUOTE ]

Dude! didn't you see Rounders? Worm cheated and almost got them killed! So maybe cheating can get you killed!? Oh and cheating on your wife can get you killed too!

[Hellmouth]

"This is a hilarious book. As Penn Jillette explains at the beginning, Penn (ostensibly) met Dickie Richard when Penn was hitchhiking as a teenager, and Dickie taught Penn everything Dickie knew about how to cheat at cards. Penn himself isn't a card cheat, doesn't condone card cheating, and feels bad about publishing this book. But Penn owed Dickie a favor, and Dickie wanted his memoirs published, so Penn agreed. The memoirs were horribly written so Penn and his co-author rewrote them. The bulk of the book, then, is a first-person narrative from Dickie about how he cheats at poker. "

Quoted from an amazon review. I heard penn tell this same story on NPR. Also one of the other customers mentions the NPR story.

BTW, I read part of the book in the book store and thought it was pretty mediocre but funny at times. No real insight into cheating though.

Greg