Cheating in a home game...

[JasonR55]

Update!

Firstly thanks for all the replies and votes i appreciate all of them, obviously i expected the "why are you friends with him" statements, but I guess we all do stupid things sometimes.

Anyway heres a detailed account of what happened for those that are interested.

LONG TRIP REPORT:

I let it slide for that week because I didn't see him and had alot on, coupled with the fact that if I brought it up randomly he would just deny it and that would solve nothing.

So fast forward(?!) to last Monday we play again (.25c/.50c blinds $50 buyin), I was praying he wouldn't do it but BAM first hand he deals himself AA flops a set turns a full house. I think too myself, real inconspicuous genius. A few rounds later he has about 4 buy ins infront and I feel like [censored] because I am too much of a pussy to do anything about it.

Meanwhile I'm smsing a regular who is not at the game but approached me during the week saying he saw the guy cheating. The sms’ are going back and forward me giving hand histories of this guys deal and such. He sms’ me back saying “you should put laxatives in his coke and hide the toilet paper” I have a good laugh, then a few deals later cheater hits runner runner straight on his deal, calling bets all the way (makes me sick I know) and I proceded to sms my friend about the hand something along the lines of

”Omg, he just hit runner runner straight with K-10 on his deal with 3 people all in. I’m going to get the laxatives”

Then in a moment of sheer stupidity I sent the sms to the cheater instead. My heart sank, I’m sure you all know the feeling when you send an sms to the wrong person. So in slow motion I see the cheater reach for his pocket, pull out his phone then nothing happens for a few moments then he just looks at me. For some reason I feel like the douche in this situation even though he is the one cheating. I figure I have just blown it and he knows that I know he is cheating. I think to myself that it’s not so bad because maybe now he will stop. Anyway I manage to smooth things over explaining that friend wanted updates of the evening and I sent him a few then accidentally sent that one to wrong person, anyway things die down I think he gets over it.

So we have a small break, everyone goes outside I stay inside and one of the other guys comes up too me and goes "you know so and so is cheating?", I confirmed, we decided if he does it again we say something., so we were having an involved conversation about the cheater when suddenly he walks in the door I’m speechless and can’t think of anything to pretend to change the subject too so we just stopped talking. Stared at each other for a few minutes, he came in got a glass of water and went outside. No one said a word.

By this stage I am CONVINCED he knows that at least I know and perhaps the other guy I was talking too knows. (Can he really be that stupid that he doesn’t realise we know?)

So anyway game gets back underway and cheater begins donking off all his chips and stops cheating (first time he didn’t cheat on his deal) , I think too myself that he must have realised and I have blown my chance to catch him but at least he will give everyone’s money back and stop cheating so order is restored in the world. BOY was I mistaken!! Apparently his chip dumping was just his crappy play and when he gets down to below his original buy in he starts cheating again. At this point me and the other guy who knows look at each other and can not believe it. I was about to lose it so went to the “bathroom” too devise a battle plan.

I was pretty lost for words and it was approaching midnight (we started at 8) by about 1 he has built his stack back to $200 when I get KK on his deal, I’m considering folding when he puts in a raise (I’m BB on his deal) I flat call with 1 other caller the flop comes K-J-5, I’m wary he is going to [censored] me over on this hand and prepared to go busto then lose it at him. Anyway he raises I call another caller, turns a 5 giving me a full house I put him on A-Q originally thinking he would hit a straight and now don’t put 5-5 past him. Anyway I bet about half the pot and he pushes for about $150 more, I reluctantly call (never been so ready to lay down top full house in my life) and have him just covered. He tables J-J and I beat the cheater at his own game.

The conversation that followed floored me and made me seriously re-evaluate our friendship. It went something along the lines o:

Him: “I cant believe it!! What a bad beat!!”
Me: “yeh…”
Him: “I needed that money, I can’t believe you beat me, I hate you” (this was said in a playful we often say that we hate each other)
Me: “I couldn’t exactly fold..”

Anyway it went on for a lot longer him making me feel horrible about taking all “his” money. We decided to stop the game for the night as most people are getting restless I cash out with a monster stack. Everyone leaves and I ask cheater to stay for a bit. We have a talk and I explain that I saw him cheating (he denies it, but shrugs it off) I say something like I don’t think anyone else knows and if you ever do it again I will tell everyone and you will have a lot less friends.

The next day I drive around and drop of everyone’s buy in back too them making up some excuse about how the deck was missing cards so we thought it unfair and everyone gets everything back.

Fast forward to yesterday we have another home game, he doesn’t cheat once ends up $5 or so. I’m slightly satisfied that he didn’t cheat and would like too see if he does when I am not there.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed the report, I know it was long but I love reading a good trip report after someone asks a question, so figured someone might enjoy it!

I know I should I have outed him and I know I should have made a huge deal about it, and I know what he did was disgusting, but I’m not the confrontational type and am also apparently pretty forgiving. He left me plenty of openings to publicly shame him and he deserved it 100% but I still couldn’t bring myself to do it.


Cliff notes:

Cheater wins huge, I bust him, confront him, give money back to players, stops cheating.

Thanks for reading my long boring trip report!

Jason

[Lottery Larry]

" obviously i expected the "why are you friends with him" statements"

I guess you're going to expect THESE statements as well:

1) Get a spine and a BIG pair of cojones. Buy them in bulk, pass them out to every person who caught him cheating and wussed out.
Or, all of you give up poker.

2) If you think he's done cheating, you're smokin' crack

3) WHAT KIND OF [censored] UP DEALING PROCEDURES DO YOU HAVE IN PLACE THAT HE CAN KEEP CHEATING?!??! Hell, how could your lame cover-up work, WITHOUT crappy dealing procedures?

You're really starting to piss me off now...

[DavidNB]

Doesn't matter what happened, he cheats, he shouldn't be playing period.
Just a couple of questions, don't you guys cut the deck and/or use a cut card. At the first sugestion something was amiss, it should of been mentioned and /or started to use.