Home poker cheating - how common is it?

[philr]

So in my regular weekly game we found we have a cheat (he was palming chips while raking pots for other people) and he has since been kicked out and not invited back?

So my question is how common is cheating in everyone elses experiences and what steps do you take to guard against it.

[Javanewt]

I haven't played with him, but apparenlty there is a guy who verbalizes a bet then tries to throw in few chips and palms chips. Not sure if he'll be invited back. Seems as if they like him but have to watch him very closely. I hope I never play with him so I don't have to deal with it. Pretty pathetic, IMHO.

[Daniel Magix]

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So my question is how common is cheating in everyone elses experiences and what steps do you take to guard against it.

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I'm pretty sure it simply does not happen in my games. First and foremost, because our core group is close friends and some family. Second, we play micro stakes - the risk/reward ratio isn't good enough to justify a cheating attempt. And third, I am a performing magician and very versed in false shuffles, palming, false cuts, controls, etc. Being knowledgeable about cheating methods, is a good way to protect yourself and your game. Cheating effectively in a real game, under fire, is a LOT tougher than people realize.

[Lottery Larry]

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Seems as if they like him but have to watch him very closely.

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This seems pretty pathetic to me... on the part of the hosts/enablers

[wiper]

define cheating...

we've had people that have come up borderline, and been warned, but as far as common cheating goes, i guess we haven't, or at least caught someone..

[Small Fry]

[ QUOTE ]
I haven't played with him, but apparenlty there is a guy who verbalizes a bet then tries to throw in few chips and palms chips. Not sure if he'll be invited back. Seems as if they like him but have to watch him very closely. I hope I never play with him so I don't have to deal with it. Pretty pathetic, IMHO.

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This is easily prevented if you don't allow players to splash the pot. Explain the rule / guideline to everyone with the caveat that if they do it and the amount they say they put in cannot be immediately identified (this means no counting out the pot and trying to recreate all the betting) then they will need to put out the bet again. Period. No exceptions

AS for palming from pots why does any player but the dealer touch the pot? Or is this happening when the player deals?

[Taso]

^I don't see how only the dealer can be the one to touch the pot.

Lets say your playing at a standard 10 man ovalish table. It's a home game, so rotating deal. Dealer is at the end of the table, winner of the pot is at the other end, how does dealer push the pot to him?

[Javanewt]

We play on a 10-man oval with rotating deal, and different people push the pots and the cards to keep things moving. Otherwise, it would take forever.

We do have a rule about splashing, but it's not always obeyed. I'm not the host, but I can see how it's tough to be strict in a relaxed, fun home game. The host tries, and so does everyone else, but people screw up.

As I said, I've never played with this guy, and as far as I know, they haven't invited him back. We'll see.

Pathetic to steal a few dollars here and there from a friendly home game (or from any game or any part of life). People who do must be really desperate or really sick.

[dnord]

We've got a group of friends / family - not native English speakers, and they sometimes chat in their language at the table. Some people I know take this to be collusion / table coaching, but I don't think they'd be that stupid.

That's as close to cheating as I've seen in a home game.

[Mazzinger]

The closest thing to cheating I've seen in my group is people not paying their blind or ante. And that's by the end of the night when everybody is drunk (not really important). However, there was one time that a newbie was accused of stealing chips from the pot and other players. He was never invited again.