52 Ways to Cheat at Poker
by Allan Zola Kronzek
Plume (2008), 192 pp, $13.00
ISBN 978-0-452-28911-6
Many poker players are concerned about being cheated, some to the point of obsession. Losing sessions are a part of poker, but when they happen there's always a nagging concern in the back of our minds that maybe we didn't lose because we played bad or because we got unlucky, but because we were cheated. In order to minimize the chance that we're being cheated, we first need to understand the methods employed to cheat at poker. The book, 52 Ways to Cheat at Poker, explains the methods cheaters use to gain an unfair edge in card games.
The book lays out many mechanisms by which the standard equipment of face-to-face poker, namely cards, chips, and money, can be manipulated to gain an unfair advantage. Even though cheating is possible in all poker regimes, online poker is not considered in this book. In fact, the book focuses on self-dealt games, such as home games, although a large number of the techniques discussed could be used by a professional dealer in a casino setting. Casinos design their dealing procedures to make cheating difficult, but as long as a person handles the cards, cheating will be possible.
The author considers many cheating techniques, including bottom and seconds dealing, false shuffles, switching in cooler decks, shorting the pot, peeking at cards, and many, many others. Even though the number "52" is obviously arrived at artificially, I couldn't come up with methods that aren't covered, so the book seems fairly exhaustive. Even though this work would be useful to cheats, its focus is on how to spot cheating moves, so its target audience is the "good guys."
The one complaint I have with many of the card manipulation techniques Kronzek discusses is that it can be difficult to get a good feel for what's supposed to happen from the brief description provided. If I were to give the author advice, I'd suggest that he provide a brief description of the mechanics of the technique followed by a very detailed step-by-step analysis of every little move and nuance. This minutia is often lacking in the descriptions the author provides. With some examples, though, the author does provide some useful diagrams which are beneficial.
As most authors on this topic point out, it can be very difficult even for an experienced card mechanic to spot the cheating moves of a skillful practitioner. However, it's also true that someone who is at least familiar in passing with these techniques has a better chance of spotting these moves than someone who knows nothing about them. So, while reading this book won't qualify people to spot world-class card manipulators, they will still be better equipped than those who have not.
52 Ways to Cheat at Poker does a good job at exploring a wide range of techniques that can be used to cheat at poker with a focus on how to detect and defeat these methods. Reading this book won't make a person impervious to cheaters, but it should help the reader understand what they might be facing. I'm not sure it's the best book on the topic, but I would say that it's worth reading by those with an interest in the subject.
