52 Ways to Cheat at Poker: How to Spot Them, Foil Them, and Defend Yourself Against Them

211 Pages·2008·1.66 MB·English

by  Allan Kronzek

R
a plume book
52 WAYS TO CHEAT AT POKER
allan zola kronzek is a professional magician, writer, and ed-
ucator. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The
Sorcerer’s Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry
Potter (Broadway Books, cowritten with his daughter, Elizabeth)
and the acclaimed A Book of Magic for Young Magicians: The
Secrets of Alkazar. He performs and lectures on the history of
conjuring at schools, colleges, libraries, and museums. He was a
student of magician and gambling expert Frank Garcia.
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52
WAYS TO
CHEAT

POKER

AT
HOW TO SPOT THEM,
FOIL THEM, AND
DEFEND YOURSELF
AGAINST THEM
Allan Zola Kronzek

Illustrated by Tony Dunn
A PLUME BOOK
PLUME
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
• Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario,
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division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd.,
24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Copyright © Allan Zola Kronzek, 2008
All rights reserved.
Illustrations by Tony Dunn
registered trademark—marca registrada
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Kronzek, Allan Zola.
52 ways to cheat at poker : how to spot them, foil them, and defend yourself
against them / Allan Zola Kronzek.
p. cm.
ISBN: 1-4362-1323-1
1. Cardsharping. 2. Poker. I. Title. II. Title: Fifty-two ways to cheat at poker.
GV1247.K88 2008
795.412—dc22 2007032935
Set in Sabon
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Acknowledgments
M
any people have helped me with this project. For the depth
of his insights as well as the breadth of his knowledge, I am
indebted to Steve Forte, cheating-scholar extraordinaire and
grandmaster of gambling sleight of hand. George Joseph, another
superb card handler, charming writer, and casino consultant, was
kind enough to share his expertise while finishing up his own
book on the subject of poker cheating. Thanks to Jason England,
a wizard with words and cards, for acting as technical advisor
and passing along numerous insights and examples that found
their way into this book. Bob Rosenberger, a collector of antique
gambling and cheating apparatus, was very helpful with dates
and details about the cheating supply business of yore, and book
dealer John Greget got me started with a well-chosen reading list.
Thanks to Regina Cherry for taking the photos on which
Tony Dunn, a fellow conjuror, based his drawings. Vaughn and
Elizabeth Svendsen provided scientific and literary expertise, and
Nick Tarr had wise words about poker as a sacred institution. A
tip of the hat, also, to the late Frank Garcia, a superb magician
and cheating-detection expert who first showed me how to han-
dle a deck of cards.
A very special thanks to Bibi Wein for a thorough reading of
the manuscript, numerous insights, and wise counsel.
Finally, I owe my deepest gratitude to Ruby Jackson for her
encouragement, cheerleading, hawk-eyed proofreading, back rubs,
love, and humor.
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Contents
Acknowledgments v
Introduction ix
A Note to the Reader xv
The 52 Ways
1. Beating the Cut—Three Bold Maneuvers 1
2. Collusion—Working the Telegraph 4
3. Table Talk—How Colluders Communicate 8
4. The Lay Stack 12
5. Forcing the Cut—the Bridge 15
6. Culling 18
7. False Riffle Shuffles 21
8. The Top Card Peek 25
9. The Bottom Card Peek 29
10. Flashing 32
11. The Pickup Stack—the Discard Stack 36
12. Marked Cards—an Introduction 39
13. Blockout and Cutout Work 45
14. Shade and Flash 50
15. Sorts 55
16. Luminous Readers 59
17. Marking Cards in Play 62
18. Playing Paint 66
19. Punchwork 68
20. Skinning the Deck 72
21. Location Play 75
22. A Simple Riffle Stack 78
23. Cheating with Chips 80
24. The Second Deal 84
25. The Bottom Deal 89
26. The Center Deal 94
27. A False Overhand Shuffle—the Jog Shuffle 98
28. Undoing the Cut—the Crimp and the Brief 103
29. Overhand Shuffle Stacking 106
30. Holding Out 110
31. Holding Out—the Gadgets 116
32. A Quick and Easy Stack 122
33. Cheating with the Cut Card 125
34. Strippers 129
35. Surveillance 133
36. False Shuffling Convincers—the Box and
the Strip 137
37. Cheating at Draw—the One-Card Transfer 140
38. Cheating at Draw—Double Dealing 142
39. Cheating at Draw—the Three-Card
Draw Trick 146
40. The Spread 149
41. Shiners, Glims, Lights, and Twinkles 152
42. Subverting the Scramble 156
43. Stacking the Flop in Hold ’Em 159
44. Cutting Class—Four False Cuts 161
45. The One-Handed Table Hop 164
46. Riffle Stacking 166
47. Papering the Neighborhood 169
48. The Cooler 172
49. A Full-Deck False Shuffle 176
50. Deck Switches 179
51. The Shift—aka Hopping the Cut 182
52. Cheap Shots—Traps, Thefts,
and Altered Appearances 186
R Conclusion 189
Bibliography 190