Where there's money, there's thieves: the law is unwritten and universal. The "arms race" between poker clubs, casinos and cheaters has been going on for decades.
It is generally believed that the "cheaters" are always one step ahead of those whom they cheat. Blackjack hack, cheaters, pickpockets - all of them are from the same cloth, but gambling industry is full of peculiarities and twists, here cheaters are always "under the hood".
From simple card tricks (dealing cards from the bottom of the deck, "holders" in the sleeves) to expensive deck analyzers, the poker industry has come a long, winding road. And that road is far from over...
So, let's list the technical ways of cheating when playing poker live, as well as methods to combat them:
Card Holders
Cheaters used this method over 100 years ago and it's still relevant today. Nowadays, the only thing that has changed is the design of the "holders" themselves, which may be placed in sleeves, belts, outerwear (even pants!); sometimes cheaters also cling to the cards by their rings.
The main goal: to temporarily remove at least one card from the game. In most types of poker, including Hold'em, such a seemingly insignificant change in the game gives a huge advantage.
Such tricks require special skills from the cheater, an ordinary man cannot use "holders".
Ways to combat: this cheating method is easiest to combat through careful observation of the players, especially in the 1st and 10th boxes. A mandatory check of cards by the dealer after a pass for 2 (4 for Omaha) discarded cards.
Cheating (collusion with the dealer)
Some of the most common variations of this cheating include dealing cards from the bottom of the deck and dealing a second card from the top. In both cases, the cheating dealer knows the top card and controls the deal. His task is to help his accomplice with good cards or to "hurt" his opponents.
An effective use of this technique requires an experienced dealer (a master of cards), marked cards, and at least one accomplice.
Ways to fight: obligatory burning of the top card is unlikely to help here - the dealer can only pretend to remove the top card. Very important is the design of card shirts: the more clearly visible their boundaries, the harder it is for the cheater to "work" with them. Frequent change of decks, which are opened directly at the table, and kept in a safe and given personally by the manager to the dealer. The dealer must make a standard, without deviation, shuffle and cut across the table, with two hands, so that the whole deck is viewed to avoid "false cut".