How Do Players Cheat in Online Poker?

How to Cheat in Online Poker

The world of online poker is a very competitive one. Whenever the stakes are high in life and there is money to be had, there will be people out there looking to get hold of it via nefarious means.

Given the security measures involved, not every potential poker cheat is attempting to defraud the house, rather they are often looking to cheat their fellow players and win an entire pot for themselves.

Most reputable poker sites have managed to avoid such fraudsters, however, players in Poland and beyond have become quite clever at attempting to use various tools to enable them to cheat with being noticed. Those looking to hoodwink people, especially on Texas Hold’Em poker, quite often would have no need to take the risk if only they invested some time in training via Texasholdemquestions.com.

We look at the various ways people cheat on poker. Writer  Jacek Michałski, whose profile you can review here, has shared some of his thoughts on this subject.

Tricky Cheaters

As long as people have had brains, there has been cheating. In the gambling world, this is something companies such as Zet Casino have to guard very carefully against.

In Poland, where among other territories people search for the best mobile payment apps to use for gambling, more and more players are protecting themselves but sometimes the tricksters are just too clever!

Online poker cheating is hard to get away with thankfully, and there have been careful ways developed for instance to catch a potential PokerStars cheat. Here’s how they try to achieve their goals.

Using Bots

This is how some of the biggest and most controversial poker cheats in history have got away with cheating. Poker bots exist, and that is just a sad fact.

There have been recorded instances of such bots being programmed and defeating “real” players at the online poker table. Bots know when to play and when to fold. They have no emotion and so aren’t tempted to play at the wrong time.

Using Collusion Methods

One thing every Polish player should be aware of is this. The collusion method involves two or more players putting their efforts together. Using a form of communication, such as Skype or WhatsApp, the players share their hole cards and intended stakes to ensure one of them wins before they share the cash.

This method differs from ‘ghosting’, which instead involves gaining help from someone on the outside.

Using the Ghosting Method

This is similar to employing a ‘ringer’, someone or something that is better at the game than they are purported to be.

In this case, the cheat asks for help from a professional poker player who knows all the best moves. Again, using an online communication tool the player in the game simply screenshots their hand each time and asks a coach to help them through and make their decisions for them in return for payment.

This can even be done when playing mobile casino poker games as it is even quicker on handheld devices to screenshot or take photos of hands as pass the information to a pro.

Using Multiple Accounts

This is probably the simplest method of all for poker cheats. There will always be an unfair advantage for a player or players to be able to see more than one hole card and more than one hand, only with this method the cheat doesn’t have to involve anyone else.

Although online casinos have a rule allowing only one account per person, email address, household or IP address, the use of credit cards registered in different places as well as VPN has meant one player being able to hold various accounts and play multiple hands in the same game. Using this method, a player may have twice or even three times the chance of winning a hand.

Conclusion & Disclaimer

So, there is more than one way to cheat playing online poker and it is one of the last things the online gambling world has to tackle that gives it a disadvantage versus bricks and mortar casinos. To know if you’re playing against a cheat, look out for the same “people” winning all the time via similar methods.

Please note, this article is purely an informational piece on how to cheat at online poker and to help players be aware of it. Texas Hold’em Questions does not condone cheating in anyway and recommends you inform the poker site if you suspect someone of cheating.

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Narciso Baldo

Narciso Baldo is the Director and Head Coach of Texas Hold'em Questions. He has been playing poker for over 16 years. After spending many years as a professional, he now runs UK poker training site Texas Hold'em Questions. Narciso regularly writes poker articles sharing tips, strategy, news and experience with gambling enthusiasts. Narciso also writes for reputable gambling portal Casino City Times, (bio here). Contact: info@texasholdemquestions.com