How to Cheat at Poker: Video Tutorial

Imagine you wanted to stack the deck in your favour at your local home game, dealing yourself aces or kings every hand for example, or - because we are all decent people here -  you suspect someone is doing exactly that but you’re not sure how. Enter magician and illusionist Chris Ramsay with a detailed guide on what you need to know to spot the ‘mechanics’ in poker!

The Holy Bible of card-cheating

Ramsay takes us all the way back to 1902, to a book known as the ‘Holy Bible of card magic and card cheating’ - The Expert At The Card Table – to learn the techniques that will allow him to deal himself, or anyone else, whichever cards he pleases!

The stuff of many a movie, and plenty of real-life situations, the cardsharp has been around for a long, long time – plenty of easy money to be made if you can avoid being caught, a quick and painful death if you’re not so lucky or skilled, as the old Wild West of poker showed only too well, and modern-day poker also sees on occasion.

Deal yourself a pair of kings

A ‘two-card stock’ overhand shuffle might mean nothing to you right now, unless you are a poker dealer, but as Ramsay shows, it’s the only thing you really need to know to start life as a card cheat, or spot the mechanic at your table.

Easy? Not really! But as with everything else in poker, a lot of practice will improve your sleight of hand - bringing you up to a speed where you can do it proficiently, or hopefully spot it as it happens!

Making the Innocent vicious?

In the quaint English of early last century - working under the pseudonym SW Erdnase, to protect himself from angry magic and card-playing communities, says Ramsay! - the author of the book wrote:

‘It will not make the innocent vicious, or transform the pastime player into a professional, or make the fool wise, or curtail the annual crop of suckers…’

At the very least it will offer you a great party trick, or a way to play a fantastic joke on your best friend! Ignore the warnings - try this at home!