Many players have learned how to successfully cheat at the game of poker. One such cheating method is mastering the art of stacking the deck. To master this skill one has to be good with sleight of hand. This is done by a special way of holding the deck of cards that allows the deck to be manipulated, or stacked, one of these special ways is called the Mechanics Grip.

To help you better understand this cheat, pick up a deck of cards as if you were getting ready to deal. You will probably be holding the deck in the palm of your hand, with your thumb on top of the cards, and your other four fingers on the side of the deck. When dealing cards, you use your thumb to push one card onto the tips of your other four fingers. The thumb is then used to hold this card in place, until your thumb and pointer finger of the opposite hand grabs it and deals the card out. Many poker players deal this way, even though they probably have not noticed it or put much thought into it.

To form the Mechanics Grip, move your pointer finger and middle fingers to the short side of the deck, farthest away from yourself. With this grip, more of the deck is covered by your hand, making it harder for the other players to see what you are doing. This grip is the basis for many cheats, such as peeking (the dealer will either push one corner, or side of the top card, away from the rest of the deck so that he can see the top card), bottom dealing (dealing the from the bottom of the deck instead of the top), and second dealing (dealing the second card in the deck instead of the top card, usually when the dealer wants the top card for his own hand). By using the peek, the dealer will be able to keep track of what cards each player gets, he can also setup his own hand by combining the peek with second dealing. Knowing what cards the other player has in his hand gives the dealer an advantage when playing his own hand, because he will know what cards he needs to beat the hands of the other players.

In another version of the Mechanics Grip, the deck is held with the thumb on the top, the pointer finger around the front edge, the pinky around the back edge, and the two middle fingers under the bottom of the deck.

Using this cheat can be very effective for the dealer, as it can definitely help him stack the cards in his favor.

As the world of poker players continues to gain members everyday, more and more players are looking for easy ways to win the game. For cheaters, many feel that rather than take the time to hone their skills, they would prefer to master the skill of cheating.

Some players have learned how to mark cards as a way to help them win the game. Depending on the skill level of the cheater, marked cards can be obvious, or unnoticeable.

Sometimes the dealer will use his own deck of cards, or will get one prior to game play. Many cheaters have learned how to mark their cards during game play. To avoid having the marked cards noticed by other players, the cheater will usually make his marks so that they do not go all the way thru the card, because it would let light be seen through the card, thereby showing the mark.

Cheaters card markings are usually just small changes to the back of the cards. They may be scratches, change in design of the card, or possibly a bend in one corner of the card.

Marking the cards gives cheaters an advantage to their game play. They will most always mark all the high cards, or any other they card they think is crucial to the game.

Some cheaters prefer to mark their cards by using what is called shading. They will use a very fine ink to change part of the design on the back of the card. It requires the cheater to be very precise with his markings, but if he does a good job, no one but him will ever notice the marking.

Another technique many cheaters use is called daubing. Daubing uses a special form of ink and a small dauber. The cheat daubs the ink onto the back of the card, and the ink is invisible to the naked eye. Special sunglasses are required to see the markings. The kit to do this with can be purchased at magic or novelty stores.

Corner crimping is a method that many cheaters will use to mark their cards with. The cheater will see a card that he wants to mark and will then move that card away from the other cards and use his thumb or pointer finger to bend the corner of the card ever so slightly. He will be able to spot the marking during the game, and remember the card. Some cheaters when dealing can shuffle a number of cards to the bottom of the deck, and crimp the corners on all of them at one time.

Still other cheaters prefer to use thumbnail marking on their cards. The cheat will see a card he wants to mark, and then drive the end of his nail into the back of that particular card. Players who arent trained to look for these marks will not notice them, while the player will be able to spot them for the duration of the game.

Draw poker or five card draw is probably the most well known of all the poker games. Because of the high level of basic poker skills required to play it, you will not find five-card draw in most casinos any longer. There are however, variations of the traditional five-card draw that are getting more attention recently.

To play draw poker you will need a deck of cards, chips, and 2 to 8 players. At the start of the game all players ante up. This means they all place a minimal bet in the pot. The dealer will deal five cards to each player, starting with the player to their left. These cards are dealt face down.

All players will then pick up their five cards and examine the hands theyve been dealt. If any player was dealt more or less than five cards, it is considered a misdeal. At this point there is a round of betting, beginning with the player to the dealers immediate left.

After the round of betting is complete, all players that are still in the game get to choose how many cards they would like to discard in exchange for new ones. The player can trade up to three cards, unless they have an ace in which case they can trade all four other cards while keeping the ace. At most poker tables a player will be required to show their ace if they wish to exchange four cards.

If you are satisfied with your hand, you are not obligated to trade in any cards at all. If you wish to keep all of the initial cards that you were dealt it is called standing pat. You can demonstrate that you are keeping all of your cards by gently rapping the table.

After each player has made his or her exchange of cards another round of betting takes place. The betting begins with the player to the dealers immediate left. Players can check-raise before and after the draw. After all betting is complete the showdown takes place. This is when players show their cards and the player with the best hand wins. The traditional card ranking system determines the best hand.

There are a few variations of the traditional five-card draw that are fun ways to mix up a poker night. One of the most common variations is jackpots or jacks or better. In this game a player must have a pair of jacks or better in their initial five-card hand in order to open up the betting. If none of the players meet this requirement, everyone one fold and a new round of cards is dealt.

Another variation is called double draw. This poker game is almost identical to the traditional five-card draw. The only difference is that there are two rounds where players can exchange their card. Players are also given an additional round to bet after their second draw.

Lowball is an interesting variation of five card draw. Instead of the highest hand winning, the player with the lowest hand wins. The lowest hand can be defined in a few ways. Some players do not count straights and flushes when picking the lowest hand. In other games straights and flushes do count against a hand being low.

In any game of draw the player will be told ahead of time whether the joker is being used. Even though a joker is usually labeled as wild it can usually only be used to complete a straight flush or act as an ace. If it is used a part of a flush it will be the highest card.