poker experts
Playing the Bend
Playing the Bend
The most common form of card alteration during a game is "playing the bend." There are a variety of advantages in using this method. Crimping, waving, snaking, or buckling leave no permanent marks on the cards, so cheating is virtually impossible to prove. Most bends level out in time, and the altered deck returns to its natural state. If a bend is found, it could easily be attributed to an unintentional result of card handling or dealing.
Opportunities for a cheat to bend cards can take place at various moments in play. These can occur when picking up cards, looking at cards, scratching for a hit, sliding cards under chips, or while waiting for other players to bet. It is even possible to bend two cards at once, with each bend located at a different spot, when scratching for a hit. By spreading both cards apart when scratching, a cheat's thumb can be positioned at the top corner of one card and at the center of the other. The hand motion of scratching for a hit hides the pressure of the thumb that creates the bend in a different place, one on top and one in the middle, of each card.
"Snaking" creates an S-shaped bend through the diagonal corners of a card. "Waving" puts the same shape bend as snaking but in a horizontal pattern on the back of a card.
"Crimping" is another technique used to alter cards. This method is used to force an honest player to cut the deck at the exact point that the cheat desires. It is accomplished by bending the cards to produce a slight gap in the deck that can be felt when cutting. To obtain a crimp, a mechanic will use his thumb while cutting to bend the inner corner of the bottom 10 to 15 cards. While this occurs, the deck is held in an overhand grip (with the thumb on the bottom and four fingers on top, so that the player's hand is covering most of the deck), which completely shields the action. The crimping move takes only a few seconds and is undetectable. When the crimped cards are cut and dropped on top of the deck, the bent cards mark the location of the original top cards of the deck by creating an air pocket, or buckle, so that the deck can be easily cut to the exact location of their original order. After cutting to the desired place, the cheat flexes the cards outward with his thumb and fingers to remove the crimp.
To detect crimping, bends, and waves, square the deck and look along the edges. If some cards show an irregular pattern such as spaces or bubbles between certain areas of the deck, throw out the cards and begin play with a new, unopened pack.