Hi,

Was wondering how you would action this if this player turned up again?

Poker tournament runs every week and we allow new people to join and come and go as they wish. This person brought his friend who said he had only played a couple of times and asked for the card rank hand so I gave it to him to help him out but after a while it was obvious he knew what he was doing and was a better player than most players. One hand against me it went to show down I had top pair he had 2 pair but called one pair (pair of 10s then goes oh and a pair of 2s) so I let him off as he said he was new. Also it looked like he kept trying to angle shoot and obviously knew what he was doing because every know and then when he was small blind he would wait to see if dealer was paying attention and if he wasnt he would say CHECK loud probably hoping that the dealer would deal out and he would have to but the rest of his blind in. Also when he was dealing it looked like he flicks up the corners of the cards up just before he gets it cut and sometimes does it again after he gets the cards cut this is obviously allowing him to see the cards but the whole time he says he has only played a few times but im 100% sure he plays alot but I dont know how to action this as it is a £5 buyin tournament and dont understand the point in trying to cheat in it as the money is so worthless as there is only around 11 people who play also I dont know if I should tell him aside what he is doing or people would think im rude? how would you action it because he will most likely deny it all.

The guy is a loser. Angle shooting in a $5 tourney?

The first example isn't even angle shooting. It's slow rolling. It's very rude. If it's a wild game where everyone is being a-holes, then it's fine. If it's a normal poker game where everyone is just trying to have a nice, enjoyable time, then it's just him being rude....intentionally.

If you're in charge of the game would politely tell this guy that this is a friendly game and to cut out his antics. If he continues, I would tell him that he's not welcome back. This isn't even a very good form of cheating he's doing. Trying to see a flop from the small blind without completing? LOL. It's probably just barely a +EV play. You lose a lot of money from that position. He's a bad cheater.

Keep an eye out for other stuff from this guy. Watch how he handles his cards to make sure he's not marking them. Keep an eye on any friends he brings. I can't imagine cheating at this level. It's not even remotely worth it.

1) Who's "we"? (I.E., who's running these tournaments?)
2) People often cheat for reasons other than money (habit, ego, etc.).

Ban him and his friend for bringing in this loser. To me, it sounds like you're afraid to not let this guy back in because "hey it's just a friendly tournament where very little money is at stake", but this guy is cheating in this low stakes friendly tournament. It can only get worse. He might be a thief too. Ban him.

I would go to the friend as well. Let him know that this guy should never come back and makes sure that he knows that if he is not more selective in who he brings that he will be gone as well. It is very unlikely that the guy who brought has any idea that this guy is a cheat, so I would give him a pass.

I wouldn't necessarily boot the guy who invited him. We all make mistakes sometimes.

But this new guy is dishonest, an amateur angle-shooter, and basically a (lousy) cheat. It sounds like he actually may be inexperienced at poker; I can't imagine someone with a lot of experience who would pull the crap he's pulling. Maybe he knows the game better than he let on, and perhaps he even performed well, but it doesn't mean he's been playing very long or is an actual good player.

I might consider giving him another chance after speaking with him frankly about his antics (a role the host should take, whoever that is). But it's a very marginal play, honestly. I don't think you'd be losing much by folding this one upfront. I'd have a hard time trusting him after this, especially after he was seen peeping the stub. That's a pretty dire indicator on its own, never mind the other stuff.

my first reaction is:

give strategy and fundamental rules advice at every opportunity (like "burn one face down, then 3 cards up for the flop...". People HATE to be talked down to, and he will soon beg you to stop telling him obvious things. Continue to be as condescending as humanly possible. "it's ok, we were all complete noobs once, we don't mind helping you out".

But the peeking the cards thing is outright cheating, and you need to jump up and scream at him and kick him out of your house, as much to set a standard as to punish the specific loser. Guy who brought him should be embarassed and should apologize before getting invited back.

Yeah, I was a little lenient in my reply, but the more I think about this one issue, the more I'm inclined to say this guy should be straight-up banned.

Everything else is somewhat forgivable. He might honestly think some of that angle-shooting **** and feigning inexperience is par for the course, or he did it for another somewhat innocent reason.

But there's no innocent gray area with peeking at the cards to come. A six-year-old playing Go Fish would know that's cheating.

I'd bad the cheat, but I'd talk to reg who brought him first. Also, I would give the reg a temp-ban on inviting new players. He's supposed to vouch for this new guy, and since the new guy was a douche, he shouldn't bring more new guys any time soon.

Could be a small stakes cheater or he could be just a dumbass. Anyway he is not good for your game. Players like this must be schooled on inappropriate behavior in front of the group. They will likely not return or sometimes they will straighten up. Also our group uses the "sponsor" method for new folks , so If it was me, as host , I would speak to the person who vouched for him right away. Good luck.