Go Johnny Moss on his ass and shoot him.

try hitting him

I don't play much serious poker live...but how do you rig a deck while a hand is going on?!

It's not easy, but it can be done. Indeed, you must be an "expert at the card table" to pull it off, but, for instance, you could scoop up the board and two hands that went to showdown, gather up the deck, and control (say) two Aces to the bottom of the deck. If you can then control the shuffle and negate the cut, you're primed for a bottom deal, or apparently for those in the San Francisco area, a "baysteal". Or if you're a real badass, take the cut deck and perform a center deal.

To quote just such an expert, "A player, if he keeps his wits about him, finds many opportunities during a sitting of prearranging to some extent for his deal".

OP, any update? I'd definitely tell the host quietly and give him a chance to handle it on his own. If the host doesn't do anything about it, you'll have to re-evaluate.

Hella funny!

.......and that's exactly why I suggested that you just cash him out and send him packing.

Why would you want to give him ANY excuse to potentially escalate the situation into who knows what kind of a mess?

If he's willing to cheat his "friends", what else might he be willing to do?

Yup, my testosterone level dramatically rises when I discover that someone has lied, stolen or cheated me, but as I've grown wiser (hopefully) I've realized that there's a difference between pouring water on a fire and pouring gasoline on it.

You have to as yourself..........Is it worth exacerbating the situation to the
point where some real harm may result?

There are times when getting physical may be the only course of action, but one shouldn't let that happen unless all other options have been exhausted.

kitn

sick... kinda weird situation...

Makes me sick that people cheat at poker, but hearing stories about people who have tried and get strung out to dry by their own ways really, really makes it better.

Insist on using two decks if nothing else! The previous dealer shuffles at the end of his hand and gives the freshly shuffled deck to the SB for the next hand while the new dealer deals the current hand. All SB does is cut, and deals away.

Doesn't SOLVE the problem, but DOES control it better.

I like the 'non violent' solutions presented the best though. No need to escalate it into something that could turn ugly. However, if the scum refuses to leave, ensure the whole table knows. Won't be long before he leaves on his own accord.

NEVER LET THE BASTARD BACK!! And be sure to post his name everywhere as a cheat.

Next time you play poker bring a post it note and a pen with you and start tracking how often he wins on his deals, after the game, confront the host and let him know that this guy is cheating and to checkout your stats.

guys cmon we don't want op to get shot.. this is a CIGAR game WTF. Telling you, you might be telling yourself "wow i need to grow some balls and tell the owner of the game that this dude is cheating!". Well THATS NOT THE SMART THING TO DO. You need to stay out of this.
There are plenty of post I can quote that I COMPLETELY disagree with. OP, nows NOT THe time to man up. Trust me.
Your options are to either; 1: keep playing in the game and raking in the dough, letting the dude get away with cheating. If he's cheating against you just count it as rake.
2: STOP PLAYING IN THIS GAME
Your life is not worth risking over calling a cheat out in a $200 nl game.
That seems to be the funnest option/card to play imo.
Just take my word for it. DON'T rat him out. He will get caught eventually. I count on that. You just can't be the one that does the ratting. I don't even feel like you're in the position to counting on the fact this is a private game and all. Don't phuck this opportunity up. Keep playing in this game and making the dough or just stay away and find another game.
I could sit here and keep posting quotes that I completely disagree with but i'm not going to bother. Life is about being 1 step ahead and YOU MUST keep your mouth shut. This person will get caught eventually. If an idiot like you was able to catch him in the act(jokes), then ANY idiot would be able to see him in the act. Just keep your mouth shut ok?
Now for all of you out there who are going to be like "OMFG DONT BE A BABY BLAH BLAH BLAH" or "OMG THIS KID IS AN IDIOT AND A PUSS". You need to be concerned for your well being for the rest of your life. Like i said, this is not the time to man up. Just stop going to this game or keep going and have a ball. I really hope you take my advice here dawg. gl in this game too. Oh and just fold preflop every time he's dealing and watch and enjoy the show!
Just for good measures one last hilarious quote I thought to be hysterical
hmm looks like I was too late .
Op is probably dead now... thanks to the ******s that responded without any regard for their lives.

fyp

Only once in my life have I ever been in the presence of a true, hard-core 'mechanic'- thankfully, it wasn't in a poker game but he was showing off his skills at a party back in 2004 and I do know that he has used said skills 'profitably' in the past. The one thing I noticed that really distinguished him from an unskilled, garden variety home game type cheat (*******s who try to slip in cappers or bumble off cards from the bottom) was that his primary focus was on the players and controlling where their attentions were directed, much like a sleight of hand magician, as opposed to focusing all his efforts on pulling off whatever cheating maneuver he had planned. When you were looking him in the eye, or looking away, that's when he moved and brother, was he ever a master at misdirection...

Anyway, I have generally the same reaction to cheats as I do people who try to pilfer from my stack. It's visceral and immediate.

You said the guy plays bad, so tell everyone about the base dealing, but let him keep playing in the game. Every time he deals everyone simply folds. After he goes busto he'll no longer come back. Problem solved and profit for everyone!

You are correct about not being the one to publicly confront the cheat. That is why I said to tell the host, though I may have been unclear. I agree with your arguments, SanderJonez. The last thing that you need to do is get yourself in a fight.

I played in a game where there was a couple who colluded, however, they were so bad that I just didn't care. One would enter a pot and the other would raise to isolate, but it ended up blowing up in their faces too many times when they could not figure out how to play post flop. They don't play any more.

There was a player who noticed that they were in almost all of their pots together and raised a big stink to the host, but the host said prove it. When he could not immediately prove it (they were both playing Ace rag), he was insta-banned.

do you mind if I ask the name of the place?