Deadman’s Poker

Shorting the Pot

Shorting the pot is one of the most common forms of cheating in poker. Often, it is done innocently, when a player gets distracted and forgets to ante up, or places the wrong amount into the pot during a round of betting. But there are also players who do this regularly and on purpose. It is the lowest form of cheating I know of.

Protection Tips: There are several ways to prevent a player from shorting the pot. The first is for the person dealing the game to keep track of each player’s bets during each round. This is the dealer’s responsibility, and a job that should be taken seriously.

Another way is to “spoke” your bets. This was developed by a group that I play with, and is especially good in games where players ante up if no one wins the pot. The idea of the spoke is to place each bet behind the other on the table, so that your opponents can see that you’ve bet the correct amount for each round.

A third deterrent, and perhaps the most effective, is to politely reprimand any player who gets caught shorting the pot. This puts the guilty player on notice, while informing everyone else at the table what’s going on.