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Neocheaters extensively use the discard-culling and discard-stacking techniques described in Chapter III because easy opportunities to cull from the discards exist almost every time they deal. But also, with only a few hours' practice, anyone can pick up any deck without knowing the whereabouts of a single card and then cull and stack a hand in the "normal" course of riffling and shuffling. Indeed, the Neocheater will frequently cull and stack during the shuffle in conjunction with his discard stacking. Assume, for example, he has stacked only one ace using the discards. He can easily add a second and a third ace to his stack during the shuffle by using the techniques taught in this chapter.
This chapter will progress from the easiest to the somewhat more difficult stacking techniques executed while shuffling. Every stacking technique has its advantages and disadvantages. The first technique described is the undercut shuffle. It is the easiest and fastest way to stack a deck during the shuffle. With a little practice, you can stack any hand with any number of players in any game in one undercut shuffle -- you can stack yourself a pair, three of a kind, full house, four of a kind, straight flush, royal flush, or in lowball, a pat wheel.[ 19 ] In fact, you can execute undercut stacking with some degree of skill in ten minutes. In thirty minutes, you will be competent at stacking. And in an hour or two, you will stack with professional ease.
While the undercut shuffle is less subtle than other techniques, Neocheaters execute the undercut with speed and confidence to dissipate any suspicion. Moreover, undercut stacking is safe in neighborhood games and informal sessions, especially in low-stake to medium-stake games. But Neocheaters would not use the technique in knowledgeable company, and almost never in professional high-stake games. Yet, the undercut is often used with great success in high-stake games with naive or unalert players and is a powerful money pump in the average Friday-night poker game.
The first step in undercut stacking requires culling. You already know two culling methods: Culling from discards described in Chapter III, and riffle culling described in Chapter II. Riffle culling is the only practical technique to stack a deck cold (i.e., when no discards are available such as with a new deck, a deck just put into play, or when alternating decks are used for every other hand). With a few hours of practice, you can control any cold deck through riffle culling. If you can cull one ace in one riffle, you can cull four aces in four riffles. Riffle culling is taught in more detail later in this chapter.
But for now, assume you have culled a winning hand by using one of the discard-gathering methods. For example, someone tosses you his folded two pair, kings over sixes, while someone else folds a hand with a pair of kings. You then maneuver those four kings on top of the deck by using the discard-squaring method described in Chapter III. You are now ready to execute the undercut.
a. Undercut Stacking
Your four culled kings, however, must be on the bottom of the deck to execute the undercut. You can cull discards to the bottom instead of the top of the deck, but culling to the top is usually smoother and more natural appearing. Moreover, the technique that switches culled cards from the top of the deck to the bottom is very easy and takes only a few seconds: Lift the deck in your right hand for an overhand shuffle and rapidly slide off your four culled kings, one by one, with your left thumb into your left hand. Then overhand shuffle the rest of the deck from the right hand onto those four cards in your left hand. Now your four kings are on the bottom of the deck ready for the undercut.
In the previous chapter, you practiced running cards one by one off the deck with your left thumb. The undercut depends on running off cards rapidly and smoothly. The maneuver is easy if your thumb and fingers are not too dry. Some professional stackers keep in their pocket a thin, small diameter container of a moistening conditioner such as Sortkwik or Tacky Finger used for bill-counting. As their deal approaches, they moisten their fingertips to make the undercut easier. But such conditioners must be used sparingly so as not to leave any residue on the cards and are generally avoided by Neocheaters.
Now, returning to undercut stacking: Your four kings are on the bottom, and you must deal six hands. So grasp the deck in the right hand for an overhand shuffle. With your left thumb and left two center fingers, simultaneously grasp both the top and bottom cards of the deck and pull them together into your left hand as illustrated in Figure 19. That move is called the undercut and is used here to place bottom cards (i.e., your four culled kings) in the desired stacked position. Now, with your left thumb, rapidly run off four cards from the top of the deck in your right hand onto the two cards in your left hand. Repeat the process: Top card and bottom card from the right hand are pulled together into the left hand, then four successive cards are pulled from the top of the right-hand portion of the deck onto the cards in your left hand. Repeat the same process twice more to finish stacking your four kings for a six-handed game.
Then pull one more card onto the left-hand cards; jut that card towards you about one eighth of an inch.[ 20 ] Next, overhand shuffle the remaining deck from the right hand onto that jutting break-card in your left hand. Now complete your blind shuffle by pulling out all the cards beneath the break-card with your right hand and tossing them in a single block back on top of the deck portion still in your left hand. That move puts your stack on top of the deck.
After a little practice, you can stack by using the undercut an entire five-card pat hand in fifteen seconds, complete with a concluding series of blind shuffles. The effectiveness of the undercut depends upon speed and rhythm. Your left thumb and fingers should not be too dry, and the cards cannot be too worn or they will tend to stick together and slide off the deck in blocks of two rather than one by one.
You will soon be doing the undercut so rapidly that removal of the bottom cards becomes an invisible blur, giving the appearance of a legitimate overhand shuffle. But you can then slow down the subsequent blind shuffles for a reassuring effect.
The mathematics of stacking hands for any number of players is simple: After getting the culled cards to the bottom of the deck and after simultaneously slipping off the top and bottom card from the deck, run off two less cards than the number of players from the top of the right hand portion of the deck onto the cards being stacked in the left hand. Repeat that process the same number of times as cards to be in your stacked hand. For example, repeat the process twice for a pair, three times for three of a kind, four times for four of a kind, and five times for a full house or other pat hands.
When stacking for gin rummy or any two-handed game, simply continue to slip off the top and bottom cards together into the left hand, as many times as the number of cards to be stacked in your hand. Then pull off one more card, jut it, and blind shuffle. In all cases, however, begin with your culled hand on the bottom of the deck, stack the cards with the undercut, and conclude with convincing blind shuffles.
b. Undercut Stacking Two Hands Simultaneously
Besides its simplicity, the undercut has another powerful advantage: Two hands can be stacked at the same time -- one for the Neocheater and one for his victim. Again the first step is culling. The dealer can, for example, use discard culling and the undercut to deal his victim -- preferably a heavily-winning or well-monied opponent -- a six-four low in lowball while dealing himself a five low. (Riffle culling two hands simultaneously is generally too cumbersome and time consuming.) And in high draw, the dealer may cull four jacks for his victim and four kings for himself while gathering discards. In such a case, the dealer maneuvers his four kings to the bottom of the deck and his opponent's four jacks to the top while culling. Or he may put both hands on top of the deck. In that case, his hand should lie above his opponent's hand, (e.g., the four kings above the four jacks[ 21 ]). Now to get his own hand to the bottom of the deck while avoiding excessive blind-shuffling maneuvers, he simply overhand shuffles his four kings, one by one in quick succession, off the top of the deck and slides them to the bottom of the deck. He now has the losing four jacks on the top of the deck and his winning four kings on the bottom of the deck.
For two-handed poker, he holds the deck in his right hand for an overhand shuffle and simply pulls with the left thumb and middle finger the top card and the bottom card together simultaneously into his left hand, four times in succession. He then slides one more card from the deck onto the cards stacked in his left hand and juts that top card, completes a blind shuffle, and ends up with the two hands stacked on top of the deck. He can then false cut or foil the cut and proceed to annihilate his opponent: On being dealt four jacks, the victim will lick his lips in anticipation of draining every penny from his opponent, but instead he will be cleaned by the Neocheater.
The undercut stacking maneuver is ideal for gin rummy and other two-handed games. If the Neocheater stacks two hands and if the deck is cut at the crimp, the victim is doomed.
Now assume the Neocheater is playing seven-handed poker and has run four aces to the bottom of the deck and four queens to the top of the deck. How does he arrange his stack so he will get the four aces and, say, the third player from his left (a big winner or a monied fat-cat) will get the four queens? First, he simultaneously runs together with his left thumb and fingers the top card and the bottom card four times in a row from the deck in his right hand, just as if he were stacking for a two-handed game. Then he overhand shuffles the rest of the deck on top of those eight cards in the left hand. The interlaced aces and queens are now on the bottom of the deck ready for the final stack.
Putting the deck back into his right hand and selecting his monied victim as the third player from his left, the Neocheater executes a two-step maneuver -- Step One: he again pulls off the top card and the bottom card of the deck together into the left hand, but then pulls two extra cards from the top of the deck onto those two cards. Step Two: he repeats the process of pulling the top and bottom cards from the deck plus an extra- card from the top and letting those three cards fall on top of the first four cards pulled from the deck in step one.
Each such shuffling maneuver moves seven cards and stacks the cards for one round of dealing to seven players with the stacked cards going to the dealer and the third player from his left. He executes that two-step shuffling maneuver a total of four times (the number of cards to be stacked in his hand) and slides the final extra card plus a break-card from his right hand onto the stack in his left hand. The break-card is jutted and used to execute a concluding blind shuffle. The third player will now receive the four queens and be relieved of his bankroll by the dealer who will receive the four aces.[ 22 ]
Two limitations exist for the undercut when stacking two hands simultaneously: (1) In games with more than two players, the hand stacked for the victim cannot be dealt to the player directly on the dealer's left or right, regardless of how many players are in the game. And (2) the undercut cannot be used to stack two hands when only three players are in a game. . . . Except for two-handed games, undercut stacking always results in at least one non-stacked hand between any two stacked hands.
Discard squaring described in Chapter III is the most convenient method to cull cards for the undercut. But any method or combination of methods for culling is practical as long as the Neocheater gets the hand he wants without being suspect. A Neocheater, of course, avoids suspicion by never using four of a kind, a full house, or even trips just played. Instead he would use, for example, a pair from one discarded hand and matching single cards from other hands to cull three or four of a kind.
The undercut is ideal for lowball since hands previously played can be used directly because no one will remember the exact hands or suits of previously played hands. The Neocheater, however, will generally not use the undercut for stud-type games since faster and more efficient culling and stacking techniques exist for those games (such as the discard culling and stacking techniques described in Chapter III).
Neocheaters always conclude undercut stacking (or any other stacking technique) with a series of blind shuffles or false riffles, often topped off with a false cut.[ 23 ]
| One Hand Stacked --for Dealer-- | Two Hands Stacked --for Dealer plus Victim-- |
| # Cards Stacked per Stacked Hand | # Cards Culled | # Cards in Stack | # Cards Culled | # Cards in Stack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 players in game 1 2 3 4 5 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 2 4 6 8 10 | 2 4 6 8 10 | 2 4 6 8 10 |
| 3 players in game 1 2 3 4 5 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 3 6 9 12 15 | 2 4 6 8 10 | 3 6 9 12 15 |
| 4 players in game 1 2 3 4 5 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 4 8 12 16 20 | 2 4 6 8 10 | 4 8 12 16 20 |
| 5 players in game 1 2 3 4 5 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 5 10 15 20 25 | 2 4 6 8 10 | 5 10 15 20 25 |
| 6 players in game 1 2 3 4 5 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 6 12 18 24 30 | 2 4 6 8 10 | 6 12 18 24 30 |
| 7 players in game 1 2 3 4 5 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 7 14 21 28 35 | 2 4 6 8 10 | 7 14 21 28 35 |
| 8 players in game 1 2 3 4 5 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 8 16 24 32 40 | 2 4 6 8 10 | 8 16 24 32 40 |
Before proceeding to the next stacking technique, riffle culling must be examined in more detail:
c. Riffle Culling
Even in the strictest games with alert or fussy players, the Neocheater can usually cull a high pair and often three of a kind using one of the discard-gathering techniques taught in Chapter III. But assume he has been unable to cull a single card from the discards or no discards are available such as occurs when a new or different deck is brought into play. He must then work the deck cold in order to cull a favorable hand. One easy and effective method to cull directly from the deck is to use the riffle cull described below.
As in the technique described in Chapter II for cutting aces, pick up the deck, and begin parting the deck by riffling through the cards with your thumb. Stop the moment you spot an ace, and let that ace drop. Now separate the deck so that the ace becomes the top card of the deck-portion in your left hand. Then riffle shuffle the two deck halves together, but retain the top ace with your left thumb and drop that ace last on top of the shuffled deck. Now riffle again and locate a second ace -- or other desired card -- and place it on top of the first culled ace with another false-riffle shuffle, controlling the deck halves with your thumbs so the second culled ace falls on top of the first ace without any unwanted cards falling between them. Repeat the process for the third and fourth card, or until you have culled your desired hand to the top of the deck, ready for stacking.
With practice, you can riffle cull four aces to the top of the deck in less than twenty seconds. Four aces are merely an example. Actually you can riffle cull any desired cards or hands.
A Neocheater, however, seldom relies solely on riffle culling for stacking full or big hands, although he could. Instead, he usually uses riffle culling as an auxiliary to discard culling. For example, if he is able to cull only one ace to the top of the deck while squaring the discards, he can then quite easily riffle cull a second and third ace on top of that first ace. Whether he tries to cull the fourth ace depends on how long he took to cull the previous two cards, on the location of the final ace (it may be too close to the top or bottom of the deck), and especially on his objective. (Neocheaters can but seldom need to stack themselves blatantly powerful hands.)
After culling your desired cards to the top of the deck, run those cards quickly to the bottom of the deck in one overhand shuffle and stack them with the undercut or one of the other stacking techniques described later in this chapter.
A high pair can almost always be culled using discard squaring. One quick riffle cull should produce a third matching card in less than five seconds. After an hour's practice, you should be fairly adept at riffle culling. Remember always to keep the deck squared when riffle parting the deck so that the cards pass by individually, smoothly, and at the proper speed for quick selection.
When working a deck cold, you should be able to cull a pair of aces to the top with two riffles. And starting with a pair of aces provides an enormous advantage in draw poker and an even greater advantage in stud games.
A problem you will encounter when first practicing the riffle cull is flipping past your selected card by an extra card to leave an unwanted stranger on top of the culled card. If that happens, you have three options:
First, when interlacing the parted deck portions, retain both top cards (your culled card and the unwanted card) with your left thumb and drop those two cards last on top of the deck. Then execute a quick, single card overhand shuffle to get rid of the extra card by simply pulling it off the top with your left thumb and slipping it beneath the deck. And against alert or sophisticated opponents, the removal of that top card can be camouflaged by a subsequent blind shuffle.
Second, assume you have a pair of aces already culled on top of the deck and you have passed your third ace by one card while riffling through the deck. Just riffle shuffle that third ace right back into the deck, making certain the two aces in your right hand still fall last -- on top of the deck. Then make another attempt to cull that third ace during your next riffle.
Or, third, as you will learn in Chapter VI, use a split-second cut that instantly gets rid of any extra cards on top of your stack.
Spend thirty minutes practicing the riffle cull. See how fast you can get a pair and then three of a kind to the top of the deck. The riffle cull is a potent ally when used with discard culling. Also, riffle culling is the most practical method for culling a deck cold (or when discards are unavailable). But remember, Neocheaters keep their eyes in natural motion, glancing but never staring at the cards being riffled.
Used with or without other culling techniques, the riffle cull is a valuable asset in the Neocheater's repertoire. With even a minimal mastery of the riffle cull, he can control cards in any deck under most circumstances.
Continuing now with the next stacking technique:
The Neocheater regularly uses the overhand stack to stack pairs and three of a kind with ease; but he seldom uses this technique to stack four of a kind, a full house, or other pat hands, unless he has already used discard stacking (described later) or the undercut to initially stack part of the hand -- such as a pair or three of a kind.
Like many stacking methods, this technique is particularly effective when used in conjunction with other stacking techniques to build the desired stack. All Neocheating knowledge and skill is cumulative; the more the Neocheater knows, the more effective and resourceful he will be at the card table. If a Neocheater stacks a high pair using discard-stacking, he can easily overhand stack or riffle stack the third matching card and probably the fourth, if he wishes. Or, say someone tosses him discards that contain a pair that matches his stacked pair. He may use the overhand stack to add that pair to his stack, giving him four of a kind.
In any case, suppose you begin with a culled pair of aces on top of the deck and want to stack the cards so those aces are dealt to you in a six-handed game. You can accomplish that in three quick moves by using the overhand stack:
Move 1 -- Hold the deck in the left hand. From the lower portion, pull out about half the deck with the right hand. Then using your left thumb, rapidly slide five cards, one by one, from the right-hand portion onto the two culled aces in your left hand. (You are stacking for a six-handed game.) Then with your left thumb pull off one more card from the right-hand deck portion onto the left-hand deck portion and jut that card so it sticks out an eighth of an inch or so from the back end of the deck. That card is your break-card needed to blind shuffle. Next, overhand shuffle the rest of the right-hand portion on top of that break-card. Then complete your blind shuffle by pulling out all the cards below the break-card with the right hand and throwing them in a single block back on top of those cards still in your left hand. You now have five cards above your two aces on top of the deck.
Move 2 -- Now transfer the entire deck to your right hand for an overhand shuffle. Rapidly pull off six cards, one by one, from the top of the deck with your left thumb and then, without hesitation, slide those cards back on top of the deck. Or more precisely: the right hand which holds the bulk of the deck simply moves forward, sliding the deck behind those six cards in the left hand and repositioning those six cards (now in reverse order) back on top of the deck. The hardest part is now done: you have stacked your second ace. Next, allowing the deck to rest in the left hand with the right hand remaining around the deck, immediately make the next move to stack your first ace.
Move 3 -- With your right hand, remove the lower half of the deck leaving the top half of the deck in your left hand. Then using your left thumb, rapidly slide (run off) five cards, one by one, from the cards in your right hand onto the top of the deck portion in your left hand. Immediately follow with a blind shuffle by sliding off one more card, jut it as your break-card, and overhand shuffle the rest of the right-hand portion of the deck onto the left-hand portion. Now complete the blind shuffle by pulling all the cards from beneath the break-card with the right hand and tossing them in a single block back on top of the cards still in your left hand. The pair of aces is now stacked to be dealt to you.
With practice, the overhand stack becomes so rapid that the Neocheater often must execute a few extra blind shuffles or false riffles to make the deck appear thoroughly shuffled.
The overhand stack is ideal for adding one card to a pair or three of a kind already stacked by either discard stacking or undercut stacking. For example, assuming the Neocheater has discard stacked a pair of queens for draw poker and has managed to get a third queen to the top of the deck, either through discard culling or riffle culling.[ 24 ] To stack that third queen, he removes the bottom half of the deck with his right hand for an overhand shuffle and simply runs off one card less than the number of players from the right-hand deck portion onto the cards in his left hand. He then runs off one more card, juts it, and completes a blind shuffle. He now has stacked three queens for himself.
As you practice this technique, pause at each step to review the progressive journeys of the cards you are stacking so you can understand precisely what is happening to them.
One drawback of the overhand stack is running the stacked cards off the top of the deck and then sliding them right back on top of the deck. But that move is camouflaged by promptly executing an overhand blind shuffle. And when your stack is complete, crown it with a few extra blind shuffles and a false cut to completely dissipate any suspicion.
If you have practiced running the cards one at a time off the deck for the undercut, you will have little trouble with the overhand stack. When executed properly, both the undercut and the riffle stack (described later) are generally superior to the overhand technique. Yet, in some situations, the overhand stack is ideal. Most Neocheaters learn the overhand stack because of its simplicity. And they often use the technique to add one card or a pair to their stack. With only an hour or two of practice, the overhand stack can be executed with relative ease and rapidity.
While it is possible to stack three or four of a kind using the overhand stack, Neocheaters seldom do. Stacking such hands is usually more effectively done by combining the overhand stack with either the undercut or the riffle stack. Neocheating stacking techniques rely on flexibility and improvisation. Indeed, Neocheaters usually combine or overlap various techniques for the easiest, safest, and most effective results. So the more familiar the Neocheater is with the different techniques, the more effectively will he drain opponents.
Most Neocheaters master the overhand technique for stacking at least a pair, especially since the technique is so convenient when combined with discard stacking or riffle stacking (described later). And the overhand technique is particularly effective for stacking two or three of a kind when combined with riffle culling. Still at times, the Neocheater finds it easier to simply discard stack his entire hand, thus avoiding all shuffle-stacking techniques.
What if you are playing five-card stud and want to use either the undercut stack or the overhand stack to deal yourself kings back-to-back, plus you want to know everyone's hole card? As explained in Chapter III, that is easy to accomplish when using discard stacking. But neither undercut stacking nor overhand stacking offers opportunities to glance at the cards as they are being stacked. So, how do you get to know everyone's hole card without discard stacking?
Assume you have stacked yourself a pair of kings for a six-handed game of five-card stud by using either undercut stacking or overhand stacking. Now to learn everyone's hole cards, simply execute a false riffle in the following manner: Part the stacked deck for a riffle shuffle. Now execute a false riffle, remembering to protect your stack as an undisturbed block of fifteen cards or so by riffling the left-hand portion more rapidly than those cards in the right hand, dropping the stack in a single block just prior to dropping the last card -- the single card retained by your left thumb. But, as you finish the riffle, instead of dropping your stack in a single block, riffle those cards with your right thumb. Then slow the riffling motion for the last six or seven cards while bending those cards with your thumb just far enough to read their values as they fall in succession.[ 25 ] Remember the values of the last five cards above your stacked king. (That slow riffling action is easy to control and takes only a few minutes of practice to learn.) You then drop the single card retained by your left thumb last, having memorized the sequence of those five cards above your first stacked king. To get rid of that extra top card, you can simply slip it to the bottom of the deck and avoid suspicion with a subsequent blind shuffle.
Now the top five memorized cards will be your opponents' hole cards. If, for example, when you spotted your king during the riffle and then memorized the next five cards as say 4-Q-9-J-7, then the player to your right will receive the 4 and, counterclockwise, the next player will receive the Queen, the next player a 9 and so on. ... You will have given yourself a tremendous advantage, not only by dealing yourself a wired pair of kings, but by knowing everyone's hole cards.
If you have practiced riffle culling and can perform the false riffle with any degree of smoothness, then you already know the moves required for riffle stacking. For example, look again at Figure 2 on page 26. Notice that four cards are retained by the right thumb while the single ace is retained by the left thumb. That picture suggests a shortcut method for stacking your first ace: Instead of dropping that ace last, drop it first and then drop the four cards from the right thumb on top of the ace and, presto, that ace is stacked for you in a five-handed game. In other words, the first ace has been culled in one riffle and the right thumb simply retains and then releases four cards on top of the ace in order to stack it for a five-handed game. Each additional ace or card to be stacked for the dealer's hand must be culled and singly passed to the top. Then as explained in Step 1 below, the left thumb subsequently builds the stack by releasing the required number of cards on top of each card culled to the top of the deck.
Beginning with a completely shuffled deck, you can riffle stack aces back-to-back for yourself in stud poker while knowing what every opponent has in the hole by taking the following two steps:
Step 1 --Place the deck in your right hand. Using your right thumb, riffle the deck until you spot an ace. Let that ace drop and immediately stop riffling. Then pass that lower portion of the deck with the ace on top into your left hand; and as in Chapter II when culling an ace, riffle shuffle the left and right hand cards together, but retain the ace with the left thumb in order to drop that card last on top of the deck. Again part the deck by taking the top portion into your right hand and passing the lower portion into your left hand for another riffle shuffle. But do not cull another ace yet. Instead, execute a false riffle; and with your left thumb retain and drop at least two, preferably three or four cards on top of your ace. Begin practice by retaining and dropping only two cards at a time from your left thumb. Practice until you can easily drop with accurate control four or more cards on top of your ace.
Suppose you cull an ace. Execute two false riffles while each time dropping on that ace two cards retained by your left thumb. You then will have four cards on top of your first ace. If you are playing in a five-handed game, your first card is stacked. If more than five are playing, you must drop the required number of additional cards on top of the ace so that it will be dealt to you.
Although your first riffle-stacking attempts may be awkward, you can with an hour or two of practice do the riffle stack with relative speed and ease. Keep in mind that you are essentially executing a false riffle but striving to get more than one card on top of the stack with each riffle shuffle. Quickly square the edges of the deck with your thumbs and fingers before each riffle for better control.
Step 2 -- Cull your second ace exactly as you did your first, retaining it in your left thumb while protecting your stack with a false riffle. Drop that second ace on top of your stack as the last card. Should you fail to cull a second ace during that riffle, simply execute a false riffle which will leave an extra card on top of your stack. For now, remove that card with a blind shuffle. In the next chapter, you will learn an easier method to remove extra cards accumulated during false riffles.
After culling your second ace, you must riffle the required number of cards on top of that ace to stack it while protecting your first stacked ace. Proceed with the same method used to stack your first ace by riffle shuffling the proper number of cards onto that second ace while protecting the stack. But when playing stud, remember to bend the top cards upward with your left thumb[ 26 ] in order to briefly glance at and remember their sequence while riffling them onto the stack above your second ace. By remembering those cards, you will know everyone's hole card in addition to dealing yourself a pair of aces.
Remembering opponents' hole cards is easy: Assume a six-handed game of five-card stud in which you have already stacked your first ace and culled your second ace on top of those stacked cards. Now with your next riffle, say you drop two cards on top of your stack while bending those cards slightly upward with your thumb and noticing they are, for example, a jack and a four. Your mind registers J-4. You riffle again dropping two more cards onto your stack while observing they are a king and a ten. Your mind registers K-10-J-4. Another riffle and you drop a single card, a nine, to complete your stack. Now you know the other players' hole cards will read clockwise 9-K-10-J-4 around the table, and you will be dealt aces back-to-back. ... For seven-card stud or hold'em, execute the riffling process twice while remembering both sets of cards stacked above each ace. You will then know both hole cards of each opponent.
Your thumb will gradually become accustomed to retaining and controlling batches of three and four cards to be dropped on your stack while mentally counting them (and, when advantageous, remembering them). Your goal is to smoothly cull and accurately stack with a minimum number of riffle shuffles.
You can cull and stack four of a kind or pat hands with riffle stacking. But usually stacking such hands is easier done by combining the riffle stack with other stacking techniques. For example, the riffle stack is especially convenient for adding the third or the fourth-of-a-kind card to a pair or three of a kind already culled and stacked from the discards.
Still, the riffle stack alone is often ideal for five-card stud, seven-card stud, and hold'em since you can cull and stack a high pair for yourself while knowing everyone's hole card (or cards) in fifteen seconds or less. In draw poker, however, using the riffle stack alone to stack four of a kind or a pat hand is generally not as easy or practical as using a combination of other stacking techniques.
Another stacking variation consists of initially culling all your cards in consecutive riffles. This method gets the culling out of the way first. For example, cull two kings, then proceed to stack them by retaining the top king with your right thumb and injecting the required number of cards between the top and second king with a couple of riffles. When that move is completed, riffle shuffle the required number of cards on top of your second king to complete the stack.
Neocheaters normally avoid the repetition and time required to riffle stack three or more cards by combining two or more culling and stacking techniques. (See Combination Stacking later in this chapter.) Various combinations can provide safer, easier, and faster routes to stacking four or five cards. As pointed out in Chapter XI, however, the pure Neocheater finds maximum advantages in the simplest and easiest maneuvers -- he seldom has to stack more than one or two cards for himself. And often he does not stack any cards for himself, but simply remembers his opponents' hole cards while riffling (or he simply follows what-to-do signals from a colluding dealer, especially from a colluding house dealer in a casino) to gain unbeatable advantages.
As a refinement of the riffle stack, the Las Vegas variation uses the same principles learned so far, but the position of the hands while culling and riffling is different. For culling, the thumbs riffle and split the deck along the sides of the cards, as shown in Figure 20, instead of at their ends. This method of culling has the advantage of concealing all the moves from opponents with your hands and fingers. Also, after several hours of practice, the Las Vegas variation cull becomes faster and smoother than the regular riffle cull. Note the position of both thumbs in Figure 20; the moment the culled ace drops to the top of the lower deck half the left thumb is ready to split the deck. Then the two deck portions can be promptly riffle shuffled together while keeping the culled ace on top.
With the Las Vegas variation, the cards are completely shielded by the fingers of both hands while being stacked as the deck lies flat on the table (see Figure 21). After interlacing, the split deck portions are then pushed together and squared with the palms of both hands. Because the cards are shielded, the riffling process can be slowed not only for greater accuracy while culling and stacking but for greater ease while memorizing the value and sequence of everyone's hole cards.
The Las Vegas variation works especially well for false riffling. Because of the shield created by the hands and fingers, you can easily keep two-thirds of the deck intact without suspicion. Experiment for awhile with this variation to see if you prefer it to the regular riffle stack and false riffle. Switching over to the Las Vegas variation requires several hours of practice, but the technique will look smoother and offers more flexibility and control over the deck.
The advantage of the Las Vegas variation ironically produces its only disadvantage: ostensibly the cards are shielded to keep them from flashing -- that is why dealers in casinos commonly use this variation. In naive company, however, or in neighborhood games, the Las Vegas variation may appear too expert or professional, and the shielding may appear to be done for questionable purposes. (Which it is!) Against such opponents, the regular false riffle and riffle stack may be preferable because their maneuvers appear more amateurish, open, and natural.
The intermediate-stacking variation is an abbreviated, faster version of the Las Vegas variation used for both false riffling and stacking. In both variations, the cards are culled along their sides as shown in Figure 20. But instead of placing the two deck halves flat on the table for riffling, the dealer holds the cards in his hands above the table and riffles them at an angle as shown in Figure 22. Otherwise, the stacking movements are the same as in the Las Vegas variation. And after the riffle shuffle by either variation, the deck halves are pushed together and squared with the palms of both hands.
While the shielding is less than in the Las Vegas variation, the advantage of the intermediate variation is its increased speed for culling and stacking cards. With a dozen or so hours of practice, rapid culling and stacking can be executed by using the intermediate variation. The action is fast, but remember that the sides of the deck must be smoothly squared after each riffle so the thumbs can effectively control individual cards when culling and stacking. Some Neocheaters prefer this variation, especially for stacking high pairs in stud or hold'em. And, of course, casino dealers who collusion cheat almost always use one of the two variations when manipulating or peeking at the cards.
Combination stacking involves switching from one technique to another while stacking the deck. For example, if someone discards two pair, you can get them to the bottom in one overhand shuffle, stack them with the undercut, and then riffle cull another matching card to the top of the already stacked cards. Next, you can use either the riffle stack or an overhand blind shuffle to add the required number of cards to properly position that fifth card into the stack. Then, after a false cut or foiling your opponent's cut, you will automatically deal yourself a pat full house.
Or, if you have managed to stack an ace, deuce, and trey for lowball from the discards, you can riffle cull a four and a five or a joker in two consecutive riffle shuffles and use the overhand stack to position those two final cards so your stack will provide you with a pat wheel.
The stacking combinations are limitless. But even if you can perform nothing more than the preliminary stacking techniques described in Chapter III plus the blind shuffle, the false riffle, and the false cut described in Chapter IV, you will possess formidable power for draining money from almost any game or opponent.
Any simple culling or stacking technique that applies to stud poker, applies nicely to blackjack. The requirements for blackjack -- an ace with any picture card or ten -- are simple to stack. Blackjack is, in fact, the easiest card game to stack. Remember to add one extra card to your stack for "burying" or "burning" (discarding the top card or placing the top card of the deck face up on the bottom of the deck before dealing).
A technique for dealing grand slams in bridge is described in Chapter VIII. The technique involves a unique false riffle (called the Complete False Riffle, also known as the Pull-Through) that is used in poker and other card games as well as in bridge. During that riffle, every card of the deck is kept intact while seemingly being shuffled with complete thoroughness.
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[ 19 ] As identified in Chapter XI, the Neocheater can easily, but will seldom, stack himself powerful, sure-thing hands. He makes much more money over the long term by creating more modest but consistent advantages that do not arouse suspicions or resentments
[ 20 ] A moment before you jut the break-card, you may need to square the stacked cards in your left hand by quickly tapping the rear of those cards with your right little finger.
[ 21 ] If during the culling, the four jacks end above the four kings, the dealer reverses their order by simply overhand shuffling those eight cards one by one off the top, then pulling off one more card, jutting it, and blind shuffling to leave those eight cards back on top with his four kings now above his victim's four jacks
[ 22 ] To deal the four queens to the second (instead of the third) player on his left, the dealer pulls off the top and bottom cards plus three extra cards for the first half of the stacking maneuver; he then pulls off the top and bottom cards with no extra cards to complete the stacking for the first round of dealing. After all the cards are stacked, he pulls off only a break-card for blind shuffling. Now, if the victim is the fourth player from his left, the dealer pulls off one extra card for the first step of the maneuver and two extra cards for the second step. The formula for figuring the extra cards pulled off for step one is: [# of players] - [# of players from dealer's left + 2]. And for step two: [# of players] - [# of extra cards in step one + 4].
Realizing that cards pulled from the deck during stacking are in reverse order than when they are dealt will help you visualize exactly how the undercut works. ... And do not fret if the mathematics of stacking seem complicated. It is simple arithmetic. When practicing the stacking maneuvers, continually try different combinations for various numbers of players in various positions and the arithmetic of stacking will quickly become routine.
[ 23 ] Table 3 on page 81 shows the number of cards involved in culling and stacking various hands according to the number of players in the game. As Table 3 indicates, when stacking more than three cards in games with over six players, the stack becomes rather unwieldy for convenient manipulation.
[ 24 ] When riffle culling a partially stacked deck, the dealer must consciously protect that stacked portion by not culling a card too high in the deck. He must also protect his stack when false riffling the deck halves together.
[ 25 ] While interlacing the cards, hold the two deck portions in a sharp V formation in order to see the value of the cards flash at their outer corners as they riffle from the right thumb. Or still better, whenever you want to read the cards, reverse the parting procedure so the left hand removes the top portion of the deck containing the stack. Then the stack win be riffled by the left thumb with the corner designs directly facing you. From that position, the values of the cards are more visible, easier to read, and can be flashed with less suspicion.
[ 26 ] Whenever possible, arrange for your left hand and thumb to riffle cards to be glanced at and memorized. When riffled from the left hand, the designs on the card corners are on the inside facing the dealer and are, therefore, easier to see and read. If riffled from the right thumb, you must position the two deck halves in a V formation in order to see the card designs flashing by on the outside corners.
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