Poker is a great game with many honorable players, but when there is a lot of money on the lie, it usually also attracts some fishy characters looking to bend the rules and take advantage of any loophole they can find. This article looks at one such option called chip dumping.
Unlike the other poker cheating methods, chip dumping is somewhat more obscure and difficult to detect but is a clear violation of the rules of the game, especially in tournament poker.
If you want to find out more about chip dumping, how to detect it, and what you can do about it, keep reading and get all the insight you will need on this topic.
What Is Chip Dumping in Poker?
The term chip dumping refers to the act of purposefully transferring your chips to another player within the game. While this may seem silly at first mention, and it may sound like something that does not benefit the cheater, there are many ways in which it can.
In tournament poker especially, chip dumping can be used by players to ensure that their cheating partners survive in a tournament and make money.
If one player sits on a big stack, he can continue to transfer chips to another player and keep them in the tournament, thus ensuring that both make a profit in the game.
There are many other reasons to dump chips, from abuse of poker room promotions to money laundering. In either case, chip dumping is prohibited by the rules of the game, but the real question is how to be sure someone is chip dumping and how to put a stop to it.
In order to find that out, let’s first go into the differences between tournament and cash game chip dumping and the methods employed by the cheaters.
Chip Dumping in Tournament Poker
Chip dumping is most present in poker tournaments, where players look to gain advantage by playing as “a team” and transferring chips from one stack to another to ensure their survival.
In most cases, one player with a big stack will open the pot with a big raise or 3-bet after their partner opens for a raise.
Once the two are left alone in the pot, they can manipulate things by making bets until the river. On the river, the big stack will fold their cards, whatever they may be, allowing the short stack to chip up.
If done correctly, chip dumping in tournaments can be very hard to spot, especially if you don’t know the players involved.
However, some players who are inexperienced with chip dumping or think there is no issue with it will dump chips at showdown and actually show that they made a big call on the river with no hand.
In a live tournament environment, you should try to be aware of which players at your table seem friendly with each other and spot any attempts at chip dumping.
If you spot chip dumping, you should report it to the tournament staff. They will issue the required penalties to players engaging in such activities, which can lead to disqualification from the tournament.
In online poker, chip dumping also happens quite a bit in tournament poker and can be even harder to spot due to the large number of players. On top of that, there is also a risk of ghosting being involved when as well, so you should always be aware of what’s happening at the tables and play with full concentration.
Once again, if you spot someone engaging in potential chip dumping, make sure to report it to the site. They may be able to sanction the players if they engage in it often.
Chip Dumping in Cash Game Poker
Chip dumping in cash game poker is a lot less common, and in most cases, it does not affect you as a player too much.
Since cash game chips have real cash value, and busting players from the game is not a concern, most cash game chip dumping will not hurt you in a significant way.
However, chip dumping is not allowed at cash game tables either, and poker rooms frown upon players transferring chips to other players at the table for any reason.
For example, playing cash game poker can be a great way to launder money. Once the chips are won by another player and the money is paid out at the cashier, tracing the money back to its root is nearly impossible.
Players sometimes also chip dump at cash game tables because they genuinely like another player and want to transfer some chips to allow them to stay in the game.
From a player’s perspective, this type of chip dumping at the tables is not a real threat. However, you should be aware of players colluding in cash games to take advantage of you in other ways.
Collusion in Cash Games
While traditional chip dumping in cash games usually won’t be a problem for you, there are other methods of collusion that players can use to hurt you.
For example, you may find yourself playing multi-way pots with two players who are friendly with each other.
After you put some chips into the pot, the players both play aggressively, forcing you to fold. As soon as you are out of the picture, the aggression stops, and the players check the hand down.
This kind of collusion can be very difficult to spot and prove, and as long as the players don’t verbalize their involvement, there is very little you can do to stop it.
If you find yourself in a spot where players seem to be colluding in a cash game, you can either quit the game or try to take advantage of that.
For example, you can find some nice spots to trap the colluders and make them think like you are going to fold to their aggression, only to play back at them and force them out of hand after considerable investment.
Chip Dumping for Bonus Abuse
One common reason players dump chips at the cash game tables is for bonus abuse, especially when operators give away free cash game chips that players can play with.
Typically speaking, these chips must be played with to a certain degree before the cash value can be paid out, which means you have to survive in the games for a given number of hands.
On the other hand, if you lose these chips to another player who is playing with real money, they will be able to cash out the money right away.
This kind of chip dumping is sometimes found at sites that offer no-deposit bonus deals to their players, and you will typically only see it happening at the micro stakes.
This chip dumping method will not really hurt your chances of winning, but it can be annoying to see at the tables, so if you do spot it, report it just the same.
Is Chip Dumping Against the Rules of Poker?
Regardless of what anyone tells you, chip dumping is against the official poker rules and is not allowed in any serious poker rooms or casinos.
While chip dumping may be more or less tolerated in some places, it is a serious breach of the rules of poker, and it will incur serious penalties in serious poker events.
In poker tournaments, in particular, you should always be sure to report players who engage in chip dumping, collusion, or soft play.
You should always be aware of what is happening at the table, even if you are not in a hand, and report any chip-dumping attempts at first sight.
This will penalize the players if possible and discourage them from dumping chips in the future, which everyone else at the table will be thankful for.
How Seriously Can Chip Dumping Hurt Me?
Overall, chip dumping is a cheating method that will usually not hurt you as badly as players using RTA, and actually, that can hurt the cheaters more than other players unless executed perfectly.
Players who chip dump in tournaments are often so afraid of busting that you can leverage ICM poker to quite literally run over them, which opens up a way for you to exploit the cheaters.
However, it is disruptive to the game as a whole, and if you spot chip dumping at your table, go ahead and report it to the poker room staff.
While such complaints may sometimes be ignored, other times, penalties will be imposed, and the players will be discouraged from repeating their offenses.
However, it is also important to be aware that chip dumping will happen from time to time. As long as it is not too drastic, you should try not to let it tilt you or take you out of your comfort zone at the table.
