Updated on May 29, 2025
While society may be progressing towards tolerance and inclusivity, there are still many unscrupulous players around. You may encounter some of them at the poker tables from time to time.
It’s not as if you’re likely to encounter comic book villains like the Joker or Thanos at the poker table. Fortunately, card venues are skilled at identifying and dealing with known cheaters, which reduces the chances of these notorious figures lingering for too long.
Sadly, a strong desire to win can sometimes unveil the darker side of players, leading them to manipulate the game rules for an unfair edge.
Today, we’ll review the poker term In exploring the concept of angle shooting, it’s essential to understand its implications and how to steer clear of it.
What Exactly Is Angle Shoot Poker?
Angle shooting involves intentionally misguiding or deceiving your opponents through sly or dishonest means.
For instance, imagine you hold a pair of aces, go all-in, and casually declare, 'I haven’t even seen my cards, let’s just gamble.'.
The intent of this angle shooter is to mislead your opponent into accepting a bet based on false pretenses. Many players are inclined to take risks to spice up a prolonged game.
Your apparent lack of awareness while going all-in might encourage them to take the plunge, believing it to be a fair and entertaining scenario. However, your angle shoot threatens to skew those odds.
Some may argue that this tactic resembles another form of bluffing, but regular players would take exception. For them, genuine bluffs are marked by clever betting strategies rather than deceptive statements. poker cheat sheet The difference is stark— a well-thought-out bluff earns respect, whereas an angle shoot garners disdain.
Although angle shooting may not explicitly violate the rules, it is considered underhanded and contradicts the surprisingly honorable code of conduct that governs poker play. poker bluff Players have crafted various inventive techniques when it comes to angle shoot poker.
Common tactics include the following:
What Does Angle Shooting Look Like?
Concealing significant chips behind smaller ones to alter the perception of your stack, thereby influencing your
Making a motion as if you intend to call to assess your opponent’s attitude.
- Deliberately acting out of turn to confuse or manipulate your rival. poker chips value , look smaller.
- Promising to reveal your cards if they fold but failing to do so.
- Feigning an accidental declaration of a stronger hand than the one you actually possess during a showdown.
- It's important to note that angle shooting pertains specifically to a player's physical actions. While tactics like slow playing, bluffing, or downplaying your hand can also mislead, they do not classify as angle shoots since they are integral to the game.
- There are primarily two types of individuals likely to engage in angle shoot poker:
The first group is the inexperienced players or poker novices. They might not yet grasp the nuances of poker etiquette, potentially leading to unintentional angle shooting. For instance, they might attempt to call a bet but reassess their decision, not realizing that such a motion could mislead others. poker games .
Who Uses Angle Shooting?
Similarly, they might try to shield a short stack due to embarrassment, not realizing that such behavior contradicts established rules.
Poker Muggles:
The second type of angle shooter is what one might call a Del Boy. This character embodies a disreputable, self-serving individual primarily focused on winning at any cost. Much like an old electricity meter manipulated with a magnet, their integrity is questionable.
Del Boys show little regard for etiquette or fair play, navigating the blurred lines between honorable players and blatant rule-breakers.
Del Boys:
While angle shooting often characterizes Del Boy behavior, the pull of desperation can compel even the most respectable individuals to engage in such tactics. You might be surprised to see whom angle shooting could involve.
Because the distinction between angle shooting and an honest mistake hinges on the intent behind the actions, addressing isolated angle shooting incidents can present challenges. After all, deciphering someone's motivations can be difficult, so what appears to be angle shooting might genuinely be an honest mistake—especially for newer players or those not fully engaged.
This situation poses a dilemma for card rooms. poker hand at the tables.
Dealing with Angle Shooting
While eliminating cheating is crucial for upholding game integrity, penalizing players for unintentional errors can jeopardize their relationship with poker, dissuading them from the game and affecting the broader poker community.
Consequently, card rooms employ a rational approach when they suspect angle shooting. If the player appears inexperienced, they may opt to issue a warning and overlook the incident.
However, for those who repeatedly engage in angle shooting, consequences can range from temporary suspensions to outright bans.
Many angle shooters claim to be merely attempting to assess their opponents, but the distinction between angle shoots and legitimate poker reads is significant.
A good way to illustrate this difference is by observing how a player interacts with their chips when faced with a river bet:
Common Misconceptions
You're fully entitled to calculate your chips during a hand, so observing how your opponent reacts to this action serves as a valid way to gain insight.
Recognizing that you have yet to make a decision keeps the hand in play, placing the onus on your opponent to maintain their composure.
- If you manage to accurately interpret their responses to your chip movements, consider it a successful read—take the pot!
- Conversely, hastily grabbing a stack of chips and pushing them toward the betting line in order to gauge your opponent's reaction constitutes an angle shoot known as a pump-fake in poker settings. Your gesture leads your opponent to believe a decision has been made and the hand is concluded, prompting them to disclose information they might have withheld otherwise.
- The deceitful motive underlying the pump-fake renders it an angle shoot, which is why most casinos now classify any 'forward motion' as a call.
Most poker players consider angle shooting to be a form of cheating. poker lingo How Can You Safeguard Yourself from Angle Shooters?
Both casinos and players prioritize the integrity of poker, making suspicions of angle shooting a matter of importance. Should you feel that something isn’t right, consider taking one of the following two steps:
Request the dealer to summon the floor manager.
What do you think?
Alternatively, approach them calmly yourself if you prefer to keep things discreet.
When dealing with angle shooting, there’s no notion of ‘Snitches get stitches!’ Most serious poker players view angle shooting as cheating, meaning that fellow players are likely to support you if someone tries to pull a fast one.
- Angle Shoot Poker Quiz (Scroll down for answers):
- 1: The primary aim of angle shooting in poker is to deceive or mislead your opponent.
2: Concealing larger chips behind smaller ones to create the illusion of a smaller stack serves as an example of angle shooting.
3: Most poker players do not consider angle shooting as a fun aspect of the game.
4: Bluffing is generally seen as legitimate, while angle shooting is regarded as manipulative and contrary to poker etiquette.
6: Repeat offenders of angle shooting may face bans from card rooms, sometimes permanently.
7: Attempting to bluff with a weak hand qualifies as an example of angle shooting.
8: Not all angle shooters are novices; experienced players can engage in angle shooting as well.
5: You can only angle shoot on the river.
9: Card rooms tend to employ common sense when determining whether an action was an inadvertent error or an angle shoot.
10: Pump-faking is generally viewed as a form of tactics rather than a legitimate method for obtaining a poker read.
Dan O'Callaghan is a professional poker player who began his career in online poker under the name danshreddies, accumulating over $290,000 in online earnings.
So, what is angle shoot poker all about?
Steps to Safeguard Yourself Against Angle Shooters.
Poker Quiz Answers
1: True
2: True
3: False
4: True
5: False
6: True
7: False
8: False
9: True
10: False
See Also