Angle Shooting

Understanding Angle Shooting
Angle shooting is a tactic that walks the fine line between cheating and gamesmanship. Angle Shooting is a controversial tactic often used where a player attempts to bend the rules to gain an advantage. It's not explicitly cheating but is generally as unethical or unsportsmanlike behavior in the poker community

Many angle shoots are illegal according to the poker rule book, but others are more against the unwritten etiquette of the game. The definition of an angle shoot is also fairly fluid, as some people may disagree on what is and isn’t an angle shoot. Some common examples are:

Slow Rolling
One common example of angle shooting is the "slow roll." A player with a winning hand delays revealing their cards in order to create a false sense of hope in their opponent. This can unsettle opponents and lead to them making poor decisions in future hands.

Hiding Big Denomination Chips
Hiding big denomination chips behind the lower-value stacks the angle shooter fools their opponents into believing they have fewer chips than they actually have, which can significantly impact someone’s strategy.

Pump Fake
This is when a player will pick up a stack of chips and move them forward while holding them in their hand seemingly announcing a bet or a raise. At the last moment, they’ll pull the stack back and put it down with the rest of their chips. The same can be done by fake folding, the angle shooter may pick up their cards and pump fake them, making it look like they are about to fold to see if their opponent reacts to it.

Mis-Declaring A Hand
Once all the bets are in and there is no action left, it’s time for cards to speak. However, some players like to do the actual speaking before letting their cards do it, and they do it to get you to muck your hand.

String Betting
String betting is an angle where someone bets in multiple motions. For example, a player throws $25 in the betting area and then an additional $50 after the initial $25 hits the felt. The player in this case is faking their bet amount to get additional information as to their opponent’s willingness to call.