1. Pokerstars Ratholing
2. Ratholing In Poker
3. Ratholing Poker
4. Ratholing In Poker

Gamblers have tried a number of advantage play techniques to beat the house over the years. Some of these efforts prove fruitful (e.g., blackjack card counting), while others aren’t so helpful (e.g., baccarat card counting).

You want to thoroughly evaluate any type of advantage gambling before employing it in the casino. After all, who wants to waste time and money with a failed technique?

Ratholing is a proposed strategy that can help you beat the casino. But does it actually work, or is it just another version of baccarat card counting?

Find out as I cover the basics of ratholing, how to use it, and if there are any downsides to this technique.

Ratholing is one of the easiest forms of advantage play in existence. Unlike card counting, hole carding, or shuffle tracking, it doesn’t require learning any extensive system.

Simply put, ratholing is the process of discreetly removing chips from the table. The goal is to take chips away from your stack without the dealer or any other casino staff noticing.

This technique can be used in poker or blackjack. But this discussion will revolve around blackjack, given that I’m covering how to beat the house — not other poker players.

At first, you might wonder exactly how this could help you beat the casino. Hiding chips seems more like an immature game rather than something that can give you an edge.

The idea behind ratholing is to deceive the casino into thinking that you don’t have many chips. As you’ll see below, this trick can help you win profits or just earn more comps from the casino.

One more thing worth mentioning is that ratholing isn’t against the casino rules. You have the right to pocket your own chips at any time.

How to Use Ratholing to Win Profits

What is Ratholing in Poker? Ratholing is the act of cashing out chips from a cash game table then rebuying with a smaller amount of chips. It is considered unethical behaviour, and against the rules in many cash games. Interestingly,ratholing confers no specific advantage to the ratholer and no disadvantage to the other players at the table.

• Ratholing can be practiced at online casinos too. It may seem that it is easier done when playing online Blackjack games, but the fact is that reputable casino sites apply rules that prevent such behaviour. They may force players who leave a table with a portion of winnings to place the same bets if they return within a set time limit.
• You really need to do something about ratholing in poker. Ratholing is when short stacks come to the table, double up, leave, and instantly come back and buy in for the minimum again. There needs to be a period of time after you leave the table when you come back to the same table you have to buy in.

Ratholing in itself doesn’t give you an edge over casinos. Instead, it’s used to help ensure that you can keep winning profits without being detected.

As you may know, casinos don’t exactly roll out the red carpet for advantage gamblers. The house expects to have an edge in every situation.

Pro players don’t get beaten up by security in back rooms like the movie 21 suggests, but they can get escorted out or even banned from an entire casino chain for consistently winning.

Ratholing helps create the perception that you’re not a big winner. Staff members are less likely to scrutinize your play when you don’t have $60,000 worth of chips sitting out in front.

The goal is to put chips in your pockets without anybody noticing. When done expertly, nobody will be the wiser when you’re winning big profits.

The dealer may have the notion that you’re consistently winning. But one glance at your chip stack can dissuade these thoughts, especially if they don’t catch you ratholing.

Of course, most dealers aren’t obsessed with catching advantage gamblers. They don’t typically care if you’re winning as long as you tip regularly and aren’t blatantly cheating.

It’s the floor supervisors and pit bosses that you really need to fool. They’re the ones who’ll sweat your play when you’re winning big.

However, these same employees don’t have time to watch you 24/7. Pit bosses and supervisors have other table games to monitor as well.

Ratholing can work because they’re not around to track the progress of your wins. They may only stop by your table once every hour, allowing you to covertly reduce your chip stack without them noticing.

Of course, proper ratholing is a science that involves a few intricacies. Below are some additional thoughts you want to keep in mind when using this technique.

Again, ratholing by itself doesn’t give you an edge over the house. All it does is help disguise your skills.

To make profits, you need to actually be using advantage play. Card counting, hole carding, ace sequencing, and shuffle tracking all help you win long-term profits.

I’ll mostly be discussing card counting, considering that it’s the easiest and most famous strategy of the lot. Of course, this isn’t to say that counting cards is easy.

You need to keep an accurate count, know when to spread bets, and look for beatable games (discussed next). Counting only becomes harder when you introduce ratholing into the equation.

Even still, it’s worth combining ratholing with skilled play. It allows you to mask when you’re up big against the house by concealing your winnings.

You can technically use this strategy at any blackjack table. However, ratholing won’t do you much good if a table doesn’t offer beatable conditions.

Card counters must be able to spread bets widely during favorable counts. Ideally, you’ll use a 1-15 spread, or at least 1-10, in a six- or eight-deck game.

Pokerstars Ratholing

You can still beat a double-deck game with a 1-8 spread. In any case, you must be able to spread your wagers to a fair degree without drawing scrutiny.

The exact casino where you’re counting plays a big role in this. Looking at Las Vegas, El Cortez is well known for heavily sweating winning players.

You’ll especially draw attention when playing with green chips ($25). You’ll have more difficulty counting cards for an extended period in a low-end Vegas casino like El Cortez.

Of course, you can still count at low-end establishments thanks to ratholing. You just have to be more careful with bet spreads, especially when using larger chip denominations.

Meanwhile, a lavish casino like the Bellagio won’t pay much attention to you as a green-chip player. They’re more concerned with potential counters who are using black chips ($100).

The difficulty is in finding a game with favorable rules (e.g., 3:2 blackjack payouts) at the Bellagio. But if you can find a good table, then you’ll be able to count with less scrutiny.

I discussed ratholing green chips above. This is the optimal denomination to rathole because it draws less scrutiny than blackjack chips.

You can still take $100 chips off the table too. However, you need the perfect conditions (covered next) to do so every time.

Casinos watch players who use black chips more than anybody else. It’s always better to rathole with fewer eyes on you.

You don’t want to just start pulling chips off the table at any point. Instead, you need to use this technique at the perfect moments.

The best time to rathole is when the dealer is busy and the pit boss and floor supervisors aren’t around.

Regarding the dealer, you can wait until they’re making payouts to players on the other side of the table. Shift changes present another opportune time to pocket some chips.

Ratholing can be as basic or complicated as you’d like. In its simplest form, you simply swipe chips and discreetly pocket them when (hopefully) nobody is looking.

But you might want to develop more advanced techniques to do a better job of masking your ratholing.

Palming chips and eventually letting them drop into your sleeve is one example. You can shimmy the chips further down your shirt/jacket arm and pocket them later during a restroom break.

You may develop even more covert ways to rathole than this. While you’re at the table, try thinking of different methods for future reference.

Ratholing to Earn More Comps

The most profitable way to rathole is in combination with advantage play. However, you can also use this technique to simply earn more rewards.

Casinos often comp players more when they’ve suffered major losses. If you start with a huge chip stack and have little at the end of the night, the pit boss may reward you better than your play rate suggests.

The same tips covered above still apply. You don’t want the casino to catch you ratholing — otherwise, they may not trust you and offer even less comps as a result.

Ratholing for rewards isn’t the most lucrative venture. You have to put in a lot of work just for a few extra dollars in comps.

However, you may have some fun in the process. Moreover, ratholing for comps can be good practice if you ever intend to use it in conjunction with advantage gambling.

I’ve discussed the benefits of ratholing. It’s a great way to hide your advantage play, and it can even be used to net you more comps.

Of course, advantage gamblers benefit the most from ratholing. You’re less likely to draw heat because the casino staff won’t think that you’re winning.

The problem, though, is that you need to rathole in the proper manner. One slipup can expose your skills, or at least draw heavy attention to your play.

Another dilemma is that you won’t always know when the casino has noticed your ratholing. You may continue doing it and further expose your advantage play.

Nevertheless, ratholing can be pulled off under the right circumstances. You want to find opportune times, such as a shift change or any point when the dealer is generally distracted.

You should also work on your palming technique and think of inventive ways to pocket chips. I suggest ratholing for comps to practice because the stakes are lower in this situation.

Above all, you need to become skilled enough at an advantage gambling technique to make money. You’re not going to earn any profits with ratholing alone.

But the latter is good to work into your advantage play. Ratholing can buy you more time to play with an edge because the casino will be less likely to suspect somebody with few chips.

This post is meant to help low and moderate-stakes players. High-stakes players have to deal with other issues when contemplating ratholing. Advantage players and casinos use the term ratholing to describe players who take chips off the table.

There is nothing illegal when a player removes chips from the table. The practice of putting chips in your pocket is quite common among players. Ploppies who rathole chips do so in hopes of leaving the table a winner. What is more likely is ploppies will start to lose and then have to bring the ratholed chips back onto the table and eventually into the chip tray. Advantage players’ ratholed chips will usually find their way to the cashier's cage. That’s the difference between ploppies who rathole and advantage players who rathole.

Ratholing chips for an advantage player can be a winning strategy if it is done in a way that is not detected by the pit or surveillance. The problem with this play is the advantage player does not know when the move is successful. The player may think he/she was able to hide chips but was detected by surveillance, the dealer or the pit. While ratholing chips can be a winning strategy, it also can be a warning sign to the casino that they have an advantage player at the table. Ratholing in itself will probably not bring a backoff, but combined with other advantage plays that are detected by the pit or surveillance, could lead to a backoff. It is for this reason an advantage player should have a ratholing strategy as part of his/her advantage play. Where, when, how and why should be part of that strategy.

Where to rathole? This depends on your bet level and the casino. As an example, we will take a look at four casinos in Las Vegas: Mirage, Bellagio, SouthPoint and the El Cortez. Our game will be double deck using a 1-8 spread with green chips. Our sessions will be for 40 minutes. During a 40 minute play, it is unlikely your cash out will be more than a couple of thousand dollars. The Mirage cage will probably not give you a second look; $2000 is chump change to the Mirage. Your play with a 1-8 spread at green chip is unlikely to draw much attention from the pit. The only time you might have some concern from the pit would be in heads-up play, but during a busy night and with other players playing higher stakes, you should not need to rathole any chips.

If you can find green chip play at Bellagio, they will not pay any attention to you. Ratholing chips here is unnecessary. At the green chip level, you can play longer with less cover. When playing green chips at the high-end casinos, ratholing can do you more harm than good. While it is a move many players make, it can still draw attention to you.

Let's move down from the high-end casinos to a mid-level casino like SouthPoint. The first thing your scouting trip will discover is Southpoint sweats all action, red, green, black, etc. Knowing this information before you sit down for a session gives you some knowledge of how you should play. A player's green action is going to draw attention from the pit and surveillance. Any winnings will bring more attention. Keeping winnings off the table is a good strategy. You can do this through an effective rathole strategy. A $2000 win at Southpoint will cause pain for them. This is true at most mid-level casinos. These casinos are the best casinos for players to disguise their play with ratholing.

Ratholing In Poker

The El Cortez is a low-end casino. All low-end casinos sweat green action and higher. A player will be under constant scrutiny by the pit and surveillance when playing green or higher. Ratholing chips is an excellent way of extending your playing time if you can rathole without their knowledge. The El Cortez will sweat a $500 payout. All downtown casinos in Las Vegas, with the exception of the Golden Nugget, are low-end casinos.

Where to rathole should be part of your strategy. Red and green chip players should rathole at mid and low-level casinos and not worry about ratholing at the higher-end casinos.

When to rathole? A player should make the attempt when the dealer and the pit is distracted. Several instances might be: A dealer is paying off another player, the pit is doing paperwork or verifying a payout on another table. Any time the dealer or the pit is distracted is when an advantage player should make this play. Getting chips off the table just before a dealer change or during a shift change with a dealer or the pit is another good time to rathole. Always look for any confusion to get your chips off the table.

Most players, when ratholing chips, try to rathole black chips. This chip is the chip the pit tracks closer than any other. Ratholing green chips is more likely to go unnoticed. Ratholing black chips can be successful if you have a strategy in place that will confuse the pit on the black chip count. For example, a new player comes into the game and loses or exchanges black chips for a different color. A player is given black chips just before a dealer change and the pit does not walk over and verify the black chip count. The new dealer may not know how many black chips the old dealer gave out. They may credit your chips to the other player if you have yours off the table.

How to rathole? All that is needed is your imagination to get chips off the table. There are dozens of ways to accomplish this strategy. I am not going to mention all of the ones I use, but I will give some examples of ways to remove chips from the table and not be detected. A very easy way to remove one chip is when the pit boss gives you your player's card back; leave it lying on the table. During a moment of distraction, slip one chip underneath the player's card; then during the next distraction, put the card in your pocket, along with the chip underneath. You can do this move several times by just bringing your player's card back out of your pocket. If you need an excuse to put your player's cards back on the table, one is when a new dealer comes in tell them you are not sure you gave the pit your card. Ask for a comp and leave the card on the table. I've made this play often in a session.

Another way is to learn how to palm chips in your hand. Ask for a cup of black coffee. They always give it to you in a styrofoam cup. Stand up and turn away from the table. Take a sip of black coffee why you're doing this drop the chips you have palmed into the coffee cup. Then just go to the restroom and take the chips out of the coffee cup. Do a sleight-of-hand when you cash out, stand up and push your stacks toward the dealer with your right hand while at the same time drop chips into your left pants pocket. Pushing chips with your right hand may be just enough distraction to cover up the move you're making with your left hand. Have your wife, girlfriend, etc. approach the table during a dealer change and ask you for some playing money. The pit and dealer may miss your donation.

It is possible ratholing could be a complete waste of time and accomplishes nothing. This is one of the unknowns in advantage play. It is difficult to verify if these techniques are successful.

The one way you do not want to rathole is on the table. I've seen players stack black chips on the bottom with green chips next and red chips on the very top in very neatly arranged stacks. This is a dead giveaway to the pit. I've also seen players try to rathole chips on the bottom of their bet with a couple of green, and then a bunch of red. This also is a tell.

Why rathole? Ratholing is a way to confuse the casino's records of your play. Advantage players want the casino to believe they are losing money. Ratholing chips when and if it works, is a way to look like a losing ploppy. When you're playing unrated the casino should not have any record of your play. Ratholing chips for an advantage player can be a winning strategy if it is done in a way that is not detected by the pit or surveillance. Ratholing, when playing unrated may buy you a little time before the eventual backoff. (See also: LV Bear’s Guide to Minimizing Risk of Personal Injury During Casino Backoffs and Barrings)

When you are scouting a casino for future play. Ratholing is one of the things you want to consider. Knowing when to rathole and when it does not make a difference is an advantage play. Having a strategy of where, when, how and why should be a part of an advantage player’s strategy.

Ratholing Poker

Ratholing In Poker

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