Gambling terms, explained straight

Advantage Play & Game Integrity

Chip dumping poker

A cheating method in poker where a player intentionally loses chips to an accomplice, usually to give that player a better chance of winning.

Type
Collusion
Common in
Online poker and tournament play23
Goal
Consolidate chips with one player to improve the team's chance of finishing first3

Key points

  • One player intentionally makes losing plays to give chips to an accomplice.1
  • In tournaments, the aim is to stack chips with one player so the colluding pair has a better shot at the top prize.3
  • Online poker sites detect chip dumping through betting patterns and may ban accounts involved.4

Where this term is used

Sources

  1. Glossary of poker terms en.wikipedia.org Defines chip dumping as a form of collusion in poker.
  2. Betting in poker en.wikipedia.org Confirms chip dumping occurs in online poker and tournament play.
  3. Ask the Wizard Column 165 Addendum wizardofodds.com Explains the tournament goal of consolidating chips with one player.
  4. Cheating in poker en.wikipedia.org Notes that online poker sites detect and penalise chip dumping.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.