Cold Deck
A cold deck is a deck secretly swapped in to give a player a planned hand; the term is also used for hands that clash and create a cooler.
The simple explanation
In its original meaning, a cold deck is a stacked deck that a cheat swaps for the deck in play. The name comes from the fact that the prepared deck would feel cold, since it had not been handled. Today players also say 'cold deck' when two strong hands meet and one loses. Cheating with a cold deck was a famous con in old poker stories, but modern casino procedures make it very hard.
A closer look
The cheating form is a classic scam: the stacked deck gives the victim a strong hand while the cheat holds a stronger one. The modern use refers to bad luck rather than cheating, and it is usually called a cooler. Some players also use it for a long run of poor cards. Rules such as cutting the deck and using a cut card, and changing decks regularly, make the cheat harder.
A practical example
A player is dealt pocket aces and runs into pocket kings. Everyone at the table says it was a cold deck.
Full explanation
A cold deck is a deck secretly swapped in to give a player a planned hand; the term is also used for hands that clash and create a cooler.
A cold deck is originally a prepared deck that a cheat swaps secretly into the game. It was named cold because it had not warmed up in the players’ hands.
The cheat arranges the cards so that the victim gets a strong hand and the cheat gets a better one. The victim bets heavily and loses a large pot. The trick appears in stories and films such as The Sting.
Today the phrase is also used for hands in which two strong hands clash. Most players call that a cooler. It can also describe a long period of poor cards, though this use is less common.
Casinos use cut cards, more than one deck and careful procedures to make it hard to swap a deck.