Depending on how professional a cheat is, cards can be marked as outright obvious, noticeable up close, or not noticeable at all.

In many cases, these cards will need to have been obtained by the cheat prior to play, which means that it is the cheat's deck, or the cheat had sufficient time and privacy with the deck beforehand. There are ways, however, to mark cards during play. Markings typically do not penetrate the entire cross-section of the card, as this would allow light to peer through and this would be noticed by the card's holder.

Markings, therefore, consist of small cosmetic alterations to the backsides of cards. This includes surface scratches, a bend in the corner, or a minute change in design.

The cheat will mark cards as it helps the cheat's game. In other words, high cards will certainly be marked for generic gameplay, or game-specific cards (such as high Spades for when High Chicago is played, or Two's for the cheat to call Deuces Wild when dealing).

Shading: The cheat using a very fine ink to manipulate the design on the card of certain cards. The mark is too small to be noticed by anybody not specifically looking it, but to do so requires minute precision.

Daubing: This techniques requires a special ink in the form of a small dauber and special sunglasses. At an opportune time, the cheat daubs the back of a card with the ink. This special ink is invisible to the naked eye, but clearly visible through the special sunglasses. This type of paraphernalia is available at novelty or magic stores.

Corner Crimp: The cheat who is holding the deck peeks at the top card of the deck or glances at the bottom card of the deck. The cheat then slides this card slightly away from the rest of the deck and bends the corner of the card slightly with his thumb or index finger. This physical marking can later be spotted by the cheat, who will remember the card. A more complex corner crimping involves shuffling all Aces, for example, to the bottom of the deck and crimping all four of them.

Thumbnailing: The cheat who is holding the deck peeks at the top card, and then subtly drives the sharpened nail of his or her thumb into the back of that card. It may then remain unnoticed to the untrained eye for the remainder of the playing session.