CARD SWINDLES

Evening Star, Issue 15914, 21 September 1915, Page 4

CARD SWINDLES

HOW GAMBLERS ARE CHEATED. Some of the many tricks practised bv sharpers at secret West End (London’) gambling dubs were explained recently by n' P‘ 1VK * Levant, of St, George’s Hall. He first mad© it clear that in baccarat £ c Tf ;, wh .® re cards are dealt from a 01lp ’ the . chances of being hundred are mimnnsed, unless thi keepers of the house are in the conspiracy , * .sSL dub may be perfectly stiaignt, said Mr Devant to an ‘Express representative, “but I say this: that in the bands of an able card-sharper tiie ordinary player is absolutely helpless. And I myself am as incapable of detectmg the swindle as a player who has no knowledge whatever of the manipulation, the public give the conjurer credit for some mystic powers that they believe he can break a .brand-new pack of cards and immediately deal himself a nap hand. He cannot; but after playing a few rounds, nJien lie knows where the cards are lying he can do an immensity to correct the chances of fortune. —Two Classes.—. Aon might divide card swindles into two classes: “Where the sharper uses his own cards. (i Where he uses new ones. Lie Conner they are, of course, prepared. Many people imagine that to see the. new pack broken out of its after before then- eyes is a protection against fiaud, but what can be easier than to steam open the coyer beforehand, mark the cards, and seal them up again. A little paste only stands between the vie-* tim and the min. “ Marked cards are printed specially for the purpose. They are openly sold by American firms, and advertised as ‘artists’ materials They are expensive to buy. iho back of cadi cai’d is printed from a different plate. The marking is done in the shading of the scroll work on the back, and this is read by the sharper as easily as the front, although the pack may be examined minutely by the average player The cards may not even be marked ; they may be stocked—arranged in a known order— and scaled up again. There are, of course, still the shuflie and the cut to contend' with, but both these can be dodged. There are several false shuffles—invisible—and the cards can be bout in the middle, and so made to cut at a certain place. Or a confederate may cut them. A card-sharper’s finger-tips are so delicate that ho can cub at wall any number of cards from the top. —Dexterity.— In the second class—where the sharper uses strange cards—he must rely on manipulation or on mechanical devices, -the expert trusts to the former, for this obvious reason—that it is safe. It leaves no proof behind it.

It A-ould be surprising if card scandals were often shown up. What evidence can there oe? The expert cannot detect the manipulation; there is nothing on. the cards, and no apparatus is found on the sharper. In games where the same' pack is used over and over again, the sharper works very largely by pure handwork. He notes the position of the cards as they lie on the table after being played with, and keeps his eye on them when they are bemg dealt ior the i#ert round. It is nob the quickness of the hand that deceives eye, bub the coolness of the head. Sliarpers have most elaborate formula! tor remembering where the cards are placed, and arranging them in the pack before dealing. They may he beaten temporarily by the victim, owing bo some oversight, especially when playing shieldhanded, but with a confederate the thiijir is a certainty. A favorite trick is to keep the chosen cards at the top or bottom of the pack, and to use the ‘cull shuffle’ to sandwich them between lower cards {which are to be dealt to the victim or victims.) —Dealing Devices.— Dealing seconds ’ is another pooular swindle; instead of dealing the top "card oft the pack, the sharper deals the second and keeps the top card for himself. This can be made quite invisible. So can ‘ bottom dealing ’ —dealing from the bottom of (lie pack, although in this there is a slight difference in the sound from dealing the top card. These two sleights are the great standby of the swindler who relies upon manipulation. “‘Palming’ if of doubtful value. It is easy when bolding the pack in the hand, but to palm cards off a pack lying on the table would excite suspicion, and if the sharper’s .hand were seized and examined his career would be at an end. So far from new cards being a protection, they are actually a help to fraud, as they are clean, and slip easily, and don’t stick. “ I never show these tricks on the stage myself; indeed, I rarely do card tricks of any kind. They cannot bg seen at a distance, and are not sufficiently spectacular. Wo had a reformed card-sharper on the stage at St. George’s Hall, who played with members of the audience, and always won; but his methods are still a secret, as he never published them.”