Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-05-17

stJha eauoieF, ne was not man to take many
chances He played cards to win every time
Ii a sand-papered or a beveled or a marked mack
made the winning any easier, then that was the
proper scheme If a mirror could be used to re-
fleet al adversary's hands, a mirror was his best
Trend He knew the delicate ms and outs of q
snapper" roulette table. and understood the
proper handling of ''cod deck Without the
use OF any of these legitimate accessories of his
art. however, he could vanquish nine men out
OF ten at any game above pure cold chance for
he had the eye of hawk. the quickness Of an
electric spark, and the dexterity of-welE of a
''skin" gambler of the most dangerous sort. as
he was. With all this, like many of his kind.
he had the suavity and the capacity for cool
villainv OF Count FOscO All these traits were
not discovered as he rapidly turned the corner
rom Ann street into Park row, of course. They
mad come out gradually in the course Of a years
speaking acquaintance. begun in tie special
sessions court, where the reporter was taking
notes ana the gambler was prisoner, convicted
of swinding.
I've been in one of the gilded palaces of
wee, said the young man, ''and have lust
dropped the remnants of an il-spent fortune
as the story papers say. 'Gilded palaces sounds
wen and looks stunning i'm print When IL comes
down to hard pan the gilt is badly furnished.
All the gilded gambling saloons there are in
New York just now a man might carry in his
watch fob. That's very good stuff to feed coun-
trymen on. but reporter ought to know better
Gidcd! Well, it makes me smile to think of
1t. Thank you, don't care if 1 do, on q cold
night"
Leaning against a polished bar, one foot
raised on the brass railing. the remains of o not
Scotch poised in one hand. the young man con-
tinued the subject. So I'll tell you what sort of
polished den of inquity I've Just been in and
it's fair sample. We played on a table some
thing less than a thousand years old, with
the cover worn full of holes. We sat on three
legged stools on q sanded floor, i'm room whose
windows were boarded up. lighted by three
sickly kerosene lamps That's the kind of
gilded vice we had. Do you know where these
yarns about the elegant rOOras and the princely
lunches come from? Correspondents of country
papers. Wnen sensations are scarce, write up a
description of some great gambling house that
exists only in their minds There ia not a ram
bling house in this city tonight furnished better
than cheap boarding house. Bah, its all bosh.
As TO the lunches, you get them outside and pay
for them. There was time some wears a.rO
when man could make decent living. and
more. out of the cards; but that time is past.
and the business, like Jack REYNOLDS hanging
is played out. There was plenty of money 20,
ing then, and there were plenty of greenhorns.
Now there Is not plenty OF money going, Gas
have good cause to know, and the greenhorns
are Just nowhere Its the rarest thing in the
world to get real fresh haymaker roped in any
more. The game is too well known, like three
card monte. So. in the absence Of lambs. the
wolves nave taken to eating each other They
q
nice and tender-just about 800 worth. But no
matter. that viii board some of the gang for the
next three months. And any man who can
work q saDd-papered card on me earns all he
gets" AO
What Ia a sand-papered card?n
"What is it? III had your innocence com.
bined with my experience, should make a for
tune. Do you know anything about faro? Well
you know the little silver box (silyer humbuo
plated, nine times out OF tenn out Of which the
dealer draws the cards? You must know
enough of 1t to see that If the dealer could draw
out two cards at time without being dis
covered he could change the whole course of
the game. throw everybody off the scent, and
win as much as he chose. Well, it's very easily
done. His box has a little opening lust broad
enough 20 admit the passage of one card at a
time. But get one of the boxes i'm your hand.
hunt about it until you find the proper screw-head
TO press, and see how quick lttielp drops out of
the way and leaves room for two cards to pass.
TINS Is nothing new mind. 1t Is as old as the hills
and only leads on to the and-papered cards Hay.
ing provided himself with such a box. and
most Of the boxes are of this convenient
pattern, the dealer sand-papers his cards.
They are glazed cards. slippery, and he cannot
De sure That two will come out together when
he wants them. So he takes the pack and
divides it into two parts. With a piece of the
finest emery paper he sand-papers very slightly
the backs Of half the pack and the faces of the
other half. You would never notice it. but it
makes them adhesive. and by merely pressing
the cards together he can move two at a time
whenever he pleases. But this is not all. He
takes one-haf the pack. and. with a very sharp
razor or file, bevels the edge at one end. 1t
may be only the thOusandth part of an inch.
but it is enough to allow the dealer to divide
his pack into two sections whenever he
pleases. and, OF course. he knows the contents
Oh each part. Imagine what q chance this
gives the dealer. And this is only one of his
tricks. Shift the cut? You can cut the cards
before his eyes; he will pick them up, and, while
you are watching the pack Just as close as YOU
can, he will shift the cut within 12 inches of
your face. and you can never see it done You
have heard the straightforward men tell about
motion being quicker than sight. It is only a
dodge in their hands, but it is certainly true.
The most wonderful card tricks done by a
prestidigitateur are mere child's tricks COM
pared with what skillful gambler will do with
a pack Of cards. France, England and the
United States furnish nine-tenths OF all the
card-sharpers-what We call the experts This
Is, perhaps, because We have the most perfect
cards IN the world. that can be depended on every
time. The French cards, which are also used If,
England and America. are better made. better
printed, and more reliable than any Others The
BEST cards OF all are made in America but they
are still called French cards. as distinguished
from the Spanish, Chinese and others. The
Spanish earas are ornamented with soldiers,
swords and guns, and are generally rough and
very poorly made. Some Of our best cards in
this country are what we know as Crooked
made by special dealers expressly for profess
siOnais. These are marked cards, and of course.
there's no use of any outsider playing against
them. They cost q little more than the others.
but they are always better made and worth
more money. If you want to make sure thing
Of game Of poker use one of these crooked
packs. But don't get caught at II; 1t might be
dangerous. And you must make I'D YOUR mind
to give the pack at least a week of hard study
before you try to use It, so that you can tell
every mark on the backs as easily as you could
tell the letters of the alphabet"
Then 1t Is actually o fact Is Il, that some
manufacturers make cards with marked backs
for the use Of ganblers?"
"True!" exclaimed the gambler, stirring in
another spoonful of sugar BLESS YOU. didn't
suppose there was anybody in the world was
fresh enough to doubt It! They make them and
sell them, and we use them. II there is any
doubt about it In your mind will show YOU one
OF their catalogues which l happen to have In
my pocket: But, first, look at this pack, which
Is marked by hand"
The gambler produced from an inner pocket
an ordinary pack OF cards. and q search of ten
minutes or more failed to disclose the slightest
mark on the backs that did not belong there.
II was only after the marks had been pointed
ont that they could be found By any Ordinary
observer. The backs were covered with littje