The Red Cloud chief., 1882-09-29

of e4ch part Imagine wA2s . 1890
this gives ths dsales.
In any game In which hands are deals
out % the player the ~peofssssoeA ca
and docs hare an imme0se advantage
! BY prsctieing whsi h known - .shsft-
ing the cut" By skilled m~anipnisfioo a
the cards In shuaainx N gets them 90
that he knows Just where CERTAIN cards
In ihs pack ara. The cards are cut,
and this disarranges the ortrr. By
shifting the cus," the cards arc re
stored 20 jnst the order shey we've in be
fore the cu, was made. This operation
can be performed in . way which debes
detection. even though the - exscuf-
ing IL Is closely watched by al sitting ~
the table with him ~ course the deal
or who can practice this trick has N
immense advaniagc. as il enables him
20 keep track OF the cards ~ he hai
originally arranged them in the pack
while shutting.
Poker playing Is exceedingly popular
in Chicago and Is played In hundreds oil
localities besides in the gambling dea:.
Poker rooms in the rear Of many Of the
more ~pretentious saloons and in hoteh
are common. While shifting the cut b
= great assistance TO the dealer In tax.
ing an unfair advantage over An oppo
nent. il sinks into insignifcance by the
side Of the employment Of marked cards
| With these the element Of chance dis
! appears. and any game played with
them il nothing moro nor less than
stealing. those understanding the
marked backs Of the cards being the
thieves. and those who do no, the VIC
tins A very large nnmbcr II these
marked cards are manufactured and
sold.
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 rs close rs you can. he viii shift the
cut within twelve inches Of your face.
and you can never see il done. You
have heard the sleight-of-han men tell
about motion being quicker than sight.
I: Is only n dodge in their hands. but II
is certainly true. The most wonderful
csrd tricks done by o PrestiiigJtateuI
ale mere child's tricks comparssi with
what q skillful gambler will do with o
pack Of cards France. England and
the United States furnish nine-tenths al
all the card sharpers-what We call the
experts. This is. perhaps. because we
have the most perfect cardsin the world.
that car be depended on every time.
The French cards, which are also used
in England and America, are better
made, better printed and more reliable
than any others. The best cards VI all
ARE made in America. but they are still
called French cards. as distinguished
from the Spanish. Chinese and others.
The Spanish cards are ornamented with
soldiers. swords and guns. and are gen
orally 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 pro:es
SIGNALS. These are marked cards. and.
Of course. there's no use Of ans outsider
playing against them. They cost little
more than the others, but they are nj.
ways better made and worth moe
money.
The marking. indicating both the size
or Importance Of the card rs well as the
suit 10 which it belongs. is generally in
the upper left hand corner Of the card. |
and is, Of course. minute and almost
impossible of detection by one who has
not the secret. With these marks the
gambler can do just rs well as IL his
opponent cards were dealt face up
ward. With very little practice q mar
n learn to read these tiny marks n
plain rs print. The hand marked card.
mentioned above were given to the
writer. and with handling them only
three or four times. explaining their
secrets to friends. be became so accus.
toned 10 the simple marks rs to be able
to distinguish the cards without diff.
Guilty. While the prevalence Of gam.
bling to such a wide extent in Chicago
is, as n matter Of public morals, = mat
ter to be deeply regretted. there is nc
one feature of the ~demoralizing custom
more calculated to excite pity than thai
n great majority of the young men who
have &C uired it are virtually robbed Of
their money in skin games. Chicago
Htraid.