Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-09-29
Confessions Of a Gambler.

CVnieSsiVns u . rambler.
"What are the chances again,t
player in a square game of faropn a.
reporter asked an old gambler me me
stood on Smithfield street hments;nnoo
the restrictions that were placed ON ' lng
business by the Pittsburgh police. ns
against q sucker-a sprodncor,
mean?" inquired the gambler, l
II mean the clerk or merchant H..
drops in to tackle the game" said II tSs
reporter. "e
"Well, that's what we call the .nro
ducer,'" the sport explained, and thos
went on. That's the class that nra
duces the wealth that makes gamhI;n
a business. 1t is the producers S monas
that keeps the game going. The channs,
he has Of winning, With nothinp aaaiess
him, and if he hasn't got a system, and
isn't betting high, r about one out e ~
two, or, maybe, two out of fve--thatis
he will lose in two out of three or ~
three out of five plays against the bank
and, no matter how often he wins, h.
is sure to be a dead loser in the end
If he plays big, and has a system, the
dealer soop gets on to it. If he is struck
on a card, or plays three OF a side, Or
odd and even,' or both ends against
the middle it will take The dealer No
time to find it out, and, as it is his duty,
to protect the bank, he will shuttle tn.
cards SO as to lay the player out cold
The player generally sticks to his sys-
tenn and has no chance. If there are a
number of persons playing, of course
it is difficult for the dealer to handle
the cards in this way, but often the nu.
merous players seen at the table are
staked players, who are playing with
the banks money, and Of whom the
dealer takes no notice, as it makes no
difference whether they win or not, 50
his whole attention can be given to the
producer. In nearly every bank thew
have q lot of cappers hanging around,
and when a producer comes in they are
'staked' to start the game.
''The dealer has another trick" the
sport continued, ''that we call taking
the card by the ear If the player is q
'high roller, that is, a big better, and
has a favorite card, it may lose for him
all the time. In that case the dealer
puts it on its proper pile, but, if the
player is winning, the dealer, will throw
this card down %carelessly, so that it
doesn't lay squarely on the pile. Pre-,
tending to straighten them up, he will
slip the card under the pile, and then
shuttle them so that in the next deal
the players chances are to lose; if the
player wins again, the dealer will again
take the card by the ear. These things
a not be done where there are num-
Der of genuine players, for in that case
it makes little difference to the bank
who wins OF loses, the players playing
each others money and the bank hav-
ing the benefit of the splits"
"And this is what you call a square
game"
sWhy, of course; all this is done |
merely to protect the bank, which must
have some protection. In a brace game
the player stands no more show of win /
ming than he does of swallowing a light
ning-rod. In the square game there is
some show for him. But every player
has his system with which he expects to |
break the bank, and he finds out in the
end the truth of the saying that there
v was a system the dealer couldn't
beat. These things are necessary, as l
said, to protect the bank. 1t is often
subject to losses by shoe-string players,
who, being deeply in debt, manage to
get hold of a few dollars, and, having
nothing much to lose, conclude to try
their luck. Sometimes a fellow wins
$500 or $500 off a 'shoe-string,' as we
call a small stake, goes out and pays
his debts, and that's the last the bank
sees of the money. The chances are if
he has five or ten dollars left he'll come
back, and, if luck is still with him may
win a few more hundred. But, talk
about it as you may, faro is the fairest
and squarest game, and if a man mus
gamble I'd advise him to tackle nothing
else"
Cant faro be beaten!''
"Not unless you play a limitless game
and have a mint of money to do it with.
If a bank has s {, 1000, you can bet $1,000
on a card,- and if it wins the bank is
busted and there's an end of it. If you
lose you have to keep on doubling your
bets until you do win, when, of course,
the desired end is accomplished. But
every bank has its limit, and when you
get to it you've got to stay there. The
fact that few gamblers have money
shows which way the wind blows. It's
a rare one dies rich. The banks make
the money, the producer furnishes, and
the professional sport kind of hangs in
between the two until women or whisky
bring him to his grave. "-PiHsburgh
Noo,o mn .o;u1 1n1offo