Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-05-06

Heans BY Which Professional Game.
sters Pluck Their Victims Faro.
Deaiing Boxes and Roulette wheels
Made for RoSueS

Dealing Boxes and Roulette wheels
Made for R0SueS.
From the Philadelphia Times.
No one looks upon a professional gambler as
shining example of honesty, but only few peo-
pie know what crooked-sharpers most profess
sional gamblers are or the ingenious mechan-
tcal contrfvances which they employ to aid
them in winning the dollars of their victims.
The man who makes gaming profession rarely
Or never depends upon "luck" for his exis-
tence. In faro, roulette, monte, hazard and in
all other games known to the gentlemen of the
green cloth, there is a certain well-undcrstood
percentage" in favor of the proprietOrs. This
Is understood by all who play but it is so
trifling that they are willing to pay it for the
privilege of haZarding their money. There is
another percentage in all of these games as
played at many places that is only understood
by the professional dealers and is never sus-
pected by the players.
In the game of faro the known percentage is
very small when two cards OF the same de-
nomination come out of the siver-plated deal
fng-box" together, the dealer takes one half of
the bets which happen To DE on that card on the
..lay-out' Sometimes an entire deal is Dlayed
without this occurring and it rarely happens
more than twice in deal, SO that the visible
percentage is quite small; so tritiing, in fact,
that If faro game is dealt fairly ii must have
an almost unlimited capital or eventually be-
come bankrupt
CHEATING AT FARO.
1t is to guard against this mishap and tor make
the game a one tflslt tnt uflknONn
percentage is introduced. To accomplish his
purpose the gambler has both the cards and
dealing-box ''fxed.' This fixing" process OF
the cards is done follows: A new pack is
used and one in which every card is of exactly
the same size, to hairs breadth. There is an
almost impeTceptible difference in the sizes OF
the cards in nearly all cheap packs, so that the
gambler buys for his purpose expensive cards
that have been squared especially for faro
The first step in liking is to separate the low
hot
all ranging from the ace To the six and from the
eight To the king. The seven being neither high
nor low Is equally divided, two seVens being put
with the high and two with the low cards. Then
with pair of sharp shears, made especially for
this purpose, the gambler clips thin slip from
the edge OF each card. The high cards are
clipped in this way from the upper right-hand
corner TO a point on the lower edge about the
thirty-Second part of an inch from the lower
right-hand corner. The low cards are clipped
In the same way except that the gambler com
mences at the lower right-hand corner and
clips TO point on the upper edge near the right
corner The cards now are wider at one end
than at the other, but the difference in width is
so slight as TO be almost imperceptible, except
to the touch. The cards are then shuffied care
being taken to keep the wide ends of the high
cards and the wide ends of the low cards at
opposite ends OF the pack 1t is an easy mat
ter now for an expert manipulation to catch the
wide ends of the cards between his thumbs and
fOrefingers and SO draw all of the high cards
into one hand and the low ones into the other
When the game is in progress the dealer shut
Ties the cards thoroughly and then in this way
shuffles them as to sandwich each low and
high card and when the pack is in the dealing
DoX they should come out alternately.
FRAUD IN THE DARLINGTON.
This wouldn't suit the dealer at all, as he
must not only know just how the cards are ar
ranged but at the same time have perfect con-
troll over them. In order that he may have this
power a specially-arranged dealing-box is pro-
cured. The ordinary dealing-box have a slit
In the side just wide enough to admit of one
card passing through it at time; the special
boxes have a slit wide enough TO allow two
cards to pass easily through them. Armed
with these simple contrivances, all the dealer
has to do is To watch where the bets are and
win every time by either showing out one card
or two, as occasion requires. If a player bets
that high card will win, the dealer can very
easily make 1t lose or vice versa. OF course, the
game keeper is a confederate and at a sign
from the dealer can tell how to arrange the
leases" so that they will tally with the cards
that are out This is what is called "brace
Eame,' probably because it can only be success
ully worked by a 'brace" of rogues Thou
sands of faro players who think that luck is
always against them are simply victims of the
''Drace game
CHEATING MADE EASY.
Dealing-boxes and cards prepared in this way
can be procured from a Chicago firm, which
issues private catalogues to gamblers contain
Ing samples of marked cards, with directions
forreading the backs. The firm sosells roulette
wheels so arranged as to make the red invaria-
bly, win if the wheel is turned in one direction
ana the black win If turned in the other. These
are known among gamblers as fright and left
wheels, and are used with great success in many
places.
Wheels of fortune, with cunningly arranged
brakes so that they can be stopped at the will OF
the dealer or turner are successfully used
throughout the. west. With these aids and
with the dexterity and legerdemain which all
expert gamblers know how TO USE it is little
wonder that they should succeed in fleeing the
unsuspecting lambs who are enticed into their
dens. A gambler who understands his business
can arrange the cards while his opponent is
looking at them in such way as to deal what
hands he pleases, without exciting the least
suspicion that anything unfair Is being done
He can 'shift the cut" "put up a hand. or
ring in a cold deck with dexterity of man
1pulat1on and innocence of expression that
would fool any hut the initiated