River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1891-12-10
HE PLAYS TO WIN.
How an Expert Gambler Makes
His Business Profitable.
a Variety OF Intricate But Certain Meth
DDS Employed by Professionals by
Which the Amateur Is Fleeced-
A Warning to the Unwary.


by some author-usually woman
who didn't know anything of the mat
ter discussed. A gamblers business is
to win; that's the way he lives, and
you can figure that he's not only look
ing for the best of il, but nine times in
ten he's going to have the best of il.
There are a thousand ways to cheat
and rob a victim, but gambler does
not call il robbing or think of it in
that way. He gets so used to it as a
proposition that il strikes him as per-
fectly legitimate.
Gamblers divide card games into
two sorts short card and long card
short card is the name of any game in
which hands are dealt. like seven-up,
poker or high five. Faro is long-card
game. Men who follow cards to live
generally have some speciality. There
is always some form of roguery or
cheating at which a man is more ex-
pert than at others. He will practice
this necessarily when alone One may
be able to deal second anotl,er shifts
the cut anothers strong point is
holding out;' then there are top or
bottom dealers-Hm talking of short
cards now-and any of these tricks, If
the proper work can be done in con-
nection with it, will keep man from
want
Nowadays an expert with cards
does all his work with his hands and
right on top of the table lie can't be
regarded as a master and do less. 1t all
goes on the theory that the hand is
quicker than the eve. In an earlier
day card people used various devices to
cheat with. There were divers forms
of 'hold-outs, like the sleeve hold out
and the cat gut Then some used a
little mirror while dealing. Others
would mark deck; there were men
whose strong point was dealing sec
ond' | always looked on this last as
the best and safest way TO rob man.
A man would file the head off
pin and paste il on the inside of his
thumb with gold beaters' skin. The
sharp flied point would project slight
w. This was used to mark the cards.
BY the time a dozen hands were dealt
Mr. sharp. with his pin point, would
give all the cards he cared TO mark,
such as the ace, king, queen, jack and
ten, we'll say, a punch which would
leave a little protuberance on the back
of the card in what would be the right
hand corner as one dealt This punch
was made at varying distances from
the corner. A certain distance like one
fourth of an inch marked an ace, a
half-inch a king, and so on. When Mr..
Sharp dealt he was always feeling for
these points. When one same along
and he didn't care to give it To the
victim. but aimed 10 reserve it for him
self, he gave the victim the next card,
or second card below, and all so deity
that none could tell. This is called
dealing second and by picking out
his cards i'm this fashion the robber in
evitablY got the upper hand.
How was the mirror used? The
dealer just rested it on his raised knee
and dealt over it. lie could see the re-
Election of every card and a strong
trained memory kept him posted as to
the value of the hands. These two
schemes are specimens of what one can
work while dealing. The hold out
idea is good at any time. The catgut
was one sort of hold-out. 1t was har-
ness of catgut which went on the Shout
ders of "A man and extended by an at
tachment down the left leg. 1t was
fitted with German silver fiat clasp
which held the cards just as you've seen
in street bands for holding music. T his
clasp was under the left arm of the
wearer and his hand of cards was in it
already when he sat down. When he
got ready to use il he would palm his
proper cards and reach inside his vest
to rearrange his clothing, fix his shirt
front or anything. move of the left
foot brought the cold hand right
up to where he could get it
and put his proper cards instead.
Another move of the foot and the
hold-out would retire under his arm.
All through the game catgut man
would fix hands and fix them ready i'm
his hoid-out for an emergency. Fat men
are the best to work a catgut, as they
are usually the most uneasy about their
clothes You think anyone could detect
all this work and flourish No doubt.
But you should reflect that these peo-
pie are no experts as Hermann or KEEL
lar at whatever they are doing.
"A sleeve hold-out was something the
same, but woI lxed in the left sleeve 1t
was clumsy thing, though, and as
the frame was steel one had to be care
full and not strike it against the table.
The noise would give you dead away.
A catgut cost two hundred dollars A
sleeve hold-out was worth fifty dollars.
"Short-card players have lot of
signs, too. Very often a couple of gam
biers, strangers TO each other, find
themselves in the same game. Each
discovers the presence of his skilled
brother mighty quick. Now the
chances are these two thieves go into
immediate partnership right under the
victims nose and eyes
lis it in and in?' says one sharp in
low tone of careless anna ability as If
talking to himself nod from the
other is enough. They are to divide
after the game. A gambler believes
little sure money is better than big
money on chances It is the bird in
the hand being better than two in the
bush over again. so they had no trouble
in agreeing When two are after one
in poker game it is easy. They can
raise and keep raising and as he is in
between them his calling doesn't stop
the exercise at all He is thus led along
TO put up more money than he should
or would. At last one of the sharps-
the one with the right hand-makes
giant raise and as the victim calls it,
the OF Ter one discreetly stays out and so
avoids showing his hand.
Il was sitting in little game last
summer up in Boston, and all we're
strangers to me. IL never entered my
head that any of tbs rest were strong
people. and ] was looking for a nice
coy time all to myself with three
suckers You can judge of my disgust
as the old gray-headed party oppo-
site, in an early hour of the game,
picked up his hand and, after
looking at it, gave his aged head
very light Dat significant pat,