The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1894-08-02
GAMBLERS DISLIKE HERMANN.
His Tricks Are Only Too Well Known Z
the Green Table Sharps.

His Tricks Are Only Too Well known te
the Green Table Sharps.
Il have had many exciting ex
periences with card sharps in this
country" remarked Hermann to q
reporter. In the early days the
west was the great stamping ground
for gamblers, and frequently have
had them invite me into game on
the train. Their scheme was to in.
veigle some innocent farmer with
money into their play and skin him
clean. Many times / have interfered
to save the poor fellow. Some of the
sharpers have recognized me and
warned me off more than once. To
do SO without alarming their intend.
ed victim, they would show me q
card privately on which was written.
Mind your own business I have
won money from those fellows and
given it back to the victim.
Poker stories? Well, like poker,
but l cannot play, because if win
the losers think / am manipulating
the cards. I remember one time at
Long Branch 1 fell in with four pro-
fessional swindlers, who asked me
into SO limit game. They were
clever at shutting the four aces un-
derneath, and l pretended not to see
them cheat. with the result that they
soon had $3.50 of my money. l lost
the money with good grace, and stip-
ulated that on the next day we play
another game so / could have re-
venge. They agreed to this willing
ly enough, for they scented more
winnings. But they didn't know
knew what was talking about when
/ said wanted revenge.
'The following day we met about
the table again, and this time I stack
ed the cards and in a way that they
could not detect. They lost and
won, to their great surprise. When
! had won $500, I got up, and draw
ing my revolver said: Gentlemen,
you robbed me yesterday. ] have
robbed you today. I have recovered
my $3.50. Here is your $3.50, and
flung that amount on the table. The
gamblers began to buster, but they
saw that they had been beaten at
their own game. Ibacked out of the
door, keeping them covered by my
pistol, and that was the last I ever
heard of them"
Hermann, therefore, with all his
skill at manipulating euchre deck,
is an object of envy to men who make
their living by crooked card playing.
Many of them have endeavored to
persuade him to teach them how to
do the tricks and offered him high
prices for such tuition, but he prefers
to make money more honestly. He
readily understood their object and
declined to make them any more ex-
pert than they were. They did not
want to be able to flip card into the
uppermost gallery of theater as he
does, but to deal from the bottom or
middle of the deck and shuttle to the
disadvantage of the other fellow.
One clever sharper did get the bet
ter of the wizard once. 1t was in
Spain. A genteel appearing indi-
vidual, with the airs of a grandee,
came to Hermann and politely re-
quested him to teach him the card
tricks. For g, 900 the magician made
him very dexterous with the cards.
The following week Hermann learn
ed that his visitor was a celebrated
gambler who had made one fortune
in Spain playing with noblemen
whom he cheated, another in Cuba,
and that he was then contemplating
an excursion into France in quest of
a third. ''That time I was made an
innocent party to aswindler's game"
said the wizard, laughing. 1.-The fell
low disappeared shortly after that,
and / never found out what luck he
had with the training I gave him. y
Chicago Post.