Evening star., 1894-02-08
SOME TRICKS IN FARO
The Pink Finger Nail Man Knows All
About Ingenious Boxes.
The Bank Gets the Benefit. and Also
the Money. of the Unsuspect-
ing Tiger Bucker.
n made an acquaintance today

"A
at breakfast.
His mess-mate bore slick" appearance.
but with nothing unduly conspicuous
about him till he raised his hands to the
table. These were what attracted the re-
porter. They were delicate as those of
the daughter of Virginia Congressman
who sat at the next table They were
small. soft. white and rosy. They were
nervous hands. the fingers almost twitch-
ed when they came in contact with for
eign substance. The nails were especially
well kept, and the fnger-tips were strange
ly pink.
What is 1t, and who is it?" unused the
reporter. as he failed to identify the
strangers calling. He was not an ordinary
beau, Tor his collar was not of the latest
cut. his scarf pin was not stuck ac-
cordins to the latest stick. and other
wise he seemed to have some intell-
gence. He was not musician, be-
cause the proper muscles of those girl
like hands were not developed. He was
neither literary mechanic, nor a news
paper man, nor even journalist because
In writing his order he used hard pencil
and showed unfamiliarity with its use.
He would run his thumb over those mys-
terious hnger-tips now and then, as though
feeling them. The mystifcation of the re-
porter increased. Just then the unknown
TOOK from his pocket a very small piece of
sandpaper and began TO file his nails.
L
had met gentlemen of the same class al
other tables. The reason of the sensitive
ness and pinkness of those tips that
they had been sand-papered. The stranger
was a knight of the green cloth.
Much sport last night" said the re-
porter. as though he knew all about the
man who sat opposite him.
NO, pretty fiat" was the answer.
Perhaps luck wasn't your way" per-
sisted the news fiend.
Then the other uncoiled himself crawled
from out his SHE'LL and spoke as follows:
Il once heard d very distinguished jour-
nalist say that luck days work. He
was right. Luck has nothing to do with
my business. 1t is not luck that makes the
victor flush and the victim fiat. scen-
tific knowledge of the principles of the
game is necessary. and IL is also essential
to be first-class reader of human nature"
Then why didn't you come out on the
velvet side last night?" said the Star man.
Il bucked the tiger and ran into the
wrong kind of box"
what do you mean?'
The Bank Wins.
Faro. You see even in a dead square
game the chances are Is per cent in favor
of the bank. and if the box happens to be
crooked, why the punter simply amt in it.
Bankers use boxes from which the cards
are dealt, because, as they say, to prevent
advantage cards being worked. But my
experience is, that the 'croupiers around the
board look out for this pretty thoroughly"
Tell me-, said the scribe, how a crook
ed box is made2"
"A most popular box is one whose front
part rises and falls in a groove, and can
be taken plumb out. BY an intricate maze
of mechanism. by pressing the box in a
particular part, the dealer can pass two
cards through the mouth instead of one
! The cards can be so prepared that they will
adhere when pressed. There are various
preparations of glass and resin to do this
but sandpaper is much used. The last gam
bling device patented was for a crook ed
brass faro box, and the model, | think is
in the patent office now II was little
longer than the pack, and pressure on the
top plate would spread the mouth enough
to let two cards pass, thus increasing the
chances for doublets,' which mean half the
stakes for the bank, and also raise the
banks chances by punching the cards
Cards doctored in this way are what are
called 'strippers,' and about the only way
to catch on to this sort of thievery is by
milking them, and even this won't work
unless the cards are reversed. Hollow and
round strippers are perhaps harder to de-
tect than when the cards have simply been
shaved down.
Aids for the Dealer.
Another box has an arrangement which
is said to prevent the bettor seeing what
card is coming, but which is really to en-
able the dealer to serve the second card,
if the top card by its pin glass marks,
proves to be unfavorable to the bank If
the dealer has all the cards under seven
spots pricked, all the bettor hope fo-
is a standoff which means that * YOU
stake your faith and cash on the ace and
deuce, the dealer gets one and you the other.
Another box has spring attachment which
informs him whether the coming card is a
hollow or round one, and he thus knows
whether it is over or below a seven spot.
Then there is the crank box. which gave
the dealer power to deal the second or the
top card just he desired. There is also
a device by which the dealer is informed
I hnf "a ~ nr = rd tG nirnCr
There is also the lever box and scores OF
other splendid mechanical contrivances,
but the leading principle of all is to inform
the dealer what card is coming and to en-
able him to either deal that or another"
BY this time the reporter and his friend
had established the most confidential rela-
tions, and the scribe was thinking serious
ly of resigning from work, buying a box
and going into the money making business
which the gentleman in question had told
him so much about