The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-10
CARDS TAUGHT HIM TO ADD.
An Expert Accountants Recipe for BE
coming Quick at Figures.

; coming Quick at Figures.
The expert accountant said as he care
fully shuffied the cards:
If 1t had not been for a frazzled old pack
of cheap playing cards which l kept elab-
orately hidden in the bottom drawer Of
the walnut washstand in my little room
in my boyhood days on the farm, my SER
vices would not now be in such demand by
confused financiers.
"The old-time prejudice against the
DEVILS picture book was strong in my
family but held on to that pack with grim
determination. and many is the candle
have seen sink away in tallow drips as l
dealt out the fifty-two dirty pasteboards
into one uneven pile time after time. But
was not playing game; l was not even
wasting my time. ! was learning to add.
you need not look surprised. To me the
whole thing seemed, and even now seems.
very simple. wonder that more people
have not taken 1t up, but appear to have
been the only person among my acquaint-
ances who has ever used playing cards Tor
arithmetical purposes.
To-day my eldest boy, youngster about
IL, puzzles his way through the same system
that made threatening column OF figures
seem like a two-part sum to me. 1t Is very
simple, az have said.
There are fifty-two cards in every pack,
and they are numbered from one to ten
in spots, and from eleven to thirteen in
face cards. I>gi i've the three face cards
the remaining values above ten; that is, the
jack is eleven, the queen twelve and the
king thirteen.
Now, the constant sum OF the thirteen
cards of each suit is Of. 1t can be no more
or no less, no matter in what sequence
the cards are dealt out The constant
sum OF the four suits, therefore. must be
just four times Of. or 984.
"Now, with this to start on, l evolved
nv own peculiar system OF sight counting
The practice of a fortnight made me 30
expert at it in comparison with the other
pupils in the school to which was sent
that l achieved reputation for quick
ness at figures. On exhibition days, the
teacher would invariably trot me out.
and have me go through my addition PAGES
until ] became one OF the cur!ositys OF
the village academy
But to return to, the system. | 90 not
know what started me on on the idea.
the pack in regular order of suits, and all
the cards of each suit in regular sequence
from ace up. started In to add them as
they. fell. -, .s,.,..n ,,.d. O, =,
knew that no mistake had been made. If
the total was something else ! started
ali over again and worked at it until 1t came
TThs formal preparation completed.
took tho whole pack, sequence by sequence;
until | was able to reach the correct total
of se4 without an error, Then l shufhed
each suit and went at adding the cards as
they fell In unexpected and disordered
sequence until perfected myself In that
advanced branch. Then came the hardest
test, that Of adding the ffty-two cards. all
shuffied together as this pack is.
Il had many bad half hour at that, but
at last was 80 trained that could deal the
shuffied cards of as rapidly as my hands
could fly, and get through to the total or
se4 without a blunder. I spent nearly
nine months perfecting myself n that
system Of mine. and meyer w1 d te a,c ~
living yet I would like to tell her how came
to be SO quick at the figures
After leaving school went to work In
hank and there I found that my trainin g
with the cards stood me In good stead, for
with a little practice a formidable regiment
of figures marching in fours or hves would
be attacked and captured without much
trouble" ..--.- 90 N-s