A famous reformed gambler reveals a multitude of gambling house and street corner scams, swindles, and cons used to fleece the unwary public in this fascinating text.
Written by H. W. "Kid" Royal, this was originally put up as a pitch book for sale at his various lecture appearances, after he decided to "go straight." In fact, he had a funny way of selling them. He advertised the lecture as free, but he wouldn't let anyone leave until he had collected the price of the book.
While original copies of this book do occasionally turn up, they sell for big bucks ($275 from one recent magic auction). In addition to the original text, this reprint edition includes additional material about the author and his adventures as a former gambler.
Contents:
- Sketch of My Life
- Gold Brick Scheme
- The Story of the Over-Issue
- Green Goods
- Bunko or Confidence
- Short Change
- Three Card Monte
- Three Shell Game
- Race Track or Wire-Tapping Gag
- Spectacle Fraud
- Exposes: Faro Bank
- Roulette
- Hazard
- Craps
- Draw Poker
- Giving Victims the Best of It at Faro Bank and Roulette
- Big Hands on Trains
- Top and Bottom
- Soap Game
- Spindle Game
- Bookmakers' Wheel, Policy
- Bucket Shop or Tape Game
- Per Cent of All Square Games
- Secrets of Gambling
- How Gamblers Win at Games
This is a fun read in its own right, plus it's great for background material if you perform gambling-themed magic, or give gambling exposes or lectures for extra income.
1st edition 1896, PDF 76 pages.
word count: 21525 which is equivalent to 86 standard pages of text
