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Cheating, Cons, Scams & Protection in Gambling

You might think that at a friendly game with your friends or at a professional tournament there is no cheating. Well, think twice, cheating takes place in all kinds of games. It is crucial that you at least know the basic threats of how you can be cheated and how to spot and counter them. If you gamble for a living, you better become a specialist on cheating. The ebooks in this category will tell you all you need and prepare you to not be the mark and the sucker the cheaters steal money from.

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Lawrence Scaife
Spotlight on the Card Sharp by Lawrence Scaife

An instructive warning to those who must play for stakes. Interesting amusement for those who do not.

Excerpt from the Foreword:

This book is an explanation of the fundamental principles upon which all card sharping is based. Once the main ideas are thoroughly understood, it becomes a comparatively easy matter to detect any subterfuge no matter how intricate.

This book is nicely illustrated by Charles Remmers from photographs by the author. It contains a description of cheating at the popular Australian game of Two-Up which makes it unique.

  • Foreword
  • Spotlight On The Card-Sharp ...
$10
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PDF

Professor Hoffmann
Baccarat Fair and Foul by Professor Hoffmann

Being an explanation of the game, and a warning against its dangers.

Excerpt from the preface:

A good deal of public curiosity has been of late aroused respecting the game of Baccarat. The present work is designed, in the first place, to satisfy such curiosity by giving an explanation of the game and a statement of its laws. But it has also a second object. There is perhaps no game which so lends itself to the arts of the card-sharper as Baccarat, and if it be true that "in vain the net is spread in sight of any bird," an exposition of the frauds to which the honest player is liable should...

$10
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PDF

Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin & Professor Hoffmann
Card Sharping Exposed by Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin & Professor Hoffmann

A translation of Les Trickeries des Grecs by M. Robert-Houdin, one of the most valuable and interesting works on the subject of card sharping.

Excerpt from the preface:

Meanwhile, the march of science has continued, and the arts of deception, like other arts, have received many new developments. There are fashions in fraud, as in more innocent matters. I have endeavoured in the present pages not only to offer a faithful translation of Robert-Houdin's text, but by the aid of notes to bring down his work, so to speak, to present date. In so doing I have to acknowledge special obligation...

★★★★★ $12
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PDF

Dustin Marks
Cheating at Blackjack Squared by Dustin Marks

The dark side of gambling.

"Loaded with rare, inside information." - Darwin Ortiz

"Absolutely fascinating and enlightening! Ingenious methods that boggle the mind." - Daryl

"Inside techniques exposed for the first time in print." - George Joseph / Director of Surveillance, Bally Entertainment Co.

It may be shocking and it's certainly dangerous. Nevertheless, this unique ebook represents the definitive resource on how professional con men cheat at Blackjack and other card games. The author, a former high-stakes cheater, explains an amazing array of specific moves with clear, understandable text and...

$10
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PDF

Dustin Marks
Cheating at Blackjack: and advantage play by Dustin Marks

"Must reading for all card magicians!" - Allan Ackerman

"Outstanding!" - Darwin Ortiz

"This book should be on your shelf alongside The Expert at the Card Table, The Man Who Was Erdnase, The Annotated Erdnase, and Loaded Dice." - William P. Miesel

His name is not "Marks," but when you buy this ebook you will learn why he had to write under an alias. The ebook covers advantage play, cheating, and the moves that get the money.

"Exceptional. Controversial. Highly recommended." - Michael Dalton / Blackjack Review

"WOW! The real world of cheating and the plays that get the money." - Bob Snyder / Gaming Consultants

  • Introduction
  • My Credentials
  • Casino Organization ...
$10
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PDF

William Henry Irwin
The Confessions of a Con Man by William Henry Irwin

A wonderfully interesting confession of a con man who was a contemporary of Erdnase, and just like him operated for a time while traveling with small circuses in Illinois and surrounding states. Of particular interest is a full dialog of how an unsuspecting person on the train was lured into gambling 3 card monte. The dialog demonstrates how skillfully these operatives were and how well they understood human nature. Other cons are also described in detail.

Excerpt from the preface:

When these confessions appeared serially, friends and distant enquirers took it for granted that they were fiction;...

$15
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PDF

unknown
Card Cheating Exposed by unknown

A complete revelation of the cheaters' work at Bridge, Nap, Solo, Bluff, Banker, Baccarat, Faro, etc.

Published by Coe & Co. A rare booklet offered at the first 2023 Ricky Jay auction with an estimated price of $500-$800. Excerpt from the introduction:

In introducing this little book to the public it is my intention and desire to expose the multiplicity of ways by which cheating at cards is accomplished. The average honest player is little suspicious of the enormous amount of cheating that is done, but what would astonish him still more would be to learn the simple tricks used by even the...

$15
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PDF

Alfred Trumble
Faro Exposed by Alfred Trumble

At one point it was believed that only one copy of this book existed. This and other myths are addressed in the introduction by Frank Lehmann, who has studied this book in detail.

The book exposes various ways in which the game of Faro was crooked. It was a very popular betting game in the United States and usually was rigged in one way or another. It was published by Richard K. Fox, the proprietor of the Police Gazette.

  • Introduction
  • Part I
    1. The Game Of Faro
    2. The Cards In Faro
    3. Dealing The Cards
    4. Keeping The Game
    5. Technical Terms Used In Faro
    6. Laws Of The Game
    7. The Chances Of The...
$19.50
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PDF

Chicago Herald
How To Win At Poker by Chicago Herald

This article describes in particular one marking system of cards. It includes illustrations depicting how the cards were marked. It also touches on a few other ways to cheat.

The article appeared in the Chicago Herald during Mayor Roche's time.

1st edition ~1887, PDF 5 pages.

$5
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PDF

Blakely Hall
You Can't Beat the Game by Blakely Hall

An account of faro gambling and cheating in New York City.

The newspaper that ran this article is not known. The time frame of the article is somewhere in the vicinity of 1890.

PDF 3 pages.

$4
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PDF

Floyd Moss
Card Cheats: How They Operate by Floyd Moss

A play-by-play exposé of the tricks of the card sharp's trade.

Moss gives general advice on how to avoid becoming a sucker or losing more money than luck alone would explain. The most interesting part is where he describes several sleights and strategies cardsharps use to cheat at the card table. Many of the sleights are illustrated with photos.

  • Introduction 5
  • Meet the Enemy 7
    • Who Are the Victims?
    • Suckers
    • Addicts
    • Defeating the Enemy
    • Luck
    • Greed
    • Amateurs
    • Advice
  • Modern Cheating
    • False Cut Number One
    • False Cut Number Two
    • False Cut Number Three
    • False Cut Number Four
    • A Reverse...
$15
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PDF

Jonathan H. Green
Gambling Exposed by Jonathan H. Green

Full exposition of all the various arts, mysteries, and miseries of gambling.

It is a complete exposure, of the different and various ways of deception and cheating in all the numerous games played, such as Faro, Two, Three, and Four-Handed Poker, Shuffling Cards, Roulette and Rolling Faro, Vingt-Un, Brag, Euchre, Game of Boston, All Fours, Cribbage, Whist, Dice, Stealing out Cards, Palming, Playing by Signs, Marking Cards, Backgammon, Solitaire, Playing Three against One, Spring Tables, Spring Boxes, Pulleys, Ingenuity of Gamblers, Card Manufactories, Lotteries, then modes of drawing and...

$12
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PDF

Jonathan H. Green
Games and Tricks with Cards by Jonathan H. Green

You will find here card tricks, cheating exposes, card games, and gambling stories.

A later expanded version of this book was published under the title Gamblers' Tricks With Cards Exposed and Explained.

  • Chapter I
    • Invention Of Cards
    • Mysterious Trick Of Thirty Six Cards; Telling The Card You Look At Without Seeing The Pack.
    • To Tell A Card Thought Of
    • Three Jacks As Thieves, Caught By A King As A Policeman
    • To Burn A Card And Fin'd It In A Watch
    • How To Shift Cards
    • The Four Associates
    • To Make A Card Jump Out Of The Pack
    • How To Change Cards To Pictures
  • Chapter II
    • All Fours
    • Deceptions Used In The Game Of All Fours
    • How To...
$8
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PDF

Mystic Alexandre
A Sweet and Simple Swindle by Mystic Alexandre

Mr. T is an underground gambler, the man who wrote the Pro Guide to the Lucky Log, and the exclusive manual for "Bingo Bango". Now he brings you A Sweet and Simple Swindle. Two of them actually, because the PDF includes an additional bonus swindle with playing cards.

Both dead easy to do, no sleight of hand, no complicated tactics, just a sweet advantage to you, where the mark will believe they have the better of you all along. No marked cards or anything of the sort, both of these use a regular deck of playing cards that can be borrowed, so easy a kid could take advantage of this ... if...

$8.88
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PDF

T. Hayes
The Reference Guide to Early Works on Card Cheating by T. Hayes

This ebook presents an analytical review of works on card cheating that are written in English and published before 1900. Given this scope, The Reference Guide to Early Works on Card Cheating takes 151 publications, and documents the card cheating techniques that they describe. Only card techniques discussed in the context of cheating at card games are considered. The 146 defined techniques are used to evaluate the publications based on their breadth and their contribution to the literature. The breadth is indicated by the absolute number of techniques each work describes, and the contribution...

$20
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PDF

A Connoisseur
Annals of Gaming by A Connoisseur

The intentionally unassuming grey cover, designed to match the dull-sounding title, suggests a dry emotionless record of events is likely held within. However, this humble exterior belies the valuable secrets hidden within its pages. Annals of Gaming was an article series published over four years, between 1772 and 1775; its sole intention was to expose the sharpers, hustlers, and cheats, by detailing their methods of defrauding the unwary. Now, for the first time, every article in the original series has been retyped in full and published in a single volume of over 200 pages. This work covers over...

$39.50
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hardcover

H. W. Royal
Gambling and Confidence Games Exposed by H. W. Royal

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)....

★★★★ $10
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PDF

Brick Tilley
Black Jack Hole Card Switch by Brick Tilley

This is an improvement in the handling of the Curry Turnover that makes this move easier to accomplish and more deceptive. A simple get-ready makes the exchange faster and infinitely more rewarding. It was perfected during hundreds of hours behind a Black Jack table without ever once being detected.

It can be used for magical purposes as well. Add this subtle weapon to your card arsenal.

1st edition 2021, PDF 4 pages, video 30 s.

★★★★★ $10
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PDF & MP4

John Scarne
10 Best Proposition Bets of America's Bigtime Gamblers by John Scarne

A proposition bet is one which appears to give the taker an even chance and at times the best of it, but does just the opposite. Like con men, proposition gamblers pretend to be pleasant, friendly, easy-going, good fellows who would never think of double-crossing anyone. They also usually pretend that their prepared proposition bets are something they just happened to think up on the spot. They take great pleasure in beating seasoned gamblers; money is not the main objective. It's the prestige and self-satisfaction they derive from having outsmarted a top gambler, be he friend or foe.

While...

★★★★★ $10
to wish list

PDF

John Wyman
Wyman's Hand-Book of Magic by John Wyman

This work covers a lot of ground, from various parlor tricks, chemical tricks, card tricks, to a section on two person codes, and a section on artifices of cardsharks.

  • description Of The Magician's Table
  • How To Make A Person Jump
  • The Invisible Chicken, Or Enchanted Egg Bag, As Performed By The Celebrated Wyman
  • Scrap, Or Blowing Book, As Performed By Potter
  • Gun Cotton - How Prepared
  • Sympathetic Inks
  • Apparatus For Writing In The Dark
  • Dancing Turkeys
  • The Self-Balanced Pail
  • Sympathetic Lamp
  • The Gas Candle
  • Ice Made In A Red Hot Vessel
  • Magical Colours
  • The Magic Nosegay Blowing At The...
★★★★ $8
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PDF

Wilton Moore Tucker
The Change Raisers by Wilton Moore Tucker

Reveals the inside story on how the con artist forces you, or a store, or even a bank teller to hand him too much change.

This bit of larceny gains the criminal five, ten, or more dollars each time -- and that from a $2 purchase. Also shows how to keep from being shortchanged. Almost defies detection, and practically works itself. This is no pie-in-the-sky con. Newspaper and TV stories report that victims of every age and ethnicity are taken in by this technique.

Audiences are hungry for this information, to avoid being "taken." Makes an excellent lecture to provide to banks, stores, senior...

★★★★ $15
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PDF

H. C. Evans
The Original Blue Book 1949 by H. C. Evans

From the back cover:

This, our latest SECRET BLUE BOOK with many features added, is the most complete catalog of the kind ever produced. The SECRET BLUE BOOK is but one of THREE CATALOGS of our complete line which covers the entire Indoor and Outdoor Amusement Field, supplying adult games of every description.

In the SECRET BLUE BOOK we list and describe a complete line of Dice, Cards, Trade Stimulators and Counter Games, Table Games suitable for use at public gatherings, Adult Games for the home or private play and Various SPECIAL Games.

Our CLUB AND CASINO EQUIPMENT Catalog, printed...

$10
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PDF_facsimile

Clifton R. Wooldridge
Tricks and Traps by Clifton R. Wooldridge

This ebook exposes the scams and swindles used by carnival midway cheats, street gangs, road hustlers, and crooked mail-order businesses to cheat the public. Written by a Chicago police detective.

Many of these scams are still in use today. But please don't read this ebook to cheat -- instead, use it for your own protection, so you don't become the next victim.

Colorfully written, this handy guidebook ebook reveals the true-life scams, cons, swindles, ruses, devices and methods of the cheats and how they were taken down and brought to justice. Also includes descriptions of rigged carnival...

★★★★ $8
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PDF

Toto
The Book of Thirty-One by Toto

From the preface and introduction:

This book could be titled "The Game of Thirty-One Revisited" because of the various articles that have made an attempt to describe the game. Why then did I set out to write this? First, because I consider the game of thirty-one such a delightful diversion from the "norm" that I want to bring it to the attention of the magic fraternity, and second, because I have many ideas I would like to add.

At the Magic Castle, in Hollywood, the game was first shown to me by Dai Vernon in August of 1980. The "Professor" frequently showed me card puzzles that he had learned over...

★★★★ $10
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PDF

Ken de Courcy
The Australian Gambling Game of 31 by Ken de Courcy

The Ace to Six of each suit are placed on the table, and the two players turn cards face down alternately and a running total of the pips is maintained. The winner is the one who takes the total to no more than 31. Even after the spectator is told the secret to winning, the magician still wins. Ends with an extra kicker.

PDF 10 pages

★★★★★ $10
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PDF

T. Hayes
Punch Work for Texas Hold'em by T. Hayes

This short ebook focuses on one of the most popular tactile card marking systems, in the context of Texas Hold'em Poker. Punch Work for Texas Hold'em begins by commenting on the history of the technique and detailing the numerous methods in which the marks can be created. Following this, how the marks can be utilised is explored from the perspective of each stage in standard Hold'em game procedure. The ebook then considers the ways in which these tactile marks can be varied to convey more information. Finally, given the ambiguity inherent in the way this marking system is commonly implemented,...

$10
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PDF

Brick Tilley
The Unkindest Cut by Brick Tilley

A false cut that uses the action of burning a card as misdirection. Particularly useful for cheating at BlackJack.

Chuck Smith was recorded doing this cut. (A letter from Chuck Smith to Brick Tilley is reproduced in the PDF.) He used it to beat players during the years of WWII. The sequence of actions is the following. You first openly cut the cards and complete the cut. Then you take the top card, turn it face up and place it as the bottom card. During the action of burning the top card you undo the cut. The demo video will prove how honest and fair this looks.

You will receive a PDF...

$30
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PDF & MP4

Michael MacDougall & J. C. Furnas
Gamblers Don't Gamble by Michael MacDougall & J. C. Furnas

A card detective revelations of gambler's secrets.

MacDougall, who refers to himself as magician and card detective, tells of years of tracking down crooks, phony devices, and manipulations in every sort of gambling field. He shares anecdotes of various experiences, and explains several cardshark methods and moves including:

  • Culling and Palming
  • The Slip Cut
  • Bottom Dealing
  • Second Dealing and Sort Edge Cards
  • The Haymaker Shuffle
  • The False Riffle
  • The Crimp
  • Trick Stacking And A Misdeal
  • The Interlacing Riffle

1st edition 1939, 167 pages; PDF 91 pages.

$10
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PDF

T. Hayes
Pre-Flop Single Card Peek by T. Hayes

This short ebook considers the game of Texas Hold'em, in which a cheat has knowledge of a single card that will appear on the flop. Whilst a couple of methods for achieving this are briefly described, the main contribution of this work is in highlighting the advantage that can be gained with knowledge of only a single card that will appear on the flop. Using analysis of how the cheats pre-flop range may be adjusted, the results show that even knowing only the suit of a flop card will give a significant advantage.

1st edition 2019, 8 pages.

★★★★ $0
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PDF

Brick Tilley
Gypsy Switch by Brick Tilley

A shortened, up-to-date version of the 11 Dollar Bill Short Change routine. As a finish, the bills are sealed in an envelope. Upon opening, the envelope is found to contain pieces of newspaper. Here is a demo of the count only:

1st edition 2019, PDF 4 pages + 2 videos

★★★★★ $10
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PDF & MP4

William W. Larsen
The Gyp Artist by William W. Larsen

Here's an entertaining, 25- to 60-minute lecture that you, the magician or mentalist, can present on the topic of scams and cons. And it's a money-maker.

Become an Expert on Cons and Swindles...
Or just talk like one. This is a new field for most magicians and mentalists, allowing you to give your lecture to civic groups, security seminars, government agencies, corporations -- anywhere people gather. And these organizations have deep pockets, too, able to pay you well for your time.

Fabled Bunco Games of History...
Now become practical, effective tricks in the magician's hands, each...

★★★★ $12
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PDF

James Henry Keate
The Destruction of Mephisto's Greatest Web by James Henry Keate

All grafts laid bare being a complete exposure of all gambling, graft and confidence games with stories illustrating the methods employed by the different operators.

This is a wonderful book on all things cheating at gambling (sleight-of-hand and machinery), various confidence games and other scams and crooked methods with several revealing illustrations.

  • PREFACE
  • ENDORSEMENTS
  • INTRODUCTION
  • EPITOME
  • CHAPTER I Exposé of Gambling Devices
  • CHAPTER II Exposé of Gambling Devices (Continued)
    • The Mechanical Hold-out Poker Table
    • The Revolving Poker Table
    • The Sleeve Hold-out
    • The Bug Hold-out ...
$8
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PDF

unknown
Saturday Review by unknown

This is the review of Robert-Houdin's The Sharper Detected and Exposed that appeared in Saturday Review on May 9th, 1863.

1st edition 1863; PDF 5 pages.

★★★★★ $2
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PDF

Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin
The Sharper Detected and Exposed by Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin

The first part consists of stories about cardsharks and other crooks from Robert-Houdin's recollections. This is very readable and an entertaining part of the work. The second part explains some of the technical details of the methods used by cardsharks. However, the methods are for the most part only described in very rudimentary form. As Robert-Houdin writes himself, this is not meant as a way to teach you how to do it, but merely to give the reader insight in how the different ruses are accomplished. Nevertheless, it provides interesting insight into the ways and means of cardsharks.

This...

$7
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PDF

KC Card Co
Blue Book 1961 by KC Card Co

KC Card Company specialized in legit and crooked gambling supplies.

  • Dice and measuring tools to make sure they were properly manufactured.
  • Game layouts
  • Marked cards
  • Crooked dealing boxes
  • Holdouts
  • Books on gambling
  • and more

1st edition 1961, 77 pages.

$10
to wish list

PDF_facsimile

Michael MacDougall
Danger in the Cards by Michael MacDougall

A fascinating casebook of true stories from the self-styled "Card Detective" that reveals the inner workings of backroom poker cheats, dice scams, bunco artists, horse race swindles, rigged games of the carnival and midway and much, much more.

Written in a breezy style, "Mickey" MacDougall takes the reader along for an entertaining and informative ride as he consults with casino bosses and card room owners to stamp out cheaters and grifters.

Swindlers take many forms and purvey their trade anywhere people gather: aboard trains and cruise ships, at the racetrack, in back alleys, military...

$10
to wish list

PDF

Willard King
How You Are Cheated at Dice by Willard King

If you play dice games, or if you have friends who play, you can't afford to be without this information.

Written for the craps player, King delivers the facts in such a way that the dice player will understand and be able to instantly recognize the principal forms of cheating now in use.

The author has eliminated what is usually the bulk of other gambling books - including historical background, rules of the game, statistics, anecdotes, memoirs, and moral admonitions. Instead, he cuts to the chase with the exact methods used by dice cheats, so that you may understand and protect yourself...

$8
to wish list

PDF

T. Hayes
Collusion Strategy and Analysis for Texas Hold'em by T. Hayes

Collusion Strategy and Analysis for Texas Hold'em gives a focused and comprehensive look into the concept of collusion in the popular game of Texas Hold'em. The first half of the ebook details the many techniques and strategies that may be employed by colluders, as well as some of the considerations associated with each method. The second half of the ebook then analyses both pre-flop and post-flop play in order to determine the effect of various parameters on collusion strategy. This publication represents one of the most in-depth insights into the theory of collusion, currently available. ...

$15
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PDF

T. Hayes
Killers and Strippers by T. Hayes

This ebook focuses on the use of killing cards and the stripper deck to gain an advantage in the popular game of Texas Hold’em. The first part of the ebook is a short investigation into the art of using the cut to take cards out of play. Initially, the mathematics of killing cards is presented along with an assessment of probabilities when all the aces, tens and five value cards are killed. After highlighting the fact that very few cards are exposed during a round of Hold’em, the second part of the book looks at some different types of stripper deck that are available. This covers multiple...

★★★★ $0
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PDF

Max T. Oz
3 Disk Monte by Max T. Oz

You will get both a PDF and a video (download from your digital shelf).

PDF
3 Disk Monte is a variation of the street hustle often played with cards. Three black face down disks, one with a white dot, are mixed. The spectator tries to guess which disk is the one with the white dot. The disks have increasingly gained popularity due to their visibility and handling. This PDF illustrates and describes the various sleights that can be used while performing this effect. Topics include the basics plus some of the more advanced moves that can be used.

  • The Disks
  • The Mat
  • Working Height
  • The...
★★★★ $15
to wish list

PDF & MP4

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