Card Sharpers
by Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin & William John Hilliar

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Card Sharpers by Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin & William John Hilliar

Subtitled: Their tricks exposed or the art of always winning

Translated from the French of Robert-Houdin, first published in 1861, by William J. Hilliar. Robert-Houdin wrote this book primarily as an expose to reduce the number of people being cheated. He writes in his preface: "Enlighten the dupes and there will be no more cheats."

This work was first translated in 1863 under the title The Sharper Detected and Exposed. In 1881 Prof. Hoffman translated it anew and brought it up to date under the title Card-Sharping Exposed. It is not clear why Hilliar would do a new translation in 1903. Perhaps he felt he could ride Erdnase's coattails after his groundbreaking The Expert at the Card Table published in 1902.

1st edition 1903; original 201 pages; PDF 145

Table of Contents

PREFACE
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
CARD-SHARPERS
A Dangerous Teacher
CHAPTER I: The Modern Greeks
CHAPTER II: The Greek Of The Fashionable World
CHAPTER III: The Greek Of The Middle Class
CHAPTER IV: The Greek Of The Gambling Hell
CHAPTER V: A Greek Caught In The Act
CHAPTER VI: The Gambler Raymond And His Infallible System
CHAPTER VII: Instructive History Of A Greek
CHAPTER VIII: Illegal Gambling Hells
CHAPTER IX: Secret Gambling Hells
CHAPTER X: Bleeding The Doctor
CHAPTER XI: The Paste Ring
CHAPTER XII: An Infamous Ambush
THE METHOD
General Principles Of Cheating At Cards
CHAPTER I: The False Cut
CHAPTER II: Destroying The Cut
CHAPTER III: The Pass Stroke
CHAPTER IV: The Jump
CHAPTER V: The Big Card
CHAPTER VI: The Bridge
CHAPTER VII: Drawing The Card
CHAPTER VIII: Withdrawing Cards
CHAPTER IX: Placing The Cards
CHAPTER X: Seeing The Card
CHAPTER XI: Changing The Packs
CHAPTER XII: The Box Under The Cuff
CHAPTER XIII: False Shuffle
CHAPTER XIV: Cut Cards
CHAPTER XV: Marked Cards
CHAPTER XVI: Cards That Stick Or Slip
CHAPTER XVII: Cards Not Cut On The Square
CHAPTER XVIII: Pricked Cards
CHAPTER XIX: Cards With Marked Edges
CHAPTER XX: Cards With Bent Corners
CHAPTER XXI: Cards With Designs At Back
CHAPTER XXII: Spotting The Backs Of Cards
CHAPTER XXIII: The Chaplet
CHAPTER XXIV: The Marking Ring
CHAPTER XXV: The Snuff-Box
CHAPTER XXVI: Application Of The Preceding Principles
CHAPTER XXVII: Trick At Piquet
CHAPTER XXVIII: Trick At Ecarte
CHAPTER XXIX: Lansquent Concealed Cards
CHAPTER XXX: Observation On Games For Four Players
CHAPTER XXXI: Amusing Trickeries
CHAPTER XXXII: Ecarte
CHAPTER XXXIII: Trick At Ecarte
CHAPTER XXXIV: Another Trick At Ecarte
CHAPTER XXXV: Baccarat
CHAPTER XXXVI: Whist
CHAPTER XXXVII: Bouillotte
CHAPTER XXXVIII: Beqique
CHAPTER XXXIX: Trick At Picquet
CHAPTER XL: Little Tricks Innocent Through Use

word count: 44342 which is equivalent to 177 standard pages of text

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