Gambling: page 3

If he'd had a touch of larceny in him, he could have been the number one card sharp of all time. Instead, the author of these fabulous memoirs, born to a mother who considered gambling the "devil's tool," puts his extraordinary gifts to far different purpose.

He has used his incredible gambling sense, his miraculously dexterous fingers, his brilliant mathematical mind, his fascination with carnival and gambling life, to become America's number one authority on gambling and odds.

He was the greatest practitioner and analyst of card and dice sleight of hand. His artistry impressed FDR as...

Some say that John Scarne worked with and for the Mafia, because gambling and the Mafia are often thought as tightly linked. Others will be convinced by Scarne's collection of facts and reasoning in this ebook, that there never was a Mafia. Either way you read this ebook, it is a fascinating recollection of past events around crime, politics and gambling.

You might ask why is this ebook in the gambling section? The reason is twofold. One, Scarne details several interesting gambling facts and stories in this ebook (ex. a gambling glossary), and two it helps to understand the person John Scarne...

A dictionary for the language of horse racing, dice and cards, bookmakers and runners, touts and tote boards, a colorful but expensive language to learn first-hand from the natives.

Excerpt from the preface:

This booklet was most likely published around 1920 and describes a number of games of chance and how they are being rigged or operated to cheat:

• Dice
• Three Card Monte
• Shell Game
• Faro
• Drop Case
• Paddle Wheel
• The O'Leary Belt
• The Striker
• Upright Roulette Wheel
• Bee Hive
• Spindles

This is essentially a small excerpt from Quinn's primary work Fools of Fortune. A couple of chapters have been taken, some incomplete, together with endorsements and other promotional material, to produce this volume.

1st edition 1895; PDF 68 pages.

The original description read:

This is a massive tome on gambling, the largest one at that time, describing gambling locations, games, scams, fraud and how they are operated, as well as many personal stories from the author. Makes for fascinating reading if you are interested in the subject...

Being a complete systematic educational exposition designed to instruct the youth of the world to avoid all forms of gambling.

This is a classic of gambling literature. It describes the implements and devices used by crooked gamblers and gambling establishments to fleece the unwary.

Excerpt from the Preface:

Sharps and Flats is probably the most important early book on cheating devices and methods. Sharps being the cheaters and flats being the cheated, the mark. Maskelyne details among others, marked cards, holdouts (Kepplinger holdout), reflectors and manipulation. He describes not just cheating at the card table but also cheating with dice, cheating at Sporting houses, and at Roulette. The book is very thorough with many wonderful illustrations.

1st edition, 1894, Longmans, Green and Co., New York and London; reprinted, Gamblers Book Club, Las Vegas; 335 pages.

7. Preface to the Second Edition ...

A classic in gambling literature.

• Introductory
• Chapter I: Early Days
• Chapter II: Early Days
• Chapter III: Profession
• Chapter IV: The Club
• Chapter V: Captain William Smith
• Chapter VI: Diplomacy
• Chapter VII: Major George Jenks
• Chapter VIII: Faro
• Chapter IX: Departure
• Chapter X: Phantoms Of The Memory
• Chapter XI: Wheeling
• Chapter XII: "On To Richmond"
• Chapter XIII: The Horse
• Chapter XIV: Washington City
• Chapter XV: Inventors
• Chapter XVI: Incubi
• Chapter XVII: Sharpers
• Chapter XVIII: Scenes At Long Branch
• Chapter XIX: Second-Class "Skinning-Houses"
• Chapter XX: Sharpers
• Chapter...

This is a collection of poker stores covering the time frame from 1845 - 1895. As the title page clearly states Lillard merely collected and edited them, he did not author them.

• DEDICATION
• PREFACE
• CHAPTER I. TOLD OF STATESMEN
  • Webster And Clay
  • How An Illinois Congressman Was Backed By Uncle Sam
  • A Kentucky Colonel Who Drew On His Salary To Stay In The Game
  • Two Stories About Gen. Schenck
  • A Jersey Congressman's Leather Bluff
  • The Drummer Wilted
  • Hannibal Hamlin
  • The Six-Spot Of Diamonds
• CHAPTER II. MISSISSIPPI RIVER STORIES
  • Six Aces In The Pack
  • His Chips Were The Wrong Color....

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...

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:

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...

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 ...

This is the book that tells the truth about cards, dice, punch boards, gambling wheels, races, and all other kinds of gambling.

Don't be a sucker! The Open Book reveals how crooked gamblers, cheats, and con artists fleece the innocent and unwary public out of thousands of dollars daily. Even that carnival game at the local fairgrounds may not be as innocent as it looks. Get the inside scoop.

Valuable secrets of marked cards, gaffed dice, ink formulas, holdouts and other cheating devices -- all clearly explained. Also included are scams and cons used by the unscrupulous to bilk the unwary....

Ian describes carefully and in detail a number of beautiful and cool flourishes with chips. You are sitting at a blackjack table and you have won a stack of chips during the last plays. The dealer ran out of cards and has to shuffle his six decks, which takes a while. This is the ideal moment to impress with a few chip flourishes. Of course, all of these moves can also be executed with coins rather than chips. You will learn:

• The Pickup Move
• Roll Down
• Double Cut
• Shuffle on a soft surface
• Shuffle on a hard surface
• Shuffling tall stacks
• The Twirl
• The Triple Twirl
• The Reverse Twirl ...

This is an excellent series of articles on the history of gambling in America. Excerpt from the introduction:

• Preying Upon the Wage Earners
• How They Prey Upon One Another
  • Where Every Boy Had to Learn Poker
  • Gambling "Commercialized" and Organized
  • "Square" Gamblers all "Broke"
  • The Story of Hot Springs
  • Politics and "Business" Worked for "the Game"
  • The "Open" Season of 1912-13
  • Something Bound to Happen
  • As the "Straight" Gamblers Saw It
  • Why...

This is a great book on the secrets of how to cheat with cards and dice at many popular games - a guide to dishonest gambling. It offers a good overview of the various methods from mechanical cheating methods to sleight of hand.

1st edition 1970, original 128 pages; PDF 82 pages.

Table of Contents

7. Introduction
13. Cheating at cards
13. Mechanical Methods: marking cards, sorts, deck switches, edge marking, daub, punch/nail marks
33. Strippers: types of strippers, Vernon's "Bathroom Strippers"
36. Locaters: short, corner shorts, thick cards, long cards, ridge/breather crimps
40. Holdouts: Kepplinger...

An informal history of gambling in America from the colonies to Canfield.

Inside flap:

A sketch of the life of Henry Meyer a converted gambler.

Henry Meyer was by his own account a very successful gambler who would play predominantly in Europe. One day he played against a young man and won all his money. Subsequently, that young man took his own life. At that point, Meyer realized that the young man was his younger brother. This charring experience made him give up gambling completely.

While I don't doubt that Meyer was a professional gambler who would later reform and give up gambling, the story with his brother rings a bit too fantastic. It is hard to believe that he and...

The record of a career famous for adventure and vicissitude, and in which the jester won more tricks than the gamester.

• Preface
• Chapter I: Birth And Early Peregrinations
• Chapter II: Becoming A Patron Of The Pasteboards
• Chapter III: Early Times On The Mississippi
• Chapter IV: Getting A Sobriquet And Meeting Great Men
• Chapter V: The Turnpikes, The Packets And The Inns
• Chapter VI: Initiated In The Sons Of Malta
• Chapter VII: From The Green Mountains To Pike's Peak
• Chapter VIII: With The Bold Soldier Boys
• Chapter IX: The Fraternity Of Gamesters
• Chapter X: To Point A Moral And Adorn A...

This is a fun book to read. Great stories about pickpockets, burglars, bunco men, thiefs, and others. Houdini collected interesting cases talking to detectives, and police chiefs. The book describes the methods used to scam innocent victims. Some of these schemes are still popular, which shows again, that one can learn a lot from the past.

published 1906 by Harry Houdini, Boston MA; later reprinted by Gamblers Book Club, Las Vegas; 96 pages

Table of Contents

page

3. Preface
7. Shot One - Income of a Criminal
12. Shot Two - Professional Burglary
19. Shot Three - Difficulties of Burglary
25. Shot Four...

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)....

From the back cover: