Cartes biseautÉes—Tinted cards—Sticky or slippery cards—Slanting cards—Pricked cards—Cards with indented edges—Wavy cards—Chequered cards—Marked cards.
PART I.
THE CARTES BISEAUTÉES.
The BiseautÉe Card was one of the principal methods of cheating in the last century. The trick, at that period, was only known to the adepts of the higher ranks, and with it they succeeded in victimising numbers of people.
It is now chiefly made use of in public-houses, for it is so plain and palpable an artifice, that it could not fail to be discovered by more intelligent people than those who frequent these resorts.
The real signification of "biseautÉes" cards is, that they are larger at one end than at the other, as in figure 17. To do this, the Greek, with a pair of sharp scissors, cuts both sides of every card, beginning at the twentieth part of an inch, and going off to nothing.
All the cards being equally clipped at one end, if they are placed contrariwise, it is evident the edges will protrude the smallest bit possible beyond the other cards, and can be easily discovered by the sharper, however carefully they may have been shuffled by the opposite party.
What answers with one card, will do so equally with all. Thus, we will suppose the Greek has put all the court cards one way, and the common cards the other, he can, by feeling the cards in cutting, cut a court card or not, as he pleases.
This I merely give as one example, for slanting cards can be used in various other ways.
Some Greeks make use of cards cut on both sides, in two opposite ways: it is the same thing under another form. For instance, the cards represented below are cut so that the edge of some are convex, as in figure 18, and others concave, as in figure 19.
The result, with these cards, is the same as with the preceding, only that the latter afford a greater scope for cheating.
The more expert a sharper is, the less is it necessary to cut the edges of the cards; indeed, I have seen some so slightly cut, that you were obliged to examine them with the greatest minuteness to find it out.
PART II.
THE TINTED, OR STAINED CARD.
When white cards are not of first-rate quality, many of them are slightly tinted or stained; that is to say, the purity of the white varies. This imperfection is caused by the bad quality of the card-board of which they are manufactured. From these slight shades, the Greek can, after seeing them for a few moments, recognise many of the cards.
If there are no blemishes or stains on them, the Greek contrives to give them various tints, which he alone can perceive. To this end, he rubs very lightly over, with a cloth dipped in blacklead, such of the cards as he wishes to know again.
The person with whom the Greek is playing, even if he were warned of this trick, could scarcely observe the marks. It requires the lynx eyes of the sharper to distinguish the imperceptible shades.
We ought also to mention that the Greeks have each their particular forte. One who has an excellent eyesight, and sensitive touch, will make use of the marked cards; another, for other reasons, will have recourse to sleight of hand.
PART III.
THE ADHERENT, OR SLIDING CARDS.
By the foregoing it will be observed, that a Greek is always ready to profit by the slightest differences in the cards; but what my readers will scarcely find credible is, that even a pack of new cards, when first taken out of its envelope, will furnish him with the means and signs of recognising the court from the plain cards. This cheat is most practicable, when the cards have not been kept in a perfectly dry place.
The Greek, in dealing, presses his left thumb on the cards, as if to disengage the upper ones, and push them towards his right hand. When the cards are damp, the plain ones slide more easily than the court cards, the reason for which, is to be thus accounted for:—
That in manufacturing the court cards, and in order to give a brightness to their colours, a preparation of gum is used, which is easily affected by the damp, and becomes slightly sticky; this is why they do not slip with such facility as the others.
The higher class of sharpers are much in the habit of using this trick, which they perform with a sensitiveness of touch of astounding delicacy.
The lower order of Greek is obliged to prepare the pack beforehand, and rubs the court cards lightly over with soap, and the others he paints with an extremely pure resin.
PART IV.
THE "HORS D'ÉQUERRE," OR SLANTING CARDS.
I was once requested by a magistrate, to examine some packs of cards which had been seized in a gambling-house, and many of which had been used for the game of Vingt-et-un. I acceded to his request, and it was only owing to my knowledge of mechanism, that I was enabled to discover the trick, by means of which the banquier of the gambling-table could distinguish, whilst dealing, whether the card he took from the top of the pack was higher or lower than a ten.
All the court cards and aces were cut on the slant at the top, so as to prevent them being quite straight, as in figure 20, but much less so in reality than is here represented.
To discover this very slight alteration it required a most practised eye; but slight as it was, it was sufficient for the sharper; and, according to these indications, he either took the upper card, if it were to his advantage, or dealt to himself the lower one by the "filage."K In this manner he could also, at the end of the deal, retain or give himself the card he required.
PART V.
THE "POINTÉES," OR PRICKED CARDS.
These marks are made by the Greek to distinguish all the high cards.
With the point of a pin, a little blunted, he pricks the card in the corner at the side of the picture, so as to produce a minute elevation on the upper surface.
Some Greeks improve on this trick, by pricking between the two card-boards, and afterwards pasting them together again. In this way, nothing is to be seen on the upper part of the card but a small roughness, which, should it ever be remarked, would pass for a defect in the card-board.
Others, who are still more adroit, instead of making any mark above, do it from beneath, and in this manner the mark is completely hidden by the painting, and can only be discovered by the touch.
PART VI.
THE CARDS "MORFILÉES," OR WITH INDENTED EDGES.
This trick very much resembles the preceding one, only that it is done in presence of the dupe.
Each time that a card which will be favourable to his play, passes through the hands of the Greek, he makes a small dent with his nail on the edge of it. This mark is easily felt by the Greek.
It must be confessed, that those amongst the Greeks who are adepts at this trick, have an extreme delicacy of touch, which they preserve by always wearing gloves, when they are not playing at cards. Some of them even rub the ends of their fingers with pumice stone, or dip them in certain acids, which give extreme sensibility to the skin.
PART VII.
THE "ONDULÉES," OR WAVY CARDS.
The above marks, or waves, are also made whilst playing.
When the Greek observes any cards, which will suit him to perform the trick he is about to play, he makes, at the bottom of the left-hand corner, a little fold, or arch, inwards. This alteration, be it ever so slight, produces a kind of lustre on the card, which the eye of the Greek can immediately detect.
This trick is generally employed in cheating at Piquet. The Greek, in this way, marks all the aces and high cards in any of the suits.
With certain arts of legerdemain, which I have before alluded to, he can so arrange all, or part, of his hand, that no play of his adversary, be it ever so good, could stand against it.
PART VIII.
THE "TAROTÉES," OR FIGURED OR CHECQUERED CARDS.
It often happens that, in packs of playing-cards, the backs of which are ornamented with figures and designs, these ornaments are not placed exactly in the same spot on each card.
If examined attentively, it will be seen, that the designs are not always the same distance from the edge of the card. The manufacturer himself, and players in general, pay little attention to these irregularities, but the Greek turns them to account, and makes them useful in his tricks. By the time the cards have been dealt two or three times round, he can distinguish many of them.
Sharpers are themselves often the manufacturers of their own cards, and can, therefore, arrange and place their designs where they please.
For instance, let us suppose that the design consists of a series of lozenges, placed one above the other. The Greek would so arrange them that, at the edge of the card, the lozenge should be entire for the ace. Then, as it approaches the edge, it is cut in half for the queen, quarterly for the king, and three-quarters for the knave.
In the same way, on the upper side of the card, the lozenges, by similar arrangements, would point out the spades, hearts, clubs, or diamonds, and also show the principal cards in the game of Piquet.
All this would seem to be the effect of chance, and no one could assert that there was anything fraudulent.
PART IX.
THE MARKED, OR SPOTTED CARDS.
This trick of marking cards, is equal to any of the most refined abbreviations used in stenography, as here, by the aid of a single spot, any one of the thirty-two cards in the game of Piquet may be known.
We will imagine, for example, a design formed of spots, or some other device, arranged symmetrically, as these sorts of patterns usually are. For instance, as in figure 21.
The first large spot, beginning from the top of the card, on the left hand, will represent a heart; the second, in descending, a diamond, the third a club, and the fourth a spade.
Now, if, by the side of any of these, another spot is added, it will immediately serve to show what card it is.
The mark should be placed near one of the original spots, as shown below in figure 22, which, when placed at the top, shows it is an ace; going round to the right of it, the next spot would be a king, the third spot a queen, the fourth a knave, and so on to the seven.
It must be clearly understood that only one spot is to be made, as in figure 21, where that which is added to the third spot, would (according to the rules I have laid down), mark the eight of clubs.
After these explanations, I feel convinced, my reader has already made up his mind, never again to play with cards on which there are devices.
"If these are the sort of tricks one is subject to," exclaims he, "I'll take care that I never play with anything but plain cards again."
Unfortunately, even these can be tampered with, as I have already shown in speaking of tinted cards; of which I will now give another proof.
In the year 1849, the judge of the Criminal Court of the Seine, begged me to examine a hundred and fifty packs of cards, which were supposed to have been tampered with. They were found in the possession of a man, whose antecedents were far from being as pure, as the colour of his cards.
The cards were in fact all white, and had hitherto defied the most minute inspection.
It was impossible for the most practised eye to discover, that they had been altered or marked in any way.
They seemed all of the best quality.
I spent nearly a fortnight in examining (not only with my naked eye, but with a strong magnifying glass) the card board, the shape, and the almost imperceptible shades, of each of these one hundred and fifty packs of cards.
I could detect nothing; and tired out, I was going to give the same opinion as the experts who had previously examined them.
"There is certainly nothing wrong with these cards," exclaimed I, one evening, in a pettish tone, throwing the pack from me across the table.
All at once, on the shining back of one of the cards, near one of the corners, I thought I saw a dull-looking spot, which had before escaped me. On looking close at it, it disappeared; but strange to say, as I went far off from it, it re-appeared.
"How glad I am," cried I aloud, enthusiastically. "Now I see what it is. It's all right. This then is the mark!" and following the rules, used by sharpers, I satisfied myself, that on every card there was the same spot, which, being placed in various parts, were distinctive signs of the card and the suit. The following was the way the thing was done.
We must imagine the cards divided into eight divisions perpendicularly, and four horizontally, as in figure 23. The former will indicate the value of the card, the latter the suit. The mark is placed where each of these divisions intersect one another. The above is the way the cheat is performed, and practice does the rest.
I must be allowed to decline mentioning the method, by which these mysterious marks are made on the cards. My object being, as I have already stated, more than once, to expose the tricks of sharpers, but not to show how they are done. Suffice it to say, that when looked at closely, these spots are invisible; but when viewed from afar, the reflection of a strong light makes the card shine, but leaves the spot dull.
At first sight, it would seem a difficult task to distinguish one card from another, by an isolated spot on the back of it. However, if my readers will attend to what I have told them, and look at the example given in figure 23, they will see that it does not belong to the second, nor the fourth perpendicular division; and by the same rule, they will observe, that the spot is in the second horizontal division, and represents, therefore, the queen of diamonds.
From all this, it is evident that a swindler plays and stakes—I will not say his honour, but his liberty, against fortune; and that, by reason of the importance of the stake, he ought to have devoted the most serious attention to an art, on which all his future depends.
