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.