Card player

“ The cards must be arranged in sets, as soon as they have been picked up off the table. If a player has only two cards of one set, he must hand an isolated card to the player on his right, who takes it, if it is of any service to him, and, in his turn, hands one of the cards in his hand to his neighbour on the right. ”

“ When the second card is laid down, the player calls out the sum of the pips on the two cards played, and so on until all the cards are played, or until neither player can play without passing the number thirty-one. If one player has a card or cards that will come in and the other has not, he is at liberty to play them; at the six-card game he must play as long as they can come in, and he can score runs or make pairs, &c., with them. If one player’s cards are exhausted, the adversary plays out his own, and can score with them. ”

“ Each plays, and, after one card all round is played, its place is supplied by a new deal of one card to each. Every card of the trump-suit takes any card of the other suits. Each player takes as many counting-cards as he can, and, at the end of the game, he who counts the most wins,—the account being made according to the value of the cards, as stated above. ”

“ The player looks at the ten face cards and throws out any aces. Then he builds up suits, as far as he can, by resting a card of opposite color, and of one degree lower in value, on some other card. Thus, a red goes on a black, a black on a red, a queen on a king, a two on a three, and so on. When the shifting of cards causes a file to have no face card in it, then the uppermost non-face card may be turned over, ready for being used. ”

“ The bet is, that, although you saw the cards, you cannot tell which is which as they lie back upwards. The rapidity with which the cards are moved renders certainty in naming the right card an impossibility. The gaming begins sometimes by the entrance of the man called the player, who has pocket-knives to sell, and offers them to the company. If nobody will purchase a knife, he offers to raffle one by the cards. If the kid and his flat decline to play, some other members of the company accept the challenge. ”

“ Especially does the player watch his own cards, and if he finds there the end of the poem, the beginning of which has just been read, he must pick it up before any one sees it and lay it aside. If some one else spies the card first, he seizes it and gives to the careless player several cards from his own hand. ”

“ Two players then take in their hands the two packs of cards, which must be shuffled, and each one cut by the left-hand neighbour. One of them then deals a card, face downwards, to each player, and these are called the lots. On each lot the players all place as many counters as they like, after which a card to every one is given from the other pack, and these second cards are called tickets. ”

“ The dealer having been decided upon, takes the pack of cards and shuffles them, after which he has the pack cut by the player on his right-hand side, and then proceeds to distribute one card, face downwards and unexposed, to each player, dealing in regular order from left to right. ”

“ When the talon is exhausted, the combinations that have been made are taken into the owner's hand, and the last eight cards belonging to both players are disposed of the same way as in Whist, the second player following suit, and heading the trick, if he can possibly do so, either by trumping or playing a higher card. ”

“ Beginning with his left-hand neighbour, the whole pack is then dealt out to the players one by one, faces downward, until the last one is arrived at, which, though the property of the dealer, is turned up, displaying the trump suit. If dealt properly, every player will hold in his hand thirteen cards, which he is now at liberty to look at and arrange in order, the owner of each hand being in honour bound not to look at any cards but his own. ”

“ Should three players have their right number of cards, the fourth, less, and not discover such deficiency until he has played, the deal stands; he, not being dummy, is answerable for any established revoke he may have made as if the missing card or cards had been in his hand. Any player may search the other pack for it or them. ”

“ The company take their places and the cards are handed round. These should be held face downward. When all is ready one of the players reads the story, pausing at each blank for the player whose turn comes next to fill it in by calling out whatever is on his uppermost card. ”

“ There are card players, or ‘card sharps,’ as they are called, who can shuffle cards so adroitly as to ‘put up a hand’ right before your eyes, and you not know it. Even a ‘bungler’ can shuffle so as to give himself a ‘pair,’ or at least to have knowledge of what cards are left on the top or bottom of the pack, which knowledge he can make useful in many ways. For instance, after the deal, he finds in looking at his hand that he has a pair that match the card he knows is on the bottom of the pack. ”

“ If the third hand play before the second, the fourth has a right to play before his partner; or if the fourth hand play before the second or third, the cards so played must stand, and the second be compelled to win the trick if he can. If a player lead out of his turn, or otherwise expose a card, that card may be called, if the playing of it does not cause a revoke.
[Calling a card is the insisting of its being played when the suit comes round, or when it may be played.] If a player trump by mistake, he may recall his card, and play to the suit, if the card be not covered ”

“ The dealer is to give three cards at once to every player turning up, all round, the last card belonging to each player, and the best card reckoning from ace downwards amongst those so turned up, wins the first stake; if two or more superior cards of a sort be turned up, the eldest hand, of course, has the preference, except in case of the ace of diamonds, which at this part of the game takes place of every other. ”

“ Despite what many wise card players maintain, a deck can be stacked in the shuffle—if there are not more than three, or at the most four, players; but in a half-dozen riffles of the cards I can put a good hand at the bottom and deal it at will though the eyes of twenty men are on me. ”

“ There are fifty cards in the pack, composed of five different suits; namely, Faces, Flags, Eagles, Stars, and Shields, “the honour cards being called the upper ten.”
The directions for dealing, cutting, etc. are given, and are exactly the same as those in common use among all card-players, be they bent on gambling or only on innocent amusement.
The publisher goes on to state that “many things will serve for counters, as kernels of corn, or coffee, or old cards cut up. For those who prefer something better the publisher of these cards has provided an ample supply at a small expense.” ”

“ The "playing cards" are the production of an ingenious human device, derived from the divine origin of time; the history of which but little has heretofore been known and understood by the world of card players and the public in general. So far as the author is informed, no like historic record has ever been published, and card players have, seemingly, taken little or no interest to learn and know the historic origin of the greatest enterprise known to the sixteenth century, the period of their advent, so valuable and important to the present generation. ”

“ From the position in which the cards are held it will be seen that, as each card is dealt, the finger and thumb of the dealer's right hand fall respectively below and above the pack. It is, therefore, entirely optional whether he shall take the top card with his thumb, or the bottom one with his finger. When a card has to be dealt, then, to himself or to his confederate, as the case may be, it is the bottom one which is taken; to the other players the top ones are dealt out. ”

“ Second Method.—Proceed as above, but instead of opening the pack to get sight of the card, bring it secretly to the bottom by the pass, and offer the cards to be shuffled, holding them at the upper end between the thumb and first and second finger of the right hand, and slanting from you at an angle of 45°, as in Fig. 15. As the faces are towards you, you have a full view of the card. Even if it should suggest itself to the audience that you are able to see the bottom card, as they are not aware that the chosen card is now in that position, there is nothing to excite their suspicion. ”

“ Spread the cards a little, and fling them into the air, clutching at them with the right hand as they descend, and at the same moment bring the chosen card to the tips of the fingers. The effect to the spectators will be as if you actually caught it among the falling cards.
This feat also may be performed without the aid of a long card, and without the necessity of forcing a card. In this case, as in the pocket-picking trick, you make the pass as soon as the card is returned to the pack, in order to bring it to the top, and palm it; then offer the pack to be shuffled. ”

“ You must be careful to invite the different persons to call for their cards in the reverse order to that in which they are replaced in the pack. Thus, you first address the person who last returned his card, and then the last but one, and so on. You must tax your ingenuity for devices to take off the attention of the spectators from the pack at the moment when it is necessary to turn it over; and as each repetition of the process increases the chance of detection, it is well not to allow more than three or four cards to be drawn. ”

“ They also pass cards from one to the other to strengthen each other’s hands, deal from the bottom where they have cards prepared, ring in cold decks—that is, a pack of cards all arranged to suit the gambler, and exactly similar in appearance to the ones in use—utilize the false cut, and make “strippers” out of, say, four aces and four tens, so that the gambler is always sure of a “full” hand or four of a kind; but the most ingenious method of fleecing a young player is by using “marked” cards. ”

“ When you are playing with the pack, drop out the diamonds, from the ace to the ten, and contrive without being perceived, to get all the other cards with their heads in the same direction; then request a person to choose a card; do not force one, but let him choose whichever he pleases: while he has it in his hand and is looking at it, carelessly turn the pack in your hand, so that the position of the cards may be reversed; then bid him put the card he has chosen into the centre of the pack ”

“ The above delusive offer to show “how it’s done” can be equally well adapted to many other tricks, and never fails to create amusement.
A Card having been thought of, to make such Card Vanish from the Pack, and be Discovered wherever the Performer pleases.—This trick should be performed with twenty-seven cards only. You deal the cards, face upwards, in three packs, requesting one of the company to note a card, and to remember in which heap it is. ”