poll One; for in playing the cards the confederates will not only

take care of their own tricks, but also of yours, for the cards
may be so played, and shoved together in such a manner, as will

even cause you to take them right yourself; and if a trick should
lie untowardly on the table, A or B will pay you the compliment

of taking it up for you, and say--"Sir, that's yours." This
operation will the more readily be apprehended by seeing it

practised half a score times; when once you are aware of it, it
will otherwise (I may say fairly) pass upon any person that has

not been let into the secret. This being allowed, the next point
and difficulty is to shuffle and cut.

'I say, that either A or B are such curious workmen, and can make
a sham shuffle with a pack of cards so artfully, that you would

believe they were splitting them, when at the time they will not
displace a single card from its order! Such is the SHARPER'S

shuffling.
'Now, to cut the cards, a BEND is prepared for you to cut to--

the middle is the best; and it is odds but you unwarily cut to
it; if not, SLIP is the word; but if you have no opportunity to

do that neither, then deal away at all hazards, it is but an
equal bet that they come in your favour; if right, proceed; if

otherwise, miss a card in its course, and it brings the cards
according to your first design; it is but giving two at last

where you missed; and if that cannot be conveniently done, you
only lose the deal, and there is an end of it.

'But when A or B is to cut, they make it all safe; for then they
make the CORNER-BEND, which any one that knows may cut to, a

hundred times together.
'Piping at Whist. By piping I mean, when one of the company that

does not play, which frequently happens, sits down in a
convenient place to smoke a pipe, and so look on, pretending to

amuse himself that way. Now, the disposing of his fingers on the
pipe whilst smoking discovers the principal cards that are in the

person's hand he overlooks; which was always esteemed a
sufficient advantagewhereby to win a game. There is another

method, namely, by uttering words. "Indeed" signifies diamonds;
"truly," hearts; "upon my word," clubs; "I assure you," spades.

But as soon as these methods become known, new ones are invented;
and it is most curious that two persons may discover to each

other what sort of cards they have in hand, and which ought first
to be played, many different ways, without speaking a word.'

There can be no doubt that the act of sorting the cards is
capable of giving an acute observer a tolerably accurate idea of

his partner's or either of his opponents' hands; so that where
cheating is suspected it would be better to play the cards

without sorting them. The number of times a sorter carries a
card to a particular part indicates so many of a suit; your own

hand and his play will readily indicate the nature of the cards
in which he is either strong or weak.

I now quote Robert-Houdin's account of
CARD TELEGRAPHY.

Although there are 32 cards in the game of Piquet, all of them
may be designated by twelve different signs, namely, eight for

the nature of the cards, and four for the colours.
At Ecarte, the number of the signals is still less, as it is only

the figures that require indication: but to make these
indications it is necessary to execute a sort of pantomime,

according to certain authors, such as blowing the nose, coughing,
drumming on the table, sneezing, &c. Such evolutions, however,

are totallyunworthy of your modern Greek, and would soon be
denounced as gross fraud. The signals which he employs are only

appreciable by his confederate,--as follows:--
If he looks

1. At his confederate, he designates A king.
2. At the play of his adversary . . . A queen.

3. At the stake . . . . . . . . . . . A knave.
4. At the opposite side . . . . . . . An ace.

And whilst he indicates the nature of the cards he at the same
time makes known the colour by the following signs:--

1. The mouth slightly open . . . . . Hearts.
2. The mouth shut . . . . . . . . . . Diamonds.

3. The upper-lip slightly pouting
over the lower . . . . . . . Clubs.

4. The lower-lip drawn over the
upper . . . . . . . . . . . Spades.

Thus, if the Greek wishes to announce, for instance, the knave
and ace of hearts, he successively directs his looks upon the

play of his adversary, upon the stake, and to the opposite side,
whilst keeping his mouth slightly open.

It is evident that this telegraphy may be employed at all games
where there is a gallery. In effect, nothing is easier at Piquet

than to indicate, by the aid of these signals, the colour in
which the player should discard and that in which he should keep

what cards he has.
These are the simplest signs; but some of the Greeks have a great

number of them, to designate everything; and even sometimes to
communicate and receive intelligence, when necessary. This

telegraphy is so imperceptible that it is difficult to describe
it, and altogether impossible to detect it.[7]

[7] Tricheries des Grecs devoilees.
Robert-Houdin has exhausted the subject of card-trickery, in

connection with that prestidigitation which, it seems, all card-
sharpers cultivate, the description of which, however, is by no

means so entertaining as the visibleperformance. I find,
nevertheless, in his book, under the title of 'Small Trickeries

made innocent by Custom,' certain things alluded to which I can
attest by experience.

I. At Whist, no communicationwhatever must be made by a player
to his partner, excepting those authorized by the laws of the

game; but some persons go further, and by the play of their
features 'telegraph' to their partners the value of their hands.

II. Any one with a good memory and endowed with quick perception
may form a very accurateestimate of the hands held by all the

players by remembering THE TRICKS AS THEY ARE PLAYED AND TURNED
DOWN--all of a suit, or trumped. Cards 'stick together' most

lovingly, and the ordinary shuffling scarcely alters their
sequence; and so, if a trick has been taken by an ace over a

king, for instance, and in the next deal you get the same king,
you may be sure that the ace is either on your right or your

left, according to the deal; of course, if you get the ace, then
the same probability, or rather necessity, exists as to the king;

and so on. Knave, queen, king, ace, of the same name, are almost
sure to be separated in the deal between the four players, or one

player will have two of them. The observation is a tax upon the
faculties; but I am sure, quite sure, that the thing can be done,

and is, when done, of material service; although, of course, the
knowledge can be turned to account only by an expertplayer, with

a partner who can understand the game which he wishes to play.
Whist is, decidedly, one of the fairest of games; but for that

very reason, it is open to the greatest over-reaching, or, if you
like, cheating.

With regard to dice, of course, they were and, doubtless, are
still loaded. Such were formerly called 'dispatches,' because

they would 'in five minutes dispatch L500 out of the pocket of
any young man when intoxicated with champagne.'

Roulette and Rouge et Noir tables were and are so arranged as
always to make the bank win at the will of the attendant,

regulating them with a touch.