Jabari Edwards 09.25.12 AMST-3020 Dr.

Harris

The Cheating Game

The Cheating game, known to the United States as poker, came to be known in the nineteenth century. It mainly gained popularity since not only did it require some skill to play, it also required a little bit of luck. Some would hope that luck would eventually would come their way so they could bet high, others decided that they would rather make their own luck. This had relative success among the cheaters, some winning big stakes, the others being killed once caught. The excitement, adrenaline, and overall skill required to play poker attracted many Americans to the sport. Many of the talents that were found would be interpretations that Americans would admire. Courage, Bravery, Intelligence, and Fairness. The first three traits were demonstrated in the practice and perfection of their craft. The need to carry a weapon was also a necessity, because as a cheater, harm could come to them if they were caught cheating. Fairness was also demonstrated as they wouldnt hesitate to play against anybody. Whether it would be Farmers, young men with a passion for poker, poker studs, or blacks, if they had money to play a few rounds of poker, they would be willing to play and take their money in the process. These attributes can be found in the wild west times, when Americans can relate to those times as a fairly positive one. Harry Truman

also exemplified these characteristics and at times when he would play poker, he would play winning poker with whatever hand hes holdin when the trouble begins.(McManus 181) The cheating games was disrespectful to the poker players at the table, however the act of cheating without getting caught was considered to be a formidable feat. Everything had to be carefully planned, from the entry to the getaway, and many tools were used in some of their successes. It took guts, bravery, and wit to pull off the feat successfully. It took giving the suckers enough confidence through hands and wins in order for them to up the ante and throw their chips in a big pot enough to pull of the heist. If successful, cheaters would walk away with hundreds of thousands of dollars, if caught cheating, the worst penalty would be death as it was displayed in the 1897 painting, A Misdeal.(McManus 181) There were many varied methods that were used to cheat. Many of the common methods were to mark the cards, mainly the aces in precise locations where it would be undetectable to the human eye. Spare decks were stacked in order to give the suckers a favorable hand and the confidence to bet a lot of their money, and also to give the cheaters a better hand above. The skills needed to deal cards and have a magicians sleight of hand and mastery of precision were mainly self taught, and needed to be able to maintained during the fast action of poker. The story of losing a hand of four kings to the hand of four aces comes to mind, as it can describe the cheaters motive of getting the sucker to ante up. New crafts began to be invented, such as a holdout device, capable of snatching a card from ones hand and tugging it up their sleeve until it was time to push it back down again. As John Scarne would state, If he knows the exact position of only one of the 52 cards, he will eventually win all the money in sight.(McManus 88) The Improved Cooler was also a machine designed for switching a cold deck into the game by the waistband of ones pants. Marked decks was

considered to be a classic method due to variety, however it required extra work depending on the cheaters opponents. Line workers could add flower petals or hatch marks, Edge workers could thicken the lines around the backs border, and shaders could use diluted ink to tint a spot, which can be revealed to the sharp at the poker table by wearing blue tinted spectacles. At times, the opponents would call for fresh decks, which would result in having the sharp to mark the deck as he passed out the cards, using fingernail imprints and feint scratches on the cards. The story of the riverboat captain losing his hand to four aces to four kings had become a cliche in terms of cheating. The riverboat captain who bet two thirds of his stake and lost, left the room and shot himself in the heart.(McManus 76) Cheaters also tend to pair up as well, as the story of the Green Spectacles was about dealing four kings and an ace to the lawyer, while his other opponents have four queens and four jacks. The pot couldve been split up later on by the lawyer and green spectacles, effectively earning a good split of money together. Not every cheater gets away however, as those that do get caught make a plea for the lightest punishment, forfeiting their winnings and buy-in and making their way towards the door. Some may even make a claim that cheating provides a quicker death compared to a skilled poker player that can recognize the signs of cheating. A mechanic tried to convince Monty of his principles that this was the case for him cheating, and getting caught. The Cheating Game became popular to Americans for numerous reasons. The characteristics that were associated with pokers qualities and cheating were what Americans became known for, fighting in wars and presidential officials making the tough decisions in office. The most successful cheaters had to plan carefully to every detail how they were going to make a killing and get away with it, without losing their entry fee and earnings.