foreword to the online edition

preface

I. introductory

II. common sharpers and their tricks

III. marked cards and the manner of their employment

IV. reflectors

V. holdouts

VI. manipulation

VII. collusion and conspiracy

VIII. the game of faro

IX. prepared cards

X. dice

XI. high ball poker

XII. roulette and allied games

XIII. sporting houses

XIV. sharps and flats

postscript

SHARPS AND FLATS

CHAPTER IX

PREPARED CARDS

The Stripper Plate

FIG. 45

The most primitive appliance used for the purpose is what is now known as a 'stripper-plate.' It consists of two steel bars, bolted together at each end, the length between the bolts being ample to allow a playing-card to be inserted lengthwise between the bars, and screwed up tightly. Fig. 45 illustrates a device of this kind, with a card in situ, ready for cutting. Across the centre of the top plate a slight groove is filed, to facilitate the insertion of the card in a truly central position. The edges of the two plates or bars are perfectly smooth, and are formed so as to give the required curve to the card when cut. In the illustration, the side of the card when cut would become concave. The cutting is managed by simply running a sharp knife or razor along the side of the arrangement. This takes off a thin shred of the card, and, guided by the steel plates, the cut is clean and the edge of the card is in no danger of becoming jagged.

There is another type of device designed to make the same kind of "concave" strippers, called "N" strippers, or negative stripper (also sometimes called "in" strippers). That other device is not yet too widely exposed, so at this time no images will be offered here. However, the device is somewhat easier to use than the stripper plate and produces finer work, because no cutting is involved.

Also, it should be noted that stripper decks can be made with very simple (almost improvised) tools. Even making cards on the fly, in the course of a live game, is a possibility, if one knows how. But the secret to that technique will not be exposed here. The secret, of course, is very simple.