Phantoms of the Card Table

by Britland, David

• ISBN13: 9781568582993
• ISBN10: 1568582994
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-24
• Publisher: Running Pr Book Pub

Summary

Walter Irving Scott was the sharpest man to ever deal a card. Throughout the 1930s and '40s, he dazzled and frustrated fellow players by dealing himself winning hands from shuffled decks. Sixty years later, Gazzo, an expert magician with a specialty in cons and scams, tracked down the elusive Scott in a Rhode Island retirement home. This is his amazing story. Phantoms of the Card Table takes us into the hidden world of the professional cardsharp, telling the history and methods behind such moves as "The Take," "The Key," "The Sniff Peek," and of course -- "The Scott Bottom Deal." Seventy years ago, New York's finest magicians gathered to watch Walter Scott, and later paid handsomely to learn his secrets. Now, for the rest of us, the mysteries of the card table are finally laid bare. Book jacket.

Author Biography

David Britland is the author of numerous books on magic and mind reading

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 13
Beware of the Shark	p. 15
Of Rogues and Knaves	p. 16
The Reformed Gamblers	p. 21
The Sharper Detected	p. 29
Risky Business	p. 32
Game Over	p. 35
The Expert at the Card Table	p. 39
Lessons in Legerdemain	p. 44
Secrets for Sale	p. 45
The Search for Erdnase	p. 47
Dai Vernon--The Professor	p. 57
The Phantom Comes to Town	p. 65
The Gambler from the Golden West	p. 73
Max Malini	p. 75
Next Stop Horowitz	p. 77
Vernon Calling	p. 80
The Phantom Vanishes	p. 87
The Search for the Middle Deal	p. 87
The Beautiful Second	p. 89
The Twenty Dollar Manuscript	p. 91
A Talk to Card Enthusiasts	p. 91
The Mysterious Don Romano	p. 95
Card Detectives	p. 97
The Man who Fools Magicians	p. 100
Expert Card Technique	p. 102
The Phantom Returns	p. 105
Scott in New England	p. 107
The Ghost of Eddie McGuire	p. 111
A Classic of Gambling Literature	p. 114
Search for the Phantom	p. 117
The Three-card Monte	p. 119
The Great Quest	p. 121
Pleased to Meet You, Mr Scott	p. 124
The Phantom Speaks	p. 131
Natural Born Dealer	p. 132
The Sorcerer's Apprentice	p. 134
The Hustler	p. 137
A Mysterious Mentor	p. 138
Meeting McGuire	p. 143
The Magic of Music	p. 147
New York, 1930	p. 150
Aftermath	p. 154
Friends and Enemies	p. 157
The Phantom on Film	p. 157
The Phantom Vanishes	p. 158
The Modern School of Music	p. 159
A Ghost from the Past	p. 161
Confessions of a Card Cheat	p. 169
A Lesson in Dishonesty	p. 172
The Almighty Second	p. 174
The Smart Cheater	p. 176
The Real Work	p. 177
The Big Game	p. 180
The Confidence Man	p. 181
The Front	p. 183
Cheating the Cheaters	p. 184
The Double Cross	p. 186
The Greatest Card Cheat that Ever Lived	p. 189
The Legacy of Walter Scott	p. 193
The Phantom of the Card Table Revisited	p. 201
Master Second Dealing	p. 202
The Key	p. 202
The Take	p. 203
Things to Avoid	p. 205
Practising	p. 206
Using It in a Game	p. 207
Top Card Peek	p. 208
Bottom Card Peek	p. 211
The Sniff Peek	p. 212
The Scott Bottom Deal	p. 213
Practice Bottom Deal	p. 213
The Take	p. 214
Preferred Bottom Deal	p. 215
The Key	p. 216
The Take	p. 216
Scott's Punch	p. 218
Making the Punch	p. 218
Fixing the Punch	p. 219
Marking the Cards	p. 220
Pegging during Exhibition Work	p. 222
The Blindfold Deal	p. 224
Slick Ace Formula	p. 227
The Bug	p. 230
Edge Work	p. 234
Putting in the Work	p. 234
Reading the Marks	p. 235
Locating the Cards	p. 236
A Typical Exhibition	p. 236
Final Thoughts	p. 239
Which Brings Us to the Present	p. 241
The Second Deal	p. 241
The Punch	p. 243
The Bottom Deal	p. 246
Slick Cards	p. 247
Top Card Peek	p. 248
Final Thoughts	p. 249
Recommended Reading	p. 251
Early Cheats and Gamblers	p. 252
S. W. Erdnase	p. 253
Walter Scott and Eddie McGuire	p. 253
Magicians and Card Detectives	p. 254
Cheats and Hustlers	p. 255
Video Material	p. 256
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.