The Expert at the Card Table: Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation (Dover Magic Books)

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I still need to watch my DVD set, but I wanted to read the book first. It's easy to get through if you don't worry too much about visualizing the moves exactly. Get a general idea of what he's describing, and what each move does, and remind yourself that you'll be able to see them in action when you watch video instruction. The Expert at the Card Table is the most famous, the most carefully studied book ever published on the art of manipulating cards at gaming tables.” —from the Foreword by Martin Gardner. S.W. Erdnase... the pseudonym of the man thought to be the most notorious card shark of the 19th century. His book "The Expert at the Card Table" is now considered the card conjurer's bible, making it compulsory reading for any magician. It took more than 30 years after its publication for the true value of the book to be appreciated - too late for the author to witness the success of his work and too late for all the magicians who would have enjoyed meeting him. His true identity is still uncertain and remains a great mystery, leaving even the best illusionists in the dark. A film based on the life of the mysterious author, adapted by German director Hans-Joachim Brucherseifer, is currently in production. The magician Yann Yuro (a.k.a. Florian Beyer) plays the lead role of S.W. Erdnase. It is scheduled to be released in late 2022.

Vanishing Inc. UK Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 09430707. Prices shown excluding UK VAT.The influence of this book is such that it has been issued in annotated form; [8] [9] translated into Japanese, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, [5] and korean; and issued as a series of DVDs by a professional magician, demonstrating and explaining Erdnase's techniques and methods. [3] A featured show of the story of Expert of the Card Table is also performed regularly by UK magician Guy Hollingworth. [10] Adaptations [ edit ] The best magicians of the 21st century set out on a journey to search for the lost author of the most legendary book about the art of sleight of hand.

He then wraps it all up with a short card routine that uses some of the techniques he just explained. The pen name was probably a good idea… Because he managed to annoy a whole lot of professional gamblers of his day in making their moves so freely accessible. The Expert at the Card Table is the most famous, the most carefully studied book ever published on the art of manipulating cards at gaming tables." —from the Foreword by Martin Gardner. A more complicated table machine passes the cards from below completely over the edge of the table, and the hands, held naturally on the table top, receive and make the discard without a sign to denote the procedure. a b c d e Copperfield, David; Wiseman, Richard; Britland, David (2021). David Copperfield's history of magic. New York, NY. ISBN 978-1-9821-1291-2. OCLC 1236259508. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link)One of the reasons that Expert at the Card Table has become so widely read and garnered so much praise from the magic community is due I believe in large part to the legends Darwin Ortiz and of course… Dai Vernon. Advantages that are bound to ultimately give a percentage in favor of the professional are absolutely essential to his existence, and the means employed at the card table to obtain that result are thoroughly elucidated in this work. We have not been impelled to our task by the qualms of a guilty conscience, nor through the hope of reforming the world. Man cannot change his temperament, and few care to control it. While the passion for hazard exists it will find gratification. We have neither grievance against the fraternity nor sympathy for so-called victims. A varied experience has impressed us with the belief that all men who play for any considerable stakes are looking for the best of it. We give the facts and conditions of our subject as we find them, though we sorrowfully admit that our own early knowledge was acquired at the usual excessive cost to the uninitiated.

I guess the quote rings true: “Gambling isn’t about winning, it’s about cheating better than your opponent can” What is Expert at the Card Table about? Some players make a practice of marking cards during the process of the game. The most desirable cards are creased or indented at certain locations as they happen to come into the player’s possession, with the finger or thumb nail, which is kept pointed for the purpose; and in the course of an hour the principal cards can be readily distinguished. Another plan is to darken the edges with different prepared inks that are conveniently adjusted in pads. These manoeuvres, while making nothing sure in a given instance, always net the operator a favorable percentage in the long run. The Annotated Erdnase/ Magical Publications by Darwin Ortiz. Contains notes, annotations, photographs, citations and references. Also contains two appendices: "New Moves" and "The Search For Erdnase" by Martin Gardner. The book was first published in 1902 under the pseudonym S.W. Erdnase and the identity of the author has remained a mystery and subject of great speculation. Many theories have been advanced on the subject but there are only a few concrete details known of the author. These include that S.W. Erdnase reversed is E. S. Andrews and that the books illustrator, Marshall D. Smith, met the author in a hotel room and described him as well spoken, gentlemanly and of short stature. In the book’s preface, Erdnase states of the book ‘if it sells well it will accomplish the primary motive of the author, as he needs the money.’ This, combined with the expert knowledge displayed in the book’s content, has pointed to several professional gamblers and card sharpers being behind the pseudonym.

Professional Review The Expert at the Card Table - Looking for Erdnase

It's tough to learn the moves from the book alone. While Erdnase explains them in detail, they're the sort of moves that are much easier to learn if you can see someone performing them. Because of this, I recommend getting one of the various DVD instructional sets for "The Expert at the Card Table." There are many other methods of doctoring cards to meet the requirements of particular games, and the skill, or rather want of it, of the operator. By roughening the faces of some of the cards they will hold together, and are more easily retained while shuffling. Faro cards, used in connection with a certain form of brace box, are treated in this manner. In the construction of the various kinds of control boxes the acme of ingenuity and mechanical skill has been reached, and most extravagant prices are demanded and paid, for these innocent-appearing little silver-plated articles. Strippers may be used in Faro with little fear of detection, as the cards are never shuffled or cut by the players. A crooked box and a clever dealer can give the house a percentage that would impoverish a prince. Millions of dollars are wagered annually at Faro in this country. It is the most fascinating of layout games. However, we have reason to believe it is generally dealt on the square in gambling rooms that are run openly. The bank’s percentage is satisfactory to the proprietors. a b c Erdnase, S. W (1995) [1902]. The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation (1st Ed. reprinted.). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-28597-9. Hold outs that are adjusted to the person are of most ingenious construction and very expensive. A sleeve machine which passes the cards into and from the palm by spreading the knees may be worth from seventy-five dollars to several hundred dollars. Some are worked by arm pressure, some pass the cards through an opening in the vest about the usual height the hands are held. One of the most novel and perfect machines ever constructed makes the sneak by simply expanding the chest an inch or two, or taking a deeper breath than usual.

The Dover edition has some changes from previous editions that make it easily distinguishable if it's scanned or OCR'd. Artifice, ruse and subterfuge at the card table: a treatise on the science and art of manipulating cards at the HathiTrust Digital LibraryIn an informative Foreword to this edition, Martin Gardner relates the unhappy details of the author’s personal life, and recounts the history of this famous book, whose methods, Mr. Gardner asserts, “are as useful today by magicians and card hustlers as they were in 1902. This book is still the bible of card ‘mechanics,’ and as much a delight to read as it was in the early years of this century.”