Marked cards: the history of appearance, methods of mark, how to protect yourself from a sharper?

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Anyone who plays cards for money or just for fun has heard or even met with marked cards. Even natural wear, a crease, or a barely torn edge of a card can easily make it stand out from others. A player with a trained eye gains an advantage over his opponents by knowing only one card in the deck. It's easy to imagine how great the card sharper's superiority is in the game of marked cards, because he can easily recognize the entire deck.

History

The first mention of cards dates back to the ninth century. In China, a card game with a deck of thirty-eight cards was popular. This game, like many others, was adopted from the Chinese by the Mongols, who also spread it to other countries during their conquests. In the thirteenth century, maps appeared in Persia and India, then in Egypt. Moreover, the Egyptians used them not so much for playing as for fortune-telling.

Italian sailors in the fourteenth century brought exotic oriental pictures and games to Europe, where they quickly became fashionable. From Italy in the 15th century, the cards moved to France, from here through Germany and Poland, by the seventeenth century they came to Russia.

Sharp

Swith the help of cards they guessed, solitaire was played from them, they played for money. It was the thirst for profit that led to the emergence of scammers who deceive frivolous rivals with the help of marked cards. Honest players and authorities punished cheaters with the most radical methods: from instant punishment in the form of beatings right at the crime scene to public executions.

However, the lure of easy money was stronger than the fear of possible retribution. In addition, the writers to some extent idealized the image of a sharper, telling what it means - marked cards, revealing the secrets of scammers, often exposing this unrighteous occupation in a romantic, favorable light.

Therefore, gambling scammers have not disappeared anywhere so far, with the same zeal they continue to deceive gamblers and inattentive people, using both ancient, but perfectly working methods, and modern technologies. All deck marking techniques can be divided into two types: visual and physical.

Visual markings

This is a simple, and most importantly, an inconspicuous way to mark cards. Often only a person who has an eagle eye and knows what exactly to look for can notice tiny changes on a shirt. Sometimes it is necessary to have additional means, such as lenses or scanners, to detect the mole.

Marked cards can be purchased at a specialized store, but real scammers usually do not rely on a mass producer, but make the markings themselves, sometimes right during the game. Barely noticeable dashes, dots, marks are introduced into the shirt pattern, according to which the cheaterrecognizes cards.

But an experienced opponent with a trained eye can spot the speck and expose the scammers, so they adopted technical innovations. Signs and inscriptions indicating the denomination and suit are applied to the shirt with special paint. But these marks cannot be seen without special lenses, which are put on by a malicious gambler before the game.

Physical markings

This method of marking is suitable for people who perceive tactile sensations better. The fingers act as a tool for reading secret signs printed on marked cards. These can be creases or tattoos, previously made with a needle or right during the game - with a fingernail. Fraudsters can change the roughness of the cards, marking the cards they need with an eraser or paraffin, and artificially “age” the cards they need. Physical markings are less reliable than visual markings. Creases, suspicious roughness and punctures are easier for other players to notice.

How to avoid cheating?

There are a number of simple but effective rules that will help the player not become a victim of a card cheat:

• You need to sit down at the table with proven players, because scammers often give the impression of charming, honest people, they ingratiate themselves to make it easier for them to deceive an opponent.
• If the company is unfamiliar, then you should be vigilant to the point of suspicion.
• It is better to play with a completely new deck, and if this is not possible, then the deck must be carefully reviewed so that it does notturned out to be marked cards. Any doubtful stains, prints, damage, different color shades on the shirt, scratches are a cause for alarm and an argument in favor of changing the deck.
• During the game, you need to watch the hands and facial expressions of your opponents. A card sharper can smear with a fingernail or a ring right at the table, and facial expressions, excessive nervousness, a close look at other people's cards or shifty eyes betray inexperienced deceivers.

How to make your own marked cards?

First you need to decide which sense is better developed: sight or touch. If preference is given to the eyes, then visual marks are applied to the back of cards from the new deck. This should be a system of dashes, leaves or dots that the player can understand, imperceptibly woven into the shirt pattern and indicating the denomination and suit. Marks are placed in the corners of the cards so that they can be seen in the hands of the opponent.

In physical marking, the marks are applied with a needle to the shirt, and then rubbed lightly so that other players do not feel them. One of the most effective methods of krap is the clock method. The twelve o'clock of the dial represent the 12 meanings of the cards. For example, an ace is assigned the position of the hour hand at 12 o'clock, a king is assigned an hour, a queen is two o'clock, a volt is three o'clock, and so on. Each suit has its own conditional dial, which is located on the shirt in a strictly defined place. Having got the hang of it, the player can even find out what cards his opponents have when dealing.