Card sharp

Last updated August 21, 2023

Le Tricheur a l'as de carreau [fr] (1635) by Georges de La Tour Falschspieler.jpg — *Le Tricheur à l'as de carreau [ fr ]* (1635) by Georges de La Tour

A card sharp (also card shark, sometimes hyphenated or spelled as a single word) is a person who uses skill and/or deception to win at poker or other card games. "Sharp" and "shark" spellings have varied over time and by region.

The label is not always intended as pejorative, and is sometimes used to refer to practitioners of card tricks for entertainment purposes. In general usage, principally in American English and more commonly with the "shark" spelling, the term has also taken on the meaning of an expert card gambler who takes advantage of less-skilled players, also called an "advantage player", without any implication of actual cheating at cards, in much the same way that " pool shark " or "pool hustler" can (especially when used by non-players) be intended to refer to a skilled player rather than a cheater or swindler. The synonym to "card sharp", " blackleg ", when used with reference to card-playing and swindlers, has pejorative connotations.^[1]

A card sharp or shark (by either of the gambling-related definitions) may be a "rounder" who travels, seeking out high-stakes games in which to gamble.

Etymology and usage

According to the prevailing etymological theory, the term "shark", originally meaning "parasite" or "one who preys upon others"(cf. loan shark), derives from German Schorke or Schurke ('rogue' or 'rascal'), as did the English word "shirk[er]". "Sharp" developed in the 17th century from this meaning of "shark" (as apparently did the use of "shark" as a name for the fish), but the phrase "card sharp" predates the variant "card shark".^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] The original connotation was negative, meaning "swindler" or "cheat", regardless of spelling, with the more positive connotations of "expert" or "skilled player" arising later, and not supplanting the negative ones.^[2]^[4]^[7]^[8] "Card sharp" and "card shark" are synonymous,^[3]^[4]^[6]^[9]^[10] although American English is somewhat, but informally, beginning to favor "shark" as a positive term versus "sharp" as a negative one.^[6]^[11]^[12] (However, not all American dictionaries agree with this,^[4] and some suggest the opposite.)^[13]

Phrasefinder puts "card sharp" (or "-sharper") as the slightly earlier usage, with an 1859 citation for "card-sharper" and "card-sharp" in both Britain and in the US, while "card-shark" is cited to 1893 in the US.^[14]

Methods

Card sharps who cheat or perform tricks use methods to keep control of the order of the cards or sometimes to control one specific card. Many of these methods employ sleight of hand. Essential skills are false shuffles and false cuts that appear to mix the deck but actually leave the cards in the same order. More advanced techniques include culling (manipulating desired cards to the top or bottom of the deck), and stacking (putting desired cards in position to be dealt).^{[ citation needed ]}

Dealing the cards can also be manipulated. Once a desired card or cards are located they can be controlled and dealt as the cheater wishes. This is called a false dealing; if a card is dealt from the bottom it is called bottom dealing and if it is second from the top it is called second dealing . Two cards could be dealt as one or the second card from the bottom could be dealt, hence the Greek deal and double deals. Dealing may also be done from the middle of the deck, known as the middle deal or center deal, but is almost always performed as a display of skill rather than actual cheating.^[15]^[16]

In popular culture

Comics

Gambit, fictional Marvel superhero

Film

Card sharps are common characters in caper films, since the questionable legality of their hobby also plays well with that of their occupation. Notable examples films featuring card sharps are:

The Lady Eve (1941)
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)
Gambler (1971)
The Sting (1973)
Barry Lyndon (1975), in a scene filmed by candlelight, Barry's mentor "The Chevalier" is shown palming cards from his sleeve to cheat at faro
The Great Gambler (1979)
Maverick (film) (1994)
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
The Prestige (2006), world-renowned card sharp Ricky Jay advised the actors and played a supporting role
Rounders (1998)
Shade (2003)
21 (2008)
Teen Patti (The three cards) (2009)

Television

Stage magician and actor Harry Anderson (of Night Court fame) made several appearances on Cheers as card sharp "Harry the Hat".
In Friends season 2, episode 10, "The One with Russ", Ross debates with his doppelgänger Russ about the correctness of the term "card shark" vs. "card sharp".
Homicide: Life on the Street season 7, episode 3, "Just an Old-fashioned Love Song", features the homicide investigation of a woman who made a living as a card sharp, but whose gambling on other games sank her into substantial debt, with dire consequences for herself and her extended family.
On Mission: Impossible , members of the Impossible Missions Force (particularly Rollin Hand), would often use their card sharp skills as part of a mission.
On Hogan's Heroes , Cpl. Peter Newkirk (Richard Dawson) served as the group's card sharp, in addition to being a sleight-of-hand expert, magician, forger, safe-cracker, lock-picker, pick-pocket, voice impersonator, and all-around conman.
In Prison Break , the character Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell is an expert card sharp, who says, "there are maybe five people in this country who can do what I do with a deck of cards." T-Bag uses this skill successfully in season 1, episode 18, "Bluff".
Sanford and Son featured an episode wherein card sharps defeated Lamont at poker. Fred was able to defeat the card sharps and win Lamont's money back, in season 2, episode 6, aired October 27, 1972.
In the Japanese anime Cowboy Bebop , characters Fay Valentine and Spike Spiegel both exhibit card sharping skills, usually at the expense of their partner, Jet Black.
In Arrow season 1, episode 21, "The Undertaking", Felicity Smoak poses as a card sharp, so that she and Oliver can infiltrate a private casino to extort information about Walter.
In Downton Abbey series 4, episode 3, Edith's love interest Mr. Gregson expresses his pleasure in beating a "card sharp", Mr Sampson, who was a card sharp of the first degree.
In Person of Interest season 2, episode 18, "All In", Harold Finch and John Reese are given information about a former card sharp who is forced into being a mule for a casino owner and drug dealer by picking up money from a dead drop and intentionally losing it in his casino.
In the British reality TV show The Real Hustle , co-host Paul Wilson is an expert card mechanic who uses his skills to demonstrate scams.
In I Dream of Jeannie season 5, episode 25, "One Genie Beats Four of a Kind", Jeannie helping Tony and Roger at their poker games leads others, including Dr. Bellows and a fellow astronaut, to believe they are card sharps. To compound things, the other astronaut is actually a mobster in disguise who intends to rub out Roger (whom he suspects is the real card sharp), until Jeannie turns the tables on him.
The title of the American game show Card Sharks is a play on the phrase "card sharps".

Video games

The antagonist Luxord, of Organization XIII in Kingdom Hearts II , is a gambler who fights with dice and cards, and uses card tricks as the majority of his attacks.
In League of Legends , the champion Twisted Fate is a card sharp. His attacks consist of throwing magical cards and using his skills to earn extra gold.
The 2022 Devolver Digital Title, Card Shark , centers on the exploits of the player-controlled titular character, operating various card gambling cons in 18th-century France.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackjack</span> Gambling card game

Blackjack is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as "twenty-one". This family of card games also includes the European games vingt-et-un and pontoon, and the Russian game Ochko. Blackjack players do not compete against each other. The game is a comparing card game where each player competes against the dealer.

Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome.

Cheating in poker is any behavior outside the rules of poker that is intended to give an unfair advantage to one or more players.

Faro, Pharaoh, Pharao, or Farobank is a late 17th-century French gambling game using cards. It is descended from Basset, and belongs to the Lansquenet and Monte Bank family of games due to the use of a banker and several players. Winning or losing occurs when cards turned up by the banker match those already exposed.

In gambling jargon, a holdout is any of numerous accessories used by cheats to help them "hold-out" a card during a card game. Some holdout devices are extremely simple and require moderate or advanced manipulative skill to be used properly. On the other hand, there is a group of holdout devices which are mechanical in nature, therefore they fall under a separate category of holdout machines. Even if those machines are complex mechanical apparatuses, they still require a good level of skill from the cheat's part, to be used well.

Sleight of hand refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card flourishing and stealing. Because of its heavy use and practice by magicians, sleight of hand is often confused as a branch of magic; however, it is a separate genre of entertainment and many artists practice sleight of hand as an independent skill. Sleight of hand pioneers with worldwide acclaim include Dan and Dave, Ricky Jay, Derek DelGaudio, David Copperfield, Yann Frisch, Norbert Ferré, Dai Vernon, Cardini, Tony Slydini, Helder Guimarães and Tom Mullica.

Card counting is a blackjack strategy used to determine whether the player or the dealer has an advantage on the next hand. Card counters are advantage players who try to overcome the casino house edge by keeping a running count of high and low valued cards dealt. They generally bet more when they have an advantage and less when the dealer has an advantage. They also change playing decisions based on the composition of the deck.

Card manipulation is the branch of magic that deals with creating effects using sleight of hand techniques involving playing cards. Card manipulation is often used in magical performances, especially in close-up, parlor, and street magic. Some of the most recognized names in this field include Dai Vernon, Tony Slydini, Ed Marlo, S.W. Erdnase, Richard Turner, John Scarne, Ricky Jay and René Lavand. Before becoming world-famous for his escapes, Houdini billed himself as "The King of Cards". Among the more well-known card tricks relying on card manipulation are Ambitious Card, and Three-card Monte, a common street hustle also known as Find the Lady.

Second dealing is a method of manipulating a deck of cards during a card game by way of dealing the second, rather than the top card of the deck, usually for the purpose of cheating. Second dealing and bottom dealing are also used in performance magic.

John Scarne was an American magician and author who was particularly adept at playing card manipulation. He became known as an expert on cards and other games, and authored a number of popular books on cards, gambling, and related topics.

David Frederick Wingfield Verner, better known by his stage names Dai Vernon or The Professor, was a Canadian magician.

Card marking is the process of altering playing cards in a method only apparent to marker or conspirator, such as by bending or adding visible marks to a card. This allows different methods for card sharps to cheat or for magicians to perform magic tricks. To be effective, the distinguishing mark or marks must be visible on the obverse sides of the cards, which are normally uniform.

Bottom dealing or base dealing is a sleight of hand technique in which the bottom card from a deck of playing cards is dealt instead of the top card. It is used by magicians as a type of card illusion, and by card sharps and mechanics, and as a method of cheating in poker or other card games.

This is a glossary of conjuring terms used by magicians.

Zarrow shuffle is a sleight of hand technique that gives the appearance of being a normal riffle shuffle, but in fact leaves the cards in exactly the same order. This is an example of a false shuffle. It was invented by magician Herb Zarrow c. 1940. The sleight begins as a normal riffle shuffle, but the performer uses the top card of the deck to conceal the shuffle being cancelled by way of unweaving the cards.

<i>The Expert at the Card Table</i> Book by S. W. Erdnase

The Expert at the Card Table, is an extensive book on the art of sleight of hand published in 1902 by S. W. Erdnase, a pseudonymous author whose identity has remained a mystery for over a century. As a detailed manual of card sharps, the book is considered to be one of the most influential works on magic or conjuring with cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanterloo</span> Card game

Lanterloo or Loo is a 17th-century trick taking game of the trump family of which many varieties are recorded. It belongs to a line of card games whose members include Nap, Euchre, Rams, Hombre, and Maw. It is considered a modification of the game of "All Fours", another English game possibly of Dutch origin, in which the players replenish their hands after each round by drawing each fresh new cards from the pack.

Walter Irving Scott was an American musician, cardsharp and amateur magician. His glowing reputation among magicians and card men revolves around his time as a card cheat and a single demonstration of sleight-of-hand to some of the era's best magicians in New York in 1930. He lived out his last years in Rhode Island as a music teacher. Scott spent his formative years perfecting several difficult sleights of card manipulation in order to work as a cardsharp in card games throughout America. He participated in several different types of swindles and hustles. Eventually turning to a music career he was asked to perform one more demonstration. This single event created a legend within the magic community that continues to this day.

The art form of card flourishing, commonly referred to as cardistry, grew out of simple flourishes used in close-up magic by magicians in the 1990s to early 2000s. Chris Kenner's notable two-handed Sybil cut from his 1992 publication Totally Out of Control has carried great influence and gave birth to a series of advanced flourishes which today represents the foundation of the performance art. Sleight of hand pioneers Dan and Dave Buck popularized cardistry on the world stage with their instructional DVD releases from 2004 and 2007. Journalist Kevin Pang of Vanity Fair characterized the art of card flourishing as, "It's yo-yo tricks performed by cardsharps with the street cred of a Parkour video. There's a name for it: cardistry."

References

↑ "blackleg" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
1 2 Harper, Douglas (2001). "Online Etymology Dictionary search results". EtymOnline.com. entries "shark" & "sharp". Retrieved 2007-07-08.– gives the negative meaning only, for both
1 2 Hawkins, Joyce M.; Allen, Robert, eds. (1991). The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary. New York: Clarendon Press. p. 1334. ISBN 0-19-861248-6.– gives only the negative meaning for both; labels negative verb "to sharp" archaic.
1 2 3 4 Chapman, Robert L., ed. (1983). New Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Harper & Row. p. 380.– gives both positive and negative meanings for both "shark" and "sharp", labels them synonymous in this context, and indicates that positive sense of "shark" arose much later than the negative meaning, and later than it did for "sharp"
↑ Partridge, Eric (1983). Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English. New York: Greenwich House. p. 614. ISBN 0-517-41425-2.– gives only negative meaning for "shark", and gives "sharper" as synonymous, without addressing the shorter form "sharp"
1 2 3 McKechnie, Jean L., ed. (1971). Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 274, 1668. ISBN 0-671-41819-X.– gives both meanings for both terms and even for the obsolete "sharker", but provides only the swindler definition for "card sharp" and both definitions for the "card shark" version, thus contradicting itself at the "sharp" entry
↑ Onions, C. T., ed. (1994). The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. New York: Oxford at the Clarendon Press. p. 817. ISBN 0-19-861112-9.– gives only the negative meaning for both "shark" and "sharp"
↑ Weekley, Ernest; Scott, Anne, eds. (1911). New Gem Dictionary of the English Language. London: Collins. p. 418.– current around time that "shark" gained a positive sense, gives only negative meaning for both
↑ Kipfer, Barabara Ann; Princeton Language Institute, eds. (1999). Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus in Dictionary Form (2nd ed.). New York: Dell Publishing. pp. 306, 786. ISBN 0-440-23513-8.– gives both meanings for both
↑ "Search results". Dictionary.Reference com Unabridged (v1.1 ed.). Lexico Publishing Group. 2007. "sharp" dfn. 36 & 37, and "shark" dfn. 2-1 & 2-2. Retrieved 2007-07-08.– gives both meanings for both, with negative meaning being primary for both, positive meanings informal
↑ Soukhanov, Anne H., ed. (1994). Webster's II: New Riverside Dictionary. Boston: Riverside Pub. Co. p. 1072. ISBN 0-395-33957-X.– gives both for "shark", only negative for "sharp" and "sharper"
↑ Guralnik, David B., ed. (1982). Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language (Revised ed.). New York: Warner Books. p. 547. ISBN 0-446-31450-1.– gives both for "shark", only negative for "sharp"
↑ "American Heritage Dictionary of the English language". Bartleby.com (online 4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. 2006. "sharp" dfn. noun 3, and "shark" dfn. noun 2. Retrieved 2007-07-08.– gives both meanings for both, with positive being primary for "sharp" but negative for "shark"
↑ Martin, Gary. "The Meaning and Origin of the Expression: Card-sharp", The Phrase Finder. Retrieved 30 Sept. 2021.
↑ Maskelyne, John Nevil (1983). Sharps and Flats. Casino Press. ISBN 0-87019-049-0.
↑ Johnson, Karl (2005). The Magician and the Cardsharp: The Search for America's Greatest Sleight-of-hand Artist. Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 0-8050-7406-6.

External links

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[1] "blackleg" . Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press.(Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

[EtymOnline1-2] 1 2 Harper, Douglas (2001). "Online Etymology Dictionary search results". EtymOnline.com. entries "shark" & "sharp". Retrieved 2007-07-08.– gives the negative meaning only, for both

[OxEnc1-3] 1 2 Hawkins, Joyce M.; Allen, Robert, eds. (1991). The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary. New York: Clarendon Press. p. 1334. ISBN 0-19-861248-6.– gives only the negative meaning for both; labels negative verb "to sharp" archaic.

[NDAS1-4] 1 2 3 4 Chapman, Robert L., ed. (1983). New Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Harper & Row. p. 380.– gives both positive and negative meanings for both "shark" and "sharp", labels them synonymous in this context, and indicates that positive sense of "shark" arose much later than the negative meaning, and later than it did for "sharp"

[Origins1-5] Partridge, Eric (1983). Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English. New York: Greenwich House. p. 614. ISBN 0-517-41425-2.– gives only negative meaning for "shark", and gives "sharper" as synonymous, without addressing the shorter form "sharp"

[WebsterUnabridged1-6] 1 2 3 McKechnie, Jean L., ed. (1971). Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 274, 1668. ISBN 0-671-41819-X.– gives both meanings for both terms and even for the obsolete "sharker", but provides only the swindler definition for "card sharp" and both definitions for the "card shark" version, thus contradicting itself at the "sharp" entry

[OxEtym1-7] Onions, C. T., ed. (1994). The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. New York: Oxford at the Clarendon Press. p. 817. ISBN 0-19-861112-9.– gives only the negative meaning for both "shark" and "sharp"

[NewGem1-8] Weekley, Ernest; Scott, Anne, eds. (1911). New Gem Dictionary of the English Language. London: Collins. p. 418.– current around time that "shark" gained a positive sense, gives only negative meaning for both

[Roget21CT1-9] Kipfer, Barabara Ann; Princeton Language Institute, eds. (1999). Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus in Dictionary Form (2nd ed.). New York: Dell Publishing. pp. 306, 786. ISBN 0-440-23513-8.– gives both meanings for both

[Dictionary.com1-10] "Search results". Dictionary.Reference com Unabridged (v1.1 ed.). Lexico Publishing Group. 2007. "sharp" dfn. 36 & 37, and "shark" dfn. 2-1 & 2-2. Retrieved 2007-07-08.– gives both meanings for both, with negative meaning being primary for both, positive meanings informal

[WebsterII1-11] Soukhanov, Anne H., ed. (1994). Webster's II: New Riverside Dictionary. Boston: Riverside Pub. Co. p. 1072. ISBN 0-395-33957-X.– gives both for "shark", only negative for "sharp" and "sharper"

[WebsterNWA1-12] Guralnik, David B., ed. (1982). Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language (Revised ed.). New York: Warner Books. p. 547. ISBN 0-446-31450-1.– gives both for "shark", only negative for "sharp"

[AHD1-13] "American Heritage Dictionary of the English language". Bartleby.com (online 4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin. 2006. "sharp" dfn. noun 3, and "shark" dfn. noun 2. Retrieved 2007-07-08.– gives both meanings for both, with positive being primary for "sharp" but negative for "shark"

[14] Martin, Gary. "The Meaning and Origin of the Expression: Card-sharp", The Phrase Finder. Retrieved 30 Sept. 2021.

[Maskelyne-15] Maskelyne, John Nevil (1983). Sharps and Flats. Casino Press. ISBN 0-87019-049-0.

[Johnson-16] Johnson, Karl (2005). The Magician and the Cardsharp: The Search for America's Greatest Sleight-of-hand Artist. Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 0-8050-7406-6.

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