SHORT GAMES.
The name “short” games is applied among gamblers to those which require
comparatively little time in which to determine the issue of the hazard.
In the present chapter, those best known and most commonly played in
gaming houses will be described and the methods of trickery employed by
those who conduct them will be pointed out.
Chief among games of this description are “rouge et noir,” “roulette,”
“keno” and “rolling faro.” These will be taken up in the order
indicated.
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ROUGE ET NOIR.
As played in this country, this game differs materially from the mode of
playing in vogue on the continent of Europe. In foreign gaming
houses—particularly at the more famous resorts, such as Monte Carlo or
Baden-Baden—the game is probably conducted fairly. In other words, the
proprietors are satisfied with the revenue which they can derive from
the legitimate percentage which accrues in their favor under the
operation of the ordinary laws of chance. In this country, however, not
only is the method of play vastly simplified, but it has degenerated
into a mere scheme of robbery. The players are utterly at the mercy of
the manipulators of the machine.
[Illustration: rouge et noir layout]
The game is always played with the adjunct of a “lay-out,” which is
depicted in the accompanying cut. The outer line, as shown in the
illustration, represents the outer edge of the table, which is covered
with a green cloth. The middle line serves no special purpose, but adds
one more striking feature to the device. The inner line serves to mark
off that portion of the table on which are depicted the representation
of the four jacks found in every pack of cards. At the two ends of the
table and on the right hand side are blank spaces. Those at the ends are
colored—the one at the top red, the one at the bottom black. The space
on the right hand side is for the placing of wagers.
Any number of persons may play.
Bets may be made in either one of the four ways—on the red; on the
black; on either jack, or on any one of the four jacks. In the two cases
first mentioned the bettor places his wager on the color which he
selects. If he wishes to bet on any particular jack (that of hearts,
clubs, diamonds or spades), he lays his money on that one which he
chooses. If he prefers to bet that some jack (without indicating which)
will win, he lays his venture upon the blank space at the right hand
side of the table, as shown in the diagram.
If he bets on the winning color, the bank pays him an amount equal to
the sum staked, which latter, of course, he receives back. If he selects
a particular jack and the one on which he has placed his wager happens
to win, his stake is returned to him, together with an increment of ten
times the amount. If he places his wager on the blank space to the right
he is understood to have bet that some one of the four jacks will win,
and if his hazard prove successful, his gains are measured by a sum
twice that of his original bet.
The bets having all been made and placed, the play commences. The banker
places a full pack (fifty-two cards) in a dealing box, similar to those
used in playing “faro,” which have been already described, but with this
variation: In “faro” the cards are inserted and dealt face uppermost,
the opening being large enough to afford a clear view of the card; in
rouge et noir they are inserted and dealt face downward, and the
aperture in the box is only large enough to permit the dealer to run
them off readily with the index and second fingers of the left hand.
The first two cards, after being withdrawn from the box, are laid upon
the table, faces downward, and the third is turned over. This
constitutes a “run,” and the gains or losses of the players are
determined by the color (and sometimes the denomination) of the third
card. If it happens to be red the bank pays all bets placed on the space
at the upper end of the table, marked “red,” and gathers in all other
wagers placed upon the table. If it chance to be a jack, and any player
has placed his money on the representation of that particular jack upon
the “lay-out,” the fortunate individual wins ten times the amount which
he ventured. If a player has bet upon “jacks,” without naming any
particular one—placing his money in the space at the right hand side of
the table—and a jack of any suit is turned up, he is given, as his
winnings, double the amount of his wager.
On the other hand, if the bettor has laid his stake either upon “jacks”
or on any particular jack, and no jack turns up, he loses.
Even when fairly played, the chances in favor of the bank are large
enough to satisfy any banker whose greed for gain is not abnormal. But
as in all other games, the rapacious sharks who operate it are not
satisfied with even the most extraordinary percentage of chances. What
they seek is absolute certainty, and in the game of rouge et noir, as
conducted even in so-called “square” houses, they have contrived to
secure it.
In dealing the cards, resort is had to many of the same tortuous devices
which are employed in “faro,” an explanation of which may be found in
the chapter devoted to that game.
“Faked” boxes, similar in construction to those used in “faro,” are
employed, and the cards are “stripped” and “sanded” as in that game. The
“strippers,” however, are arranged on a somewhat different principle.
The red and black cards having been separated so that the pack shall be
divided into two lots, one-half being red and the other black, the
narrower ends of the two colors are placed opposite each other. The
dealer then takes the red cards in one hand and the black in the other.
Through long practice he is able to put the two packs of cards together
in such a way that a card of one color shall rest directly upon a card
of the opposite color all the way through the pack. The cards are then
pressed together, so that the entire pack shall lie, one card upon the
other. The reader will perceive that, owing to the use of the
“strippers,” the end of each card is a trifle narrower than the end of
the one directly above it. The manipulation of the pack in the box is
practiced in the same way as has been already explained under “faro.”
The result of this arrangement of cards is that the dealer knows
perfectly well the color of the card under his hand at any given moment.
If he considers it worth his while to change the color before exposing
the card to the view of the players, the “sanding” and “stripping” of
the cards, in connection with the “faked” box, enables him to draw two
cards instead of one through the aperture, thus reversing the run of the
colors.
The usual method in which bets are made upon this game is as follows:
A player having laid a wager on either the black or red, and having
lost, naturally supposes that if he suffers his money to lie upon the
table long enough, the color on which he has made his bet must win
before the entire pack shall have been run out of the box. Accordingly,
if he has a wager of one dollar on the black and the first run shows
that he has lost, he doubles his stake and awaits the result of the
second run. If he finds he has lost again, he doubles his stake once
more, and continues playing in this manner until the entire pack has
been run out of the box. If he is a loser when all the cards have been
dealt, he may, if he choose, continue to double his stake as long as his
funds will permit.
The reader can scarcely fail to perceive how soon this sort of play will
bankrupt the unsophisticated gamester. Every time he doubles his stake
he is offering the bank enormous odds. It requires a very short time,
for a bet of one dollar under such circumstances, to run up to a wager
of $128, $256, $512, etc. As a matter of fact, the player, under such
circumstances, is offering the bank odds amounting, sometimes $4,000 to
one. Thus, if a player starts in, with a wager of one dollar, and
continues to double it as he loses until he has risked $100,000 or more,
he is still actually betting that enormous sum that he will eventually
win the trifling sum of one dollar. If he should continue to play for
seventy-two consecutive hours on the same principle, and the doubling of
his stake run up into the millions, all that he could possibly hope to
win at the close of the play would be a dollar.
But there is another device known to the manipulators of this game which
is even a more bare-faced robbery than the use of “strippers” and
“faked” boxes. When a “soft mark” is playing at the table and has
repeatedly doubled his stake, and begins to see the bottom of the pile
of money which he has brought with him, he very frequently asks the
dealer how long he will be permitted this mode of play. The dealer,
after estimating in his own mind the amount of money which the dupe may
have in his possession, tells him that the doubling must quit on either
the second or third run. As soon as the proprietors are satisfied that
the unfortunate victim has staked his all, the dealer turns a jack, and
remarks that “this is the only percentage that the bank has,” whereupon
he at once gathers in the player’s entire stake without any sign of
shame or compunction of conscience. Should the player manifest any
unwillingness to continue doubling his wager, the banker informs him
that if he loses at the end, his money will be returned to him, less
five per cent. Relying upon this assurance, and always hoping that his
luck will turn, the poor fool keeps on, only to be confronted at the end
by the turning of a jack and to be assured that this entire venture has
been incontinently swept away.
“Steerers” or “ropers” are invariably employed by the proprietors of
this game. Their duty is to select victims and guide them into the
resort where this knavery is carried on. They are paid the usual
percentage allowed “cappers;” that is, forty-five per cent, of the
bank’s winnings from the dupe whom they may allure.
While a rouge et noir table is considered a necessary adjunct to the
outfit of every American gaming house, the game is not so popular in
this country as in Europe nor is the method of play precisely the same
in both continents. An explanation of the devices used in the old world
may be found in Part I.
ROULETTE.
[Illustration: roulette]
Roulette, as will be seen from the illustration, is played upon a table
in the form of an oblong square, covered with green cloth, at one end of
which is a round cavity, around the sides of which, equi-distant one
from the other, are arranged several metal bands—usually of
copper—which, commencing at the top, descend to the extremity of the
machine. The cavity is movable, and in its centre is a circular bottom
containing thirty-nine holes to which the bands are attached, and upon
which are painted, alternately, in black and red, thirty-six numbers,
running from 1 to 36, besides (0), a (00), and a picture of an eagle or
the word itself printed thereon. In the middle of the cavity, are three
or four little metal prongs, centering at “D,” which are used in
imparting a rotary motion to the bottom. The revolution of the ball is
checked by slender metal plates (indicated on the diagram by the letter
“B”) about two inches in length and rising about one-quarter of an inch
above the lower surface.
The remainder of the table is laid out as shown in the cut. The figures
are arranged in three columns, and above them in two divisions nearest
the Roulette wheel, are single and double 00 respectively. The figures
are painted black or red, to agree with the corresponding color of the
numbers on the wheel. At the head of each column there is a compartment
for placing a stake which is made on the column. On each side of the
foot of the columns of figures are three spaces, each of which contains
the number twelve. These are known, respectively, as the 1st, 2nd and
3rd twelves. Stakes placed on the first space are considered to be bets
on the numbers 1 to 12; the second space is for bets on numbers 13 to
24; the third space for numbers 25 to 36, all inclusive.
The space on either side of the entire length of the columns is divided
into three parts. The upper left hand division is for bets on numbers 1
to 18; the corresponding right hand division is for numbers 19 to 36.
The large division in the middle of the left hand side, lettered “B” in
the illustration, is for bets on the black; the similar one upon the
right, marked “R,” is for wagers on the red.
The lower division on the left hand is for bets on even numbers; the
division opposite on the right is for odd numbers.
There is a banker and several assistants; an unlimited number of persons
may play.
One of the assistants sets the machine in motion, at the same instant
throwing an ivory ball into the cavity in the opposite direction to the
movement which he has given to the movable bottom. The ball makes
several revolutions with great rapidity until its momentum being
exhausted, it falls into one of the thirty-nine holes formed by the
copper bands. It is the hole into which the ball falls that determines
the gain or loss of the numerous chances which this game affords to
players.
If the reader will examine the cut showing the lay-out, he will perceive
that there are numerous chances to be played for: Single and double (0);
the “eagle;” black and red; the three columns; the first and last half
of the numbers, respectively, consists of 1 to 18, and 19 to 36
inclusive; the three 12’s, consist of 1 to 12, 13 to 24 and 25 to 36;
odds and even; and lastly, the numbers, either single or in small
groups.
Stakes bet on black or red; the first or last half of the numbers; also
on odd and even, are called single stakes. Stakes on either of the three
12’s, or on either of the three columns, win double the amount. Stakes
on any single number, or on either of the (0’s), or the eagle, are paid
thirty-five times their amount if they are successful.
Bets may be made on groups of not over six consecutive numbers, and win
as many times the amount of the stakes as the grouping is contained in
thirty-four, omitting all fractions; so that a bet on any four
designated consecutive numbers would win eight times the amount of the
stake, provided any one of these numbers comes out.
It has already been stated that the space occupied by thirty-six numbers
are all either red or black; and as the numbers are equally divided
between the colors eighteen to each, a stake on either color is a single
bet. The 0’s and the eagle are painted green, and if a zero or eagle
turns up, bets on either black or red are lost by the players.
It is only of late years that the majority of roulette wheels contain a
picture of an eagle, a similar picture being painted upon the cloth.
Bets on the eagle, if won by the player, are paid in the ratio of 35 to
1.
The legitimate percentage of chances in favor of the bank in this game
is enormous. Out of thirty nine chances, the bank runs eighteen of
losing and has twenty-one of winning, or three additional chances in its
favor, which is equivalent to fully 5½ per cent. in favor of the bank in
all cases, even where a bet is placed upon either of the zeros or the
eagle. In the latter case, the bet on either zero or on the eagle is
paid 35 to 1, the same as on any single number.
Here the bank has thirty-five chances out of thirty-nine of winning, and
only one of losing, or four more chances in its favor than the payments
warrant, thus yielding the same 5½ per cent.
It follows that the odds against the players in the various chances may
be expressed as follows:
Upon a single number, 37 to 1
Upon any twelve numbers, 13 to 6
Upon two numbers, 18 to 1
Upon three numbers, 11⅔ to 1
Upon four numbers, 17 to 2
Upon six numbers, 16 to 3
Upon odd or even, red or 10 to 9
black,
In the case of a bet on the first or last eighteen numbers, the odds are
ten to nine, the same as on odd or even, or red or black.
When, however, a stake is laid on all the numbers, and the bank only
pays the winner thirty-five times his stake, it clears four; thus,
supposing thirty-nine dollars to be a stake, and that the ball is thrown
twice in a minute, the gain of the bank, without incurring the slightest
risk, would be eight dollars per minute, or $480 per hour. Although, in
whatever way a player may bet, the chances are always in favor of the
bank, still the latter’s risk varies in proportion to the number of
chances which are not filled up. To illustrate, if only ten numbers are
filled, and the ball were to enter one of them, the bank would, in that
case, lose thirty-four dollars, and only win eight; whereas, when all
the numbers are filled, it wins four without risking a cent.
From what has been said, as to the chances in favor of the bank, it
would seem to be hardly necessary to use any additional means of
swindling, inasmuch as the percentage in its favor is so large that the
game is very seldom beaten, even if “played on the square.” An old
gambler once remarked in my presence, that the percentage of the game
was forty per cent. worse than stealing. However, despite this fact, the
gambler is not satisfied, and has succeeded in devising schemes, whereby
he may win every bet made against him, if he sees fit.
The first method of cheating which I will describe, is as follows: The
roulette is manufactured for the purpose, the machinery being entirely
concealed from view. The gambler who manages the game can cause the ball
(A) to fall in a red or black number, as he may think proper. After
throwing the ball he watches it closely, and if it should fall in the
red, when he wished it to go into the black, while still revolving, its
course can be quickly changed to the desired color. This is accomplished
by means of a lever attached to the circular wheel, and connecting with
one of the legs of the roulette. This leg has the same appearance as
others, but is a trifle shorter, not quite touching the table on which
the roulette rests. The gambler has only to touch this leg while the
wheel is revolving, and in a second the ball is changed from one color
to another, as he may prefer. In fact, so quickly can the ball be
changed, that it is difficult to detect the motion after one has been
shown how it is managed, unless the wheel is turned slowly. This is one
of the most ingenious contrivances in use.
There is yet another kind of roulette, which is made in the following
manner: One-half of the small pieces of metal which form the pockets for
the ball are made a trifle longer than the others, lettered on the
diagram E E E. After the stakes have been placed, if the proprietor
wishes the ball to fall in a red color, it is necessary for him merely
to throw the ball around to the right hand, and if he wishes it to fall
in the black, he casts the ball toward the left. The players may observe
that he throws the ball in a different direction on different occasions,
but the action appears to be so trivial that it excites no suspicion.
Another fraudulent contrivance used in playing this game consists in the
gambler’s having two centers to a wheel, apparently identical, one of
which, however, is “square” and the other “faked.” This device is known
to the members of “the profession” as the “double center.” The “square”
wheel is used at first, and, at an opportune moment, the “fake” is
substituted, after which the sharper has everything his own way. This
wheel is operated on very much the same principle as the “needle wheel,”
for the construction of which the reader is referred to the chapter
containing a description of that device. A system of levers radiating
from the centre of the apparatus is operated by a rod terminating at the
edge of the table. By bringing to bear the requisite pressure, these
levers cause fine needle points (lettered C C C on the diagram) to rise
through the cloth, one coming up in front of each alternate compartment
on the rim, thus obstructing the entry of the ball and causing its
course to be so changed that it shall fall into one of the next adjacent
divisions, as in the case of the “needle wheel” above referred to.
It is easily perceived that the players can have no possible chance when
playing against such roulettes as these, and there is a large number of
them in use all over the country.
KENO.
This game is a favorite one with nearly all non-professional gamblers,
not only because the risk of loss involved is not large, but also
because of the popular impression that it is always played “on the
square.” As a matter of fact, it usually is conducted fairly, although,
as will be explained, sometimes bare-faced swindling is resorted to by
the proprietors.
[Illustration: keno]
The game very closely resembles the children’s pastime of “lotto.” Any
number of persons may play. Each one desiring to participate in the game
buys a card on which are three horizontal rows of five numbers each,
arranged altogether without regularity. The price paid for a card is
commonly twenty-five cents, although sometimes the stakes are
considerably higher. None of the cards contain a higher number than
ninety-nine. The conductor of the game—who is known as the
“roller”—takes his position, usually upon a raised platform, in full
view of the players. Before him is placed a globe containing ninety-nine
balls, numbered consecutively from one to ninety-nine, to correspond
with the figures on the players’ cards. The balls having been thoroughly
mixed, the “roller” presses a spring at the bottom of the globe, opening
an aperture just large enough to permit one ball to drop at a time. As
soon as the first one has fallen, the aperture is closed and the
“roller,” in a loud voice, calls out the number inscribed upon it. If a
player finds the number in either of the three horizontal rows on his
card he places a button over it. When any player has all five, numbers
in any one of his rows thus called out, he exclaims “keno,” after which
the “roller” takes no more balls from the globe. His card is then
inspected by one of the “collectors”—of whom there are usually two—and
if his tally is correct he is given the entire amount of money paid by
all the players (which is called “the pot”) less a discount of fifteen
per cent., which is retained by “the house” as its “percentage.” Thus,
if there are a hundred players, each of whom has paid twenty-five cents
for a card, the winner receives twenty-one dollars and twenty-five
cents, the bank reserving to itself three dollars and seventy-five cents
as “percentage.”
Matters having been thus arranged, fresh stakes are advanced by those
wishing to play again, the balls put in the globe and the game is
resumed.
It may be readily seen that the “bank” incurs no risk whatever, and its
sure percentage on the stakes is large enough to satisfy the cupidity of
most gamblers. Fortunes have been won by the proprietors of these games,
one concern alone in St. Louis having made $190,000 thereby. Still, the
instinct to cheat is strong in the breast of the professional sharper;
and sometimes a confederate of the proprietor plays in the game and wins
the “pot,” through the co-operation of the “roller.” The latter
withholds from the globe several balls, which he substitutes, from time
to time, for the ones which he should have taken from the globe. The
numbers on these withheld and substituted balls correspond to those
necessary to fill out one of the horizontal rows on the confederate’s
card and the latter is thus enabled to win through fraud.
ROLLING FARO.
This game is similar in its general principles to those of the “squeeze
spindle,” “needle wheel,” and “corona,” which have already been
described. It is a favorite game upon fair-grounds, as are the others,
but it is frequently found in resorts which are known as “first-class”
gambling houses. There is scarcely a “hell” in the city of Chicago in
which this apparatus cannot be found. This circumstance, in itself,
affords a striking commentary upon the principles which underlie the
management of what the uninitiated are wont to call “square houses.”
[Illustration: rolling faro]
The accompanying cut shows the device used in playing the game, not only
as it appears to the outsider, but also with the “fake” element exposed.
A circular ring of wood, about three inches broad, is attached to a
square board which is placed upon a table. At four points in the ring,
equi-distant from each other, are the painted representations of four
jacks. Between each pair of jacks are eight blank spaces, each one of
which is usually numbered, the numbers running from one to thirty-two,
consecutively. Sometimes ordinary playing cards are substituted for the
numbers. Each of the four blocks of numbers is painted a distinct and
separate color. In the centre of the inner circle is placed a metal
arrow, having a pointed quill attached to the smaller end, the whole
swinging upon a central pivot. Prices are placed at intervals upon the
numbered squares. When the game is played at gambling houses, the only
prizes offered are sums of money, varying in amount, and between these
the numbers are left blank. When the device is operated upon a fair-
ground, there are no blanks, articles of jewelry of trifling value being
placed between the money prizes.
The mode of play is usually different upon fair-grounds from that which
is followed in the regular gaming houses. In the former case, players
pay twenty-five cents each for the privilege of swinging the arrow, and
take the prize opposite the quill point when it stops revolving. At
regular gaming houses players place their stakes upon whatever number or
color they may select, and if they win the bank pays them the amount due
them. The bets may be made either upon any one of the four jacks or on
either of the four colors. If the player stakes his money upon a jack
and wins, the proprietor pays him ten times the amount of his stake. If
he lays his wager upon any given color,—if he is playing upon a fair-
ground,—he receives simply his original stake, together with an equal
sum. If, however, he is playing in a house, and names the lucky color,
he receives two for one.
The chances having been bought or the bets laid, some one—either one of
the players, or the proprietor, or a bystander—sets the arrow in motion.
When the pointer comes to rest, if any player has laid his bet upon the
number at which it stops, he receives either the prize thereon placed or
the amount of his winnings in cash.
The “fake” element, as has been said, is shown in the illustration.
There is a wire rod running from points B and C to the central pivot. As
in the “squeeze spindle,” they are sunk into the table and concealed by
the cloth covering. That which runs to point B is manipulated by
pressure with the hand; that which terminates at point C is operated by
pressure from the hip. When the operator pushes against either of these
rods, he checks the revolution of the arrow by creating friction at the
pivot, and brings the pointer to a standstill at any part of the circle
which he may desire.
Very little reflection is necessary to show the reader how great is the
legitimate percentage in favor of the bank, even were this game played
without any resort to trickery. There are four colors and four jacks
upon which a player may bet. It follows that the odds are seven to one
in favor of the house against any individual player naming the winning
color or card. And when to this percentage against the players there is
added the absolute certainty of winning which the bank gains through the
operation of the fraudulent device above explained, it is apparent that
no one can possibly win except through the consent of the proprietor of
the machine.
A rather striking illustration of the utter lack of good faith which
characterizes gamblers in their dealings with one another, and their
general moral perversity is furnished in the following narrative, for
the truth of which the author vouches. Two itinerant sharpers, each with
a rolling faro outfit were traveling on a Missouri river steamboat. The
year was 18—, and the season was autumn, when county fairs were at full
blast and men of that ilk were reaping a rich harvest. Both men were
destined for the same point, and each had been anxious to secure a
monopoly of the “privilege” of running his machine at the fair in
question. One of them discovered that his business rival had forestalled
him, and that—to use a colloquialism—“his cake was dough.” The gambler
who had succeeded in obtaining his license retired early, serenely
confident that the following day would witness not only the discomfiture
of his rival but also his own success. But he had reckoned without his
host. Scarcely had he fallen asleep before the form of his wily
antagonist might have been seen prowling among the freight upon the main
deck. Stealthily he moved in and out among the piles of stuff until he
discovered the wheel of the licensed monopolist. Then followed a dull,
grating sound, as of some one drawing a heavy box across a floor; then
came a sudden splash, and to this succeeded silence. The gambling
machine of the enterprising gamester who had secured the license, had
sunk beneath the waters of the Mississippi, to be seen no more by mortal
eyes. The next morning there was a brief season of pandemonium. The
situation, however, was simple. There was but one fair, one license and
one outfit, yet there were two gamblers. One of them had a license, but
no paraphernalia; the other had paraphernalia, but no license. There was
but one solution; the two found themselves compelled to “pool their
issues.” In other words, the man who had thrown his rival’s wheel
overboard forced the man who had owned it to divide his profits with him
in consideration of being permitted to use the only wheel available.
The author was himself present at the fair where these two men operated
the wheel to which reference has been made. On the way back a fearful
scene was witnessed. A quarrel over “privileges” had arisen on the
grounds and was continued on the boat. A gambler familiarly known as
“Curley” the hog driver, a bulldozer, when heated by passion and liquor,
was raising a terrible disturbance when another sporting man, Sherman
Thirston, interfered to restrain him from mischief. “Curley” drew his
revolver and fired three shots at Thirston, one breaking a spittoon
which he held in front of him, and one grazing Lone Wolf’s forehead.
Thirston advanced upon “Curley” and disarmed him.
HIGH BALL POKER.
This game derives its name from the fact that balls are used instead of
cards, and that bets may be “raised” as in poker. In fact, “bluff” is
resorted to in both games in about the same ratio. The method of play is
exceedingly simple. All that is necessary is a cloth-covered table
(usually about six feet long by three and one-half feet broad), a
leather bottle, one hundred wooden or ivory balls, numbered from one to
one hundred consecutively, and some “chips.” The latter are sold to the
players by the proprietor at five or ten cents each. Those wishing to
indulge in the game put down their “ante,” as in straight or draw poker.
The “ante” is usually one chip. The person conducting the game then
takes the bottle, in which the balls have been placed, in his hand, and
throws them from its open mouth, one to each player. The latter then
examine the little spheres which they have received and either forfeit
the chips which they have already laid down or make their bets in the
same manner as in playing poker. Precisely the same tactics are employed
in both games. When the “call” is made the player holding the ball on
which is inscribed the highest number wins the bet, by which is meant
all the stakes which have been placed upon the table.
This is a favorite game in many gambling houses, especially those of an
inferior class. The “house” always takes a percentage, or “rake-off,” as
it is frequently called. This percentage consists of either one or two
chips, as may be agreed upon. It follows that the proprietors run no
risk, being absolutely certain of winning something each time that the
balls are thrown. In “skin” gambling houses, however, the owners are not
content with this percentage of profit. A “capper” is called into the
game, who usually sits at the end of the table toward the banker’s left
hand. The latter finds it necessary to be very cautious in collecting
the balls from the players, lest some one who had received a high number
might withhold it in order to bet upon it on the next throw.
Accordingly, he examines each ball as it is returned to him. This
affords him ample opportunity for holding out some high number in his
hand, which he throws to his confederate the next time, thereby enabling
him to bet with approximate certainty of winning everything in sight.
These cappers are commonly known as “pluggers,” and are paid a stated
_per diem_, being looked upon as regular employes.