WORDS FREQUENTLY USED BY GAMBLERS AMONG THEMSELVES, SOMETIMES
IN GENERAL CONVERSATION, AND SOMETIMES WHILE AT PLAY.
A
A GOSS. The card that has won three times in one deal.
ANTI-GOSS. The card that has lost three times in one deal. It is
sometimes called a "hotel." For instance, a gambler who has been
playing, finally gets "broke;" but the love of play which from habit has
become a second nature in him, causes him to linger behind to see the
luck of others at the table. Being "dead broke," he borrows from a
brother gambler money enough to pay his hotel or boarding-house bill.
While looking on at the game an anti-goss occurs, and thinking that the
fourth time is sure to win, he stakes the money he has borrowed to pay
the hotel, boarding-house, or washerwoman's bill, whichever it may be,
and he loses. The exclamation among gamblers would then be, "There goes
his hotel."
ARTIST. One who excels as a gamester.
B
BANK. Without a party to play against, there can be no faro-playing. The
player must play against some body, and that some body is a party of one
or more, who hire rooms, and own gambling instruments. The gambling
concern is owned by them, and the servants, from the negro at the door
who answers to the touch of the bell, to the gentlemanly "picker-up,"
are in their pay, and act entirely in accordance with their
instructions. The capital which the owners invest in this gambling
co-partnership is called the "bank," but the amount varies greatly. Some
banking concerns are not worth over $100, while others are worth
$100,000. It is sometimes easy to break a bank of limited capital, but
to make bankrupt the other is almost an impossibility. The necessity of
a large capital is apparent. If four or six parties seated at the table
should have $50 each on the table, and four of the six should win and
the other two lose, then the bank in five minutes would be $1000 the
loser. The bank must be always prepared to lose a thousand or two of an
evening, they knowing well enough that it will all come back to them
before the game closes.
BANKER. The man who puts the money up to be played for. The owner of the
bank.
BETTER. A party who enters a gambling-saloon, takes his seat at the
table, and commences to play, is a better.
BETTING ON TIME. This frequently occurs when the character of a party is
such that he can be trusted to pay the money he borrows or the debts he
incurs. If his character is good in this respect, then he will be
permitted to play after he is "broke," if it occurs that he should be
the loser when he rises from the table. This is betting on time. The
same thing is done in Wall street every day by speculating brokers. In
Wall street gambling there are the "bulls" and the "bears," the object
of the one being to raise stock above its actual value and then dispose
of it, while the other party depresses it below its value and then
purchases it. Nothing of this sort, however, occurs among the
professional gamblers, who locate in Broadway and some of the down-town
streets running from it.
C
CALLING THE TURN. When there is one turn, say 4, 6, and 8, and the
player calls 4, 8, the caller loses; but if on the other hand it should
be the cards he calls, then he wins, and is paid four to one. When a man
calls both, he wins and loses on the same turn. In the last turn the
player can win three ways. He can copper, call, and play the winning
card. He can double the limit of the game, which is the privilege of the
player on the last turn.
CAPPER. A man who sets at the table and plays, but neither wins nor
loses. He is there only for the purpose of swelling the number of
players, so that the game won't hurry through too quickly, thus giving
the actual player proper time to consider the game and study the moves
he should make.
CAPPER. A man in the employ of the bank, who pretends to be playing
against it, and winning large amounts. Some gambling-houses in New-York
keep two sets of cappers all the time; one set goes on at ten in the
morning and retires at six in the evening, when the night-set comes on.
Thus the game is continually going on; no matter when a man entered, he
finds the game in full blast, and there never is any necessity to start
it because of a fresh arrival. Professional gamblers drop to cappers
very quickly. Cappers usually want to make too big bets--that is, make
too heavy bets. As a general thing they want to bet with the red checks,
which represent $5, putting down ten or twenty at a time.
CASHING. This is getting the money from the bank for the checks or
chips, if the player has any left on hand when he stops playing.
CAT HOPP. Is when there is one turn left in the box of the same
denomination. For instance, two jacks and a five; or three cards in the
box, and two of a similar count.
CHANGING IN. Handing in your money for the chips.
CHIPS or CHECKS. The chips or checks are round fancy pieces of ivory of
the size of a half dollar, and a trifle thicker. These represent money,
and are received from the dealer to play with in exchange for money.
They are much easier to handle, and the dealer can see at a glance how
much money is bet on a card. The color of the chips indicate the value
they represent. There are three colors, namely, white, red and blue.
White chips represent twenty-five cents, or one dollar, according to the
house. Red chips represent five times the value of the white chips. Blue
chips represent $25, $50, and $100. A hundred dollar chip is the highest
"fish", as the gambler calls it.
CHOPPING. A card which commences to win and lose alternately, is called
chopping, and to commence to lose and win alternately, is anti-chopping.
COLD DECK. This is generally done in short cards, or short games. A pack
of cards is shuffled, and just as they are about to be dealt out,
another pack is substituted. This is sometimes done by faro-players. The
dealer having shuffled the cards, or having got another party to do it,
drops the cards at his feet, and lifts the packed cards from a
handkerchief on his lap. He calls on Sambo, the darkey waiter, to lift a
check at his feet, and thus the evidence of his guilt is carried off
unobserved. When cleverly done, the trick can not be discovered. One
gambler often plays this trick on another, and hence it derives the
expressive name of "cold deck."
COPPER. A card can be played to win or lose, at the option of the
player. If he wishes to play any particular card to lose, he places a
penny on top of the money he stakes. This signifies that he plays it to
lose; hence it is called coppering.
CRAPS or PROPS. A game peculiar to Boston. Sometimes it is played with
shells, and sometimes with coffee-beans, but more generally the former,
as they can be loaded. If four shells are not at hand, four coffee-beans
answer the same purpose. It is a substitute for the dice. Thousands of
dollars have been lost on this game, but as it has not received the same
condemnation from the moral portion of the community that dice has,
Bostonians patronize it. There is no other reason why that city alone
should patronize it. The game is so childish, that it is ten times more
dangerous than any other, and gamblers have no trouble in "roping in"
men to play at it, who would faint with horror at the sight of a pack of
cards.
CUE. Is a calculation which confirmed gamblers are guided altogether by
in playing. They know that after three cards of one denomination have
gone out, they can not be split.
CUE-BOX. The cue-box is an exact representation of the lay-out of the
cards on the table. The player, by looking at the cue-box, can instantly
see what cards have been drawn from the box, thus relieving him of the
trouble of keeping the run of the cards in his head. For instance if
four jacks had been drawn from the box, and a player should place his
money on the jack, they being all drawn, he could not win or lose.
CUE-KEEPER. The man who keeps the cues or marks, so that a player knows
by looking at it, which card is in and which is out.
D
DEALER. The party who deals out the cards, receiving generally for his
services from ten to twenty per cent of the profits of the game from the
banker.
DOUBLE CARD. Two cards of the same denomination.
E
EVEN. The player who trys to make up what he has lost. Having lost $50,
he stakes another $50, perhaps his last, for the purpose of getting back
what he had lost, to be even with the bank, or get broke in the attempt.
F
FLAT. One who has no knowledge, or an imperfect knowledge, of gambling.
No matter how much a man may know of all the sciences in the world, if
he is ignorant of gambling, and should enter a gambling-room, the
players would smile and say, "There's a flat," a man who did not know
any thing.
G
GAFF. The gaff is a ring worn on the fore-finger of the dealer. It has a
sharp point on the inner side, and the gambler, when dealing from a
two-card box, can deal out the card he chooses; some, however, are smart
enough to do this trick without the gaff. It is now out of date, and the
only city in which it is now in use, is Baltimore. The gaff has been the
initiative idea of tricks of this character, and many improvements, of
which it is the foundation, have been discovered by sharpers.
H
HOCK. The last card in the box. Among thieves a man is in hock when he
is in prison; but when one gambler is caught by another, smarter than
himself, and is beat, then he is in hock. Men are only caught, or put in
hock, on the race-tracks, or on the steamboats down South. In a
hock-game, if a man hits a card, he is obliged to let his money lie
until it either wins or loses. Of course there are nine hundred and
ninety-nine chances against the player, and the oldest man living never
yet saw him win, and thus he is caught in hock.
I
ITEMS. Items derives his name from looking at a party's hand, and
conveying to the opposition player what it contains by signs. This is
Item's occupation. A looking-glass is sometimes used, sometimes signs
which mutes would only understand, and sometimes the signs are agreed
upon and known only to the parties interested.
L
LAMAS. High chips or checks representing $25, $50, and $100. There are
no $1000 lamas, for the simple reason that with $100 chips any amount of
money can be laid on the table.
LAY-OUT. The "lay-out" is composed of all the cards in a suit,
commencing at the ace and ending at the king. These cards are posted
upon a piece of velvet, which can be spread upon the table whenever the
dealer chooses to open the game. When play has commenced, each player
places his stake upon any card he may choose, and as the cards are drawn
from the box, his bet is determined.
LEAVING OUT. When a dispute arises, a referee of outsiders or
lookers-on, is appointed, to whom the difficulty is referred, and whose
decision among professional men is decisive.
LITTLE FIGURE. Ace, deuce, and tray.
LOOK-OUT. The look-out is the man who is supposed to keep every thing
straight, and see that no mistake is made, and that the dealer does not
neglect to lift any money that he has won.
M
MARKER. Marking is frequently done in playing the game of faro. It is
something put down on the card, a pencil, a knife, or any thing, to
represent any amount of money the player pleases. He says: I bet $5,
$10, $50, or $100, as it suits him and his finances. This saves him from
delaying the game by going through his pockets for the exact money he
wants. When the deal is out, he settles.
N
NUDGE. This is not often practised at the game of faro; it is
applicable, as its name implies, to cribbage and similar games. The
office of a nudger is to touch an associate with his feet. These
touchings are signs, which are denominated nudging.
P
PALMING. Concealing cards in the palm of the hands.
PARLIEU. Is to allow one's money to lie on the table and double. For
instance, the player puts $5 on the table, and it wins; instead of
lifting it, he lets the original sum lie--that is called a parlieu.
PICKER-UP. We frequently read of country-men being "roped" into
gambling-houses, but this occurs from the ignorance of the reporters,
who know nothing of the language used by gamblers and sportsmen.
Gamblers of the higher grade in New-York, never use the word "roper-in."
It is usually confidence-men, ball-players, pocket book droppers, and
others attached to that fraternity. The roper-in takes a man over to
Brooklyn or New-Jersey, and is an actor in the swindle; the picker-up
takes his man to a gambling-saloon, and there leaves him to be
enchanted, enchained, and allured by what he sees. Sometimes he only
gives the man he has picked up his card, which will admit him to a
gaming-house, where he can play a card of another description. The
roper-in and the picker-up therefore should not be confounded.
The picker-up is always a gentleman, in manners, taste, dress, and
appearance, and sometimes has the superficial knowledge of a scholar. He
is thoroughly informed on all the topics of the day. He has seen
New-Orleans, knows all about it, and can talk of the gallant defense
made there from behind the cotton-bales. He knows all about the evil
results arising out of the agitation of the slavery question. He loves
Boston and New-England, for it was there he was born and spent his
earliest and his happiest days; it was the cradle and the birth-place of
liberty, and the world looked with unreserved delight upon the efforts
which the men of the East put forth in the cause of freedom; he has
spent many happy years in the far West, its vast prairies, its
wide-spread, majestic forests, and mighty rivers, and he can not help
warming up when he reverts to these themes, which moved the hearts of
philosophers, poets, and statesmen.
This is the picker-up. He first sees the man's name on the
hotel-register, and where he is from. He then sees him out, studies his
character, and ascertains his means and the object of his visit to the
city; and the picker-up, if smart, reads his victim phrenologically
without touching his head. Every man has some weak point which can be
played upon, and the duty of the picker-up is to discover it. It does
not take him long generally to get a stranger to visit a gambling-hell.
Very many of the servants of hotels are in the pay of pickers-up--the
duty of the servant being to get information concerning guests, which
his employer can use.
PIKER. Is a man who plays very small amounts. Plays a quarter, wins,
pockets the winnings, and keeps at quarters; and never, if he can help
it, bets on his winnings.
PLAYING ON VELVET. Playing on the money that has been won from the bank.
PRESS. When a man wins a bet, and instead of lifting and pocketing the
winnings, he adds to the original stake and winnings, it becomes a
press.
PRIVATE GAME. So called because the flat is led to suppose that no
professional gamblers are admitted, and thus he is the more easily
duped.
PUBLIC GAME. A game where any body can be admitted.
R
REPEATER. For instance, when a card wins or loses at one deal, and the
same thing occurs the next deal, it is a repeater.
ROUNDER. One who hangs around faro-banks, but does not play. In other
words, a loafer, a man who travels on his shape, and is supported by a
woman, but does not receive enough money to enable him to play faro.
Gamblers call such men rounders, outsiders, loafers.
RUSSER. A big player.
S
SHOE-STRING. When a man bets a small amount and runs it up to a large
amount, it is called a shoe-string.
SHORT CARDS. By some called short game. A game of seven-up or cribbage.
For instance, "Have you been playing faro to-night?" "No." "What then?"
"I have been playing short cards."
SKINNING. A sure game, where all who play are sure to lose, except the
gamesters.
SLEEPER. A bet won by the bank or a better, which has been overlooked
and lies on the table without a claimant.
SPLIT. When two cards come alike. For instance, if two jacks should come
out, the banker takes one half of the money.
SQUARE GAME. When cards are dealt fairly, and there is no cheating.
STRIPPERS. Cards cut at the sides for the purpose of carrying on a
skinning game.
STUCK. When a man has lost all his money, and is trying on the last
throw to retrieve his loss and he is beat, then he is stuck.
SUCKER. A flat; one who can play cards, but does not know all the tricks
and traps in gambling.
SUMMER GAME. Playing merely for amusement.
SUMMER GAME. Playing a game for the benefit of another person with his
money.
SUPPER CUSTOMERS. Some of the fashionable gambling-houses have free
suppers for their customers; this is done to induce the better class of
gambling merchants to patronize the house. But there are some men who
frequent these houses and take supper, but never play. When such a one
is asked if he is going to take a hand in, his usual answer is, "Thank
you, sir, I'm a supper customer to night."
T
TELL-BOX. The tell-box is an improvement on the gaff, and has a fine
spring attached to it. The object is to cheat the dealer. The dealer
plays with a pack of cards which the player has had a chance to handle,
and he rubs the backs of certain of them with sand-paper. The rough card
adheres to the smooth one, and the fact that it does not move a hair's
breadth in the box enables him to know the card that is covered, and he
plays accordingly. He can also play in the same manner with a new pack
of cards without sanding them, as certain cards require a greater amount
of ink than others.
THE POT. The six, seven, and eight.
TRICKS. When a player takes the cards from his opponent that counts. If
the queen is put down and king follows, which is higher, then the queen
is taken. That is a trick.
TRICK GAMES. Such games as whist, where tricks count.
Z
ZODIAC. This word has degenerated into Soda. It means the top card in
the box.