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{{Mergefrom|Card shark|date=July 2007|user=SMcCandlish|talk=Talk:Card sharp#Merger of Card shark into Card sharp}} |
{{Mergefrom|Card shark|date=July 2007|user=SMcCandlish|talk=Talk:Card sharp#Merger of Card shark into Card sharp}} |
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[[Image:The Cardsharps.jpg|thumb|250px|right|''[[The Cardsharps]]'', c. [[1594]], by [[Caravaggio]]]] |
[[Image:The Cardsharps.jpg|thumb|250px|right|''[[The Cardsharps]]'', c. [[1594]], by [[Caravaggio]]]] |
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A '''card sharp''' |
A '''card sharp''' is a person who purposely cheats at [[Card game|cards]] with the aim of making [[money]]. Card sharps are also known as "mechanics" — an older term is "greek". |
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The label is not always intended as pejorative, and is sometimes used to refer to practicioners of [[Card manipulation|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 "expert card gambler who takes advantage of less-skilled players", without implication of actual cheating (in much the same way that "{{Cuegloss|Shark|pool shark}}" or "[[Hustling|pool hustler]]" can, when used by non-players, be intended to mean "skilled player" rather than "swindler"). |
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A card sharp (by either of the gambling-related definitions) may be a "rounder" who travels, seeking out high-stakes games in which to gamble. |
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==Methods== |
==Methods== |
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Card sharps typically use methods also employed by [[Magic (illusion)|magicians]] to keep control of the order of the cards or sometimes to control one specific card. Most, if not all, of these methods employ [[sleight of hand]]. Essential skills are the [[Shuffling#False shuffles|false shuffles]] and "[[false cut]]s" that appear to mix the [[Playing card|deck]] but actually leave the cards in the same order. More advanced techniques include "[[culling (cards)|culling]]", which is manipulating desired cards to the top or bottom of the deck, and "[[stacking (cards)|stacking]]", which puts desired cards in position to be dealt. |
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{{sectstub|date=November 2007}} |
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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. Most, if not all, of these methods employ [[sleight of hand]]. Essential skills are ''[[Shuffling#False shuffles|false shuffles]]'' and ''[[false cut]]s'' that appear to mix the [[Playing card|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).{{Facts|date=November 2007}} |
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Dealing |
Dealing can also be manipulated by dealing either the bottom card from the deck or the second one from the top instead of the top card. These are called the "bottom deal" and the "second deal" respectively. Dealing may also be done from the middle of the deck, known as the "middle deal" or "center deal", but this is not as common. |
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|last=Maskelyne |
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|first=John Nevil |
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|title=Sharps and Flats |
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|publisher=Casino Press |
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|year=1983 |
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|isbn=0-87019-049-0 |
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}}</ref> |
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== |
==Magician's view== |
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The use of these methods to |
The use of these methods to cheat at cards is generally frowned upon by magicians, as they can associate magicians with swindlers. However, they often use card sharps as the subject for card routines, to show off their skills. For example, [[Derek Dingle]] created the following effect, later modified by [[Michael Ammar]] and performed on television with a slightly different handling: While retaining the same handling of the deck, he inserts the four aces into the deck, shuffles the cards (face-up into face-down), and finds all of them in 30 seconds under the watchful eye of 2 casino security people, leaving 4 [[hand rankings|royal flushes]] — all face up — in the end. |
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==Etymology |
==Etymology== |
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{{Disputed-section}}<!--See talk page for numerous sources that show shark came first.--> |
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According to the prevailing [[Etymology|etymological]] theory, the term "shark", originally meaning "parasite" or "one who preys upon others" ''(cf. [[loan shark]])'', derives from German ''Schorke''/''Schurke'' ("rogue" or "rascal"), along with 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" prefigures the variant "card shark".<ref name="EtymOnline1">{{Cite web |
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The [[etymology]] of the term "card sharp" is debated. A popular theory is that it comes from the [[German language|German]] word ''Scharper'', which in one sense means ''[[swindler]]''. Another theory, which is likely [[false etymology]], is that ''card sharp'' is a degenerate form of ''card shark'', which itself is an analogy to the term ''[[Hustling|pool shark]]''. In actuality, the reverse is more likely to be true: ''card sharp'' is the original term, and ''card shark'' was likely formulated later, influenced by corruption of the term ''card sharp'' and by either analogy to ''pool shark'' or as a fresh shark metaphor. |
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|title=Online Etymology Dictionary search results |
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|work=EtymOnline.com |
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|url=http://www.etymonline.com/ |
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|last=Harper|first=Douglas |
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|year=2001 |
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|accessdate=2007-07-08 |
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|pages=entries "shark" & "sharp" |
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}} – gives the negative meaning only, for both</ref><ref name="OxEnc1">{{Cite book |
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|title=The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary |
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|last=Hawkins |
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|first=Joyce M. (ed.) |
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|coauthors=Allen, Robert (ed.) |
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|year=1991 |
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|publisher=Clarendon Press |
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|edition=hardback ed. |
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|location=New York |
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|pages=p. 1334 |
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|isbn=0-19-861248-6 |
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}} – gives only the negative meaning for both; labels negative verb "to sharp" archaic.</ref><ref name="NDAS1">{{Cite book |
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|title=New Dictionary of American Slang |
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|last=Chapman |
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|first=Robert L. (ed.) |
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|year=1983 |
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|publisher=Harper & Row |
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|location=New York |
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|pages=p. 380 |
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}} – 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"</ref><ref name="Origins1">{{Cite book |
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|title=Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English |
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|author=Partridge, Eric|year=1983 |
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|Publisher=Greenwich House |
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|location=New York |
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|pages=p. 614 |
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|isbn=0-517-414252 |
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}} – gives only negative meaning for "shark", and gives "sharper" as synonymous, without addressing the shorter form "sharp"</ref><ref name="WebsterUnabridged1">{{Cite book |
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|title=Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged |
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|last=McKechnie |
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|first=Jean L. (ed.) |
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|year=1971 |
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|publisher=Simon & Schuster |
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|location=New York |
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|pages=pp. 274, 1668 |
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|isbn=0-671-41819-X |
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}} – 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</ref> The original connotation was negative, meaning "swindler" or "cheat", regardless of spelling, with more the positive connotations of "expert" or "skilled player" arising later, and not supplanting the negative ones.<ref name="NDAS1" /><ref name="OxEtym1">{{Cite book |
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|title=The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology |
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|last=Onions |
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|first=C.T. (ed.) |
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|year=1994 |
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|publisher=Oxford at the Clarendon Press|edition=hardback ed. |
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|location=New York |
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|pages=p. 817 |
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|isbn=0-19-861112-9 |
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}} – gives only the negative meaning for both "shark" and "sharp"</ref><ref name="NewGem1">{{Cite book |
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|title=New Gem Dictionary of the English Language |
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|last=Weekley |
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|first=Ernest (ed.) |
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|coauthors=Scott, Anne (ed.) |
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|year=1911 |
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|publisher=Collins |
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|location=London |
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|pages=p.418 |
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}} – current around time that "shark" gained a positive sense, gives only negative meaning for both</ref><ref name="EtymOnline1" /> "Card sharp" and "card shark" are synonymous,<ref name="NDAS1" /><ref name="WebsterUnabridged1" /><ref name="Roget21CT1">{{Cite book |
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|title=Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus in Dictionary Form |
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|edition=Second Ed. (paperback ver.) |
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|last=Kipfer |
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|first=Barabara Ann (ed.) |
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|coauthors=Princeton Language Institute (eds.) |
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|year=1999 |
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|publisher=Dell Publishing |
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|location=New York |
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|pages=pp. 306, 786 |
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|isbn=0-440-23513-8 |
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}} – gives both meanings for both</ref><ref name="Dictionary.com1">{{Cite web |
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|title=Dictionary.Reference.com search results |
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|pages="sharp" dfn. 36 & 37, "shark" dfn. 2-1 & 2-2 |
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|year=2007 |
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|accessdate=2007-07-08 |
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|work=Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) |
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|publisher=Lexico Publishing Group |
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|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/ |
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}} – gives both meanings for both, with negative meaning being primary for both, positive meanings informal</ref><ref name="OxEnc1" /> although [[American English]] is somewhat, but informally, beginning to favor "shark" as a positive term versus "sharp" as a negative one.<ref name="WebsterUnabridged1" /><ref name="WebsterII1">{{Cite book |
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|title=Webster's II: New Riverside Dictionary |
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|last=Soukhanov |
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|first=Anne H. (sr. ed.) |
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|year=1994 |
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|publisher=Riverside Pub. Co. |
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|location=Boston |
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|edition=hardback ed. |
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|pages=p. 1072 |
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|isbn=0-395-33957-X |
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}} |
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– gives both for "shark", only negative for "sharp" and "sharper"</ref><ref name="WebsterNWA1">{{Cite book |
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|title=Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language (Revised) |
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|last=Guralnik |
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|first=David B. (ed.) |
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|year=1982 |
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|publisher=Warner Books |
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|location=New York |
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|edition=Revised Ed. (paperback ver.) |
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|pages=p. 547 |
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|isbn=0-446-31450-1 |
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}} – gives both for "shark", only negative for "sharp"</ref> (However not even all American dictionaries agree with this,<ref name="NDAS1" /> and some suggest the opposite.)<ref name="AHD1">{{Cite web |
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|title=American Heritage Dictionary of the English language (online Fourth Ed.) |
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|publisher=Houghton Mifflin |
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|year=2000–2006 |
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|accessdate=2007-07-08 |
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|work=Bartleby.com |
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|pages="sharp" dfn. noun 3 & "shark" dfn. noun 2 |
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|url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/ |
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}} – gives both meanings for both, with positive being primary for "sharp" but negative for "shark"</ref> |
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==In film== |
==In film== |
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Card sharps are common characters in [[caper story|caper]] films, since the questionable [[legality]] and [[morality]] of their hobby also plays well with that of their occupation. |
Card sharps are often common characters in [[caper story|caper]] films, since the questionable [[legality]] and [[morality]] of their hobby also plays well with that of their occupation. Examples of such films are: |
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* ''[[The Sting]]'' ([[1973]]) |
* ''[[The Sting]]'' ([[1973]]) |
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* ''[[Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels]]'' ([[1998]]) |
* ''[[Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels]]'' ([[1998]]) |
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==On television== |
==On television== |
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*''[[Sanford and Son]]'' featured an episode where card sharps defeated Lamont at poker; while he went to get drinks, Fred was able (through a specially marked deck and one of his many pairs of reading glasses) to defeat the card sharps and win Lamont's money back. |
*''[[Sanford and Son]]'' featured an episode where card sharps defeated Lamont at poker; while he went to get drinks, Fred was able (through a specially marked deck and one of his many pairs of reading glasses) to defeat the card sharps and win Lamont's money back. |
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* |
*[[Harry Anderson]] made several appearances on ''[[Cheers]]'' as card sharp "Harry the Hat." |
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* |
*[[Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell]] on ''[[Prison Break]]'' is an expert card sharp, to the point where "there are maybe five people in this country who can do what I do with a deck of cards"; while this may have been an exaggeration, T-Bag uses this skill successfully in the episode "[[Bluff (Prison Break episode)|Bluff]]". |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[[Card marking]] |
*[[Card marking]] |
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== |
==External links== |
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*[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003448.html Discussion of the etymology of the term] |
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{{Refimprove}} |
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{{Reflist}} |
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[[Category:Card game terminology]] |
[[Category:Card game terminology]] |
Revision as of 01:09, 30 November 2007
A card sharp is a person who purposely cheats at cards with the aim of making money. Card sharps are also known as "mechanics" — an older term is "greek".
Methods
Card sharps typically use methods also employed by magicians to keep control of the order of the cards or sometimes to control one specific card. Most, if not all, of these methods employ sleight of hand. Essential skills are the 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", which is manipulating desired cards to the top or bottom of the deck, and "stacking", which puts desired cards in position to be dealt.
Dealing can also be manipulated by dealing either the bottom card from the deck or the second one from the top instead of the top card. These are called the "bottom deal" and the "second deal" respectively. Dealing may also be done from the middle of the deck, known as the "middle deal" or "center deal", but this is not as common.
Magician's view
The use of these methods to cheat at cards is generally frowned upon by magicians, as they can associate magicians with swindlers. However, they often use card sharps as the subject for card routines, to show off their skills. For example, Derek Dingle created the following effect, later modified by Michael Ammar and performed on television with a slightly different handling: While retaining the same handling of the deck, he inserts the four aces into the deck, shuffles the cards (face-up into face-down), and finds all of them in 30 seconds under the watchful eye of 2 casino security people, leaving 4 royal flushes — all face up — in the end.
Etymology
The etymology of the term "card sharp" is debated. A popular theory is that it comes from the German word Scharper, which in one sense means swindler. Another theory, which is likely false etymology, is that card sharp is a degenerate form of card shark, which itself is an analogy to the term pool shark. In actuality, the reverse is more likely to be true: card sharp is the original term, and card shark was likely formulated later, influenced by corruption of the term card sharp and by either analogy to pool shark or as a fresh shark metaphor.
In film
Card sharps are often common characters in caper films, since the questionable legality and morality of their hobby also plays well with that of their occupation. Examples of such films are:
On television
- Sanford and Son featured an episode where card sharps defeated Lamont at poker; while he went to get drinks, Fred was able (through a specially marked deck and one of his many pairs of reading glasses) to defeat the card sharps and win Lamont's money back.
- Harry Anderson made several appearances on Cheers as card sharp "Harry the Hat."
- Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell on Prison Break is an expert card sharp, to the point where "there are maybe five people in this country who can do what I do with a deck of cards"; while this may have been an exaggeration, T-Bag uses this skill successfully in the episode "Bluff".