The Expert at the Card Table: Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation (Dover Magic Books)

Product Information

Vanishing Inc. UK Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 09430707. Prices shown excluding UK VAT.

if you chop off the “jam” and spell James Andrews better you might realize why so many people think Erdnase is in fact, Andrews) Artifice, ruse, and subterfuge at the card table: a treatise on the science and art of manipulating cards From the Collections at the Library of Congress I guess the quote rings true: “Gambling isn’t about winning, it’s about cheating better than your opponent can” What is Expert at the Card Table about?

Hazard at play carries sensations that once enjoyed are rarely forgotten. The winnings are known as “pretty money,” and it is generally spent as freely as water. The average professional who is successful at his own game will, with the sublimest unconcern, stake his money on that of another’s, though fully aware the odds are against him. He knows little of the real value of money, and as a rule is generous, careless and improvident. He loves the hazard rather than the stakes. As a matter of fact the principal difference between the professional gambler and the occasional gambler, is that the former is actuated by his love of the game and the latter by cupidity. A professional rarely “squeals” when he gets the worst of it; the man who has other means of livelihood is the hardest loser. Get it Free!? A more complicated table machine passes the cards from below completely over the edge of the table, and the hands, held naturally on the table top, receive and make the discard without a sign to denote the procedure. The Expert at the Card Table is the most famous, the most carefully studied book ever published on the art of manipulating cards at gaming tables.” —from the Foreword by Martin Gardner. A film based on the life of the mysterious author, adapted by German director Hans-Joachim Brucherseifer, is currently in production. The magician Yann Yuro (a.k.a. Florian Beyer) plays the lead role of S.W. Erdnase. It is scheduled to be released in late 2022. The Mystery Author admits at the beginning of the book that he wrote it purely for financial gain and adopted Erdnase as a pen name.

Dai Vernon actually produced a copy of the book with his own personal notes, which are I can tell you: Expensive… The Dover edition has some changes from previous editions that make it easily distinguishable if it's scanned or OCR'd. The Annotated Erdnase/ Magical Publications by Darwin Ortiz. Contains notes, annotations, photographs, citations and references. Also contains two appendices: "New Moves" and "The Search For Erdnase" by Martin Gardner. The passion for play is probably as old, and will be as enduring, as the race of man. Some of us are too timid to risk a dollar, but the percentage of people in this feverish nation who would not enjoy winning one is very small. The passion culminates in the professional. He would rather play than eat. Winning is not his sole delight. Some one has remarked that there is but one pleasure in life greater than winning, that is, in making the hazard.When we speak of professional card players we do not refer to the proprietors or managers of gaming houses. The percentage in their favor is a known quantity, or can be readily calculated, and their profits are much the same as any business enterprise. Where the civil authorities countenance these institutions they are generally conducted by men of well known standing in the community. The card tables pay a percentage or rake off, and the management provides a look out for the protection of its patrons. Where the gaming rooms must be conducted in secret the probabilities of the player’s apparent chances being lessened are much greater. However, our purpose is to account for the unknown percentage that must needs be in favor of the professional card player to enable him to live. The book was first published in 1902 under the pseudonym S.W. Erdnase and the identity of the author has remained a mystery and subject of great speculation. Many theories have been advanced on the subject but there are only a few concrete details known of the author. These include that S.W. Erdnase reversed is E. S. Andrews and that the books illustrator, Marshall D. Smith, met the author in a hotel room and described him as well spoken, gentlemanly and of short stature. In the book’s preface, Erdnase states of the book ‘if it sells well it will accomplish the primary motive of the author, as he needs the money.’ This, combined with the expert knowledge displayed in the book’s content, has pointed to several professional gamblers and card sharpers being behind the pseudonym. Demarest, Marty (Winter 2013). "Montana's Conjurers, Con Men, and Card Cheats: Wilbur E. Sanders, S. W. Erdnase, and "The Expert at the Card Table" ". Montana The Magazine of Western History. 63 (4): 3–93. JSTOR 24419968 . Retrieved April 7, 2021.

a b c Erdnase, S. W (1995) [1902]. The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation (1st Ed. reprinted.). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-28597-9. Card Mastery, HBDJ, Circle Magic Shop by Michael MacDougall's Card Mastery (contains the complete text of Expert)

Navigation menu

The Erdnase Scroll by Miracle Factory - The book in scroll form with a handwritten calligraphy font on ivory parchment paper, maple-tone wood ornaments, suede tie cord, and a velour protective drawstring bag. Also includes Todd Karr's extensive research on Erdnase's identity.

Erdnase starts with a treatise on gambling cons to be performed at the gamblers the gambler’s table (the Artifice section.)The Expert at the Card Table is the most famous, the most carefully studied book ever published on the art of manipulating cards at gaming tables." —from the Foreword by Martin Gardner. Advantages that are bound to ultimately give a percentage in favor of the professional are absolutely essential to his existence, and the means employed at the card table to obtain that result are thoroughly elucidated in this work. We have not been impelled to our task by the qualms of a guilty conscience, nor through the hope of reforming the world. Man cannot change his temperament, and few care to control it. While the passion for hazard exists it will find gratification. We have neither grievance against the fraternity nor sympathy for so-called victims. A varied experience has impressed us with the belief that all men who play for any considerable stakes are looking for the best of it. We give the facts and conditions of our subject as we find them, though we sorrowfully admit that our own early knowledge was acquired at the usual excessive cost to the uninitiated. S.W. Erdnase... the pseudonym of the man thought to be the most notorious card shark of the 19th century. His book "The Expert at the Card Table" is now considered the card conjurer's bible, making it compulsory reading for any magician. It took more than 30 years after its publication for the true value of the book to be appreciated - too late for the author to witness the success of his work and too late for all the magicians who would have enjoyed meeting him. His true identity is still uncertain and remains a great mystery, leaving even the best illusionists in the dark.