Posts Tagged ‘cheating’
“Everyone should be able to do one card trick, tell two jokes, and recite three poems, in case they are ever trapped in an elevator”*…
When watching a magician perform some card tricks, it’s a legitimate question to ask: “Would you be able to cheat at a card game?” Most performers will smirk and wink, implying they could. Truth is: they probably can’t. Sleight-of-hand with cards for conjuring and entertainment purposes is one thing; gambling techniques to cheat at cards is a whole other story. Sometimes these two domains overlap, in that liminal zone of the so called “gambling demonstrations.” However, the gamblers’ “real work” entails a very different skillset from that of a magician—while true gambling techniques are among the most fascinating and difficult to master.
In the realm of gambling techniques with cards, one name immediately commands undivided admiration and respect. That name is Steve Forte. It’s no hyperbole to say that what Forte can do with a pack of cards borders the unbelievable; his skillful handling is the closest thing to perfection in terms of technique. Here is a taste of his smooth and classy dexterity:
Steve Forte’s career spans over 40 years within the gambling industry. After dealing all casino games and serving in all casino executive capacities, he shifted gears to a spectacularly successful career as a professional high-stakes Black Jack and Poker player; shifting gears again, he later became a top consultant in the casino security field. To dig deeper into Forte’s adventurous and shapeshifting life, the go-to place is the enduring profile penned by R. Paul Wilson for the October 2005 issue of Genii Magazine.
Although Forte spent his whole professional career in the gambling world, in the early ’90s he became widely known in the magic community after releasing his famous Gambling Protection Video Series. These tapes turned him into an almost mythical figure, someone with a uniquely vast repertoire of gambling moves, and the remarkable ability to execute these moves—all of them—flawlessly. These tapes still remain the gold standard for any serious gambling enthusiast.
In 2009, the Academy of Magical Arts honored Steve Forte with a Special Fellowship Award, in recognition of his outstanding creative contribution…
Ferdinando Buscema (@ferdinando_MED), himself a master magician and experience designer, with an appreciation in Boing Boing: “What Steve Forte can do with a pack of cards borders on the unbelievable.”
* Daniel Handler
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As we hold ’em close, we might celebrate a magician of another sort, Brewster Kahle; on this date in 1996 he founded the Internet Archive, home of the Wayback Machine, the Open Library (and its coronavirus-catastrophe-response cousin, the National Emergency Library), and so much more…
“Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess”*…
Chess has been revolutionized several times since 1850. 1851 marked the first international chess tournament in London, leaving the German Adolf Anderssen as the official best chess player in Europe at the time. The 20th century saw several breakthroughs in chess theory as chess players began to treat chess as a science more than a pastime. With the advent of computers in the mid-1900s, chess players started analyzing games and writing computer opponents to hone their craft. Then in the 1990s, the widespread adoption of the Internet allowed players to play chess games with anyone in the world online.
That leaves us to wonder: How has chess changed in that timespan?…
Find out at “A data-driven exploration of the evolution of chess.”
And for a close look at one of the most recent developments– the surreptitious use of illegal technology– check out “Chess grandmaster accused of using iPhone to cheat during international tournament.”
* Terry Pratchett
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As we begin to understand Marcel Duchamp’s choice, we might spare a thought for the polymathic Benjamin Franklin; he died on this date in 1790. Justly remembered and rightly revered as a Founding Father of the U.S., author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, diplomat, and aphorist, it is perhaps less well known that Franklin was a fanatic chess player. He was playing chess by around 1733, making him the first chess player known by name in the American colonies. His widely-reprinted and translated 1786 essay “The Morals of Chess,” a paean to the game that prescribed a code of behavior for its players, is the second known writing on chess in America. He was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 1999.
Edward Harrison May’s “Lady Howe faisant mat Benjamin Franklin” (“Lady Howe mating Benjamin Franklin”), 1867
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