[Ads-l] three card monte (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill CIV (US)]

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Garson -- your posts come in clearly.  Mine do not.  What email client do you use?
(FWIW, I am currently typing directly into MS Outlook 2007).

Are there some settings I should reset?

To your post:
"San Francisco seems to be a key location" -- only after 1849 and the gold rush.  Before that, anecdotal evidence suggests New Orleans (which would be an explanation for the "French Monte" name).

"two different names" -- most of the common cons have several names.  For "loop"/"string game" see also "fast and loose", "pricking the garter", and "on the barrelhead".

Here:
http://scoundrelswiki.com/ScoundrelsBibliography

is a detailed bibliography on the cons.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of ADSGarson O'Toole
> Sent: Friday, April 10, 2015 2:16 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: three card monte
> 
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header ---------------
> --------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: three card monte
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
> 
> Excellent point, Bill. The term "three card game" is a rather broad
> sounding descriptor. Gathering more evidence in the time period and
> location would be helpful to reduce residual ambiguities. San Francisco
> seems to be a key location.
> 
> When I read the California statute (reprinted further below) it seemed
> to be stating that "French Monte" and "Three Card Game" were the same
> game. But this relationship might be dependent on a specific time and
> location.
> 
> The statute also seemed to be stating that there was another game/con
> that had two different names: "Loop" and "String Game". There is a
> youtube video called "The Endless Chain" that might illustrate the
> scam.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7gMqemoR5I
> 
> Thanks for the off-list information you sent, and I certainly defer to
> your expertise in cards, confidence tricks, and magic.
> 
> [Begin excerpt]
> License not to extend to certain games.
> 
> 4. No license issued under the provisions of this Act shall be so
> construed as to allow the playing of the game known as "French Monte"
> or "Three Card Game," or the game known as "Loop" or "String Game," or
> the game known as "Thimbles," or the game known as "Lottery," which are
> hereby expressly prohibited under the penalty mentioned in the first
> section of this Act.
> [End excerpt]
> 
> Garson
> 
> 
> On Thu, Apr 9, 2015 at 10:43 PM, Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header -------------
> ----------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Bill Mullins <amcombill at HOTMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      three card monte
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> > ---------
> >
> >> I also believe that "three card game"=2C "French monte"=2C and
> "three
> >> car=
> > d > monte" all refer to the same game in the citations I gave
> > previously.>>=  The OED seems to equate "three card game" and "three
> card monte".
> > I don't dispute that Garson's "three card game" cites refer to three
> > card m= onte.  However=2C "three card loo" was a contemporary card
> > betting game=2C = so I wouldn't assume that any old "three card game"
> > was 3CM=2C unless it wa= s unambiguously so.
> > And even though I called it a game here and earlier=2C 3CM is _not_ a
> game.=
> >   It was (and is) a straight-up swindle.  The mark does not win.  He
> > may ap= pear to win at low stakes to entice him to bet his wad in a
> > succeeding play= =2C but it is always under the control of the
> > broad-tosser=2C who typically=  has shills acting as other bettors to
> help manage the flow of the "game".
> > In a game=2C you have a chance to win.  In 3CM=2C there is no chance.
> >
> >                                           =
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org