Phantoms of the Card Table: Confessions of a Card Sharp [Paperback]

David Britland (Author), Gazzo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2004

Walter Irving Scott may have been the greatest card shark ever. In 1930, Scott bamboozled a room full of New York's finest card manipulators by dealing himself winning poker hands from a shuffled deck, one of his many tricks. He liked to say that he "cheated the cheats." His skill with cards was extraordinary and he soon became known as "The Phantom of the Card Table." That's why Gazzo, a magician from England, decided to track Scott down some 60 years later. The two became friends and Scott openly discussed his work with a view to its finally being published. "I don't care what you say," said Scott, "as long as you tell the truth." This is the truth about Walter Irving Scott and other phantoms of the card table who spent years practicing a craft they rarely talk about — cheating at cards. A special chapter revealing master card tricks is also included.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There isn't a card player who wouldn't cheat, if he knew how."

About the Author

David Britland has written books on magic for magicians and worked as a researcher, writer and producer in British television including Channel 4's alternative magic show, The Secret Cabaret and Granada's James Randi: Psychic Investigator. For HTV he developed two series of Something Strange and a long running Meridian/Anglia series The Magic & Mystery Show, this before The X-Files turned the paranormal into a bandwagon. He has also taken a more serious look at the paranormal in several science documentaries developed for Channel 4's Equinox series. These included Superpowers, The Big Sleep and Secrets of the Psychics. Later this year he'll be making a documentary for Radio 4 about mind readers, called Mystery Men. He lives in Hertfordshire and is available for interview --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (March 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568582994
• ISBN-13: 978-1568582993
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #513,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phantoms of the Card Table - a masterpiece, November 17, 2003

By 

TJO' (Guelph, ON Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Phantoms of the Card Table (High Stakes: Cards) (Hardcover)

This is not really a book for absolute beginners, and it's important that you have read "Phantom of the Card Table" (no "s" after Phantom) if you want to understand it.

This book is amazing. It's not entirely a historical book, and not entirely a technique book, it's a bit of each. I won't write what it's about, you can read that above somewhere. You will read things about some of the greatest card magicians that you did not know. If you have an involved knowledge of card sleights, you will be tipped off on some of the most subtle yet powerful work ever used. If you own the original "Phantom of the Card Table", you will learn about the information that Scott HELD BACK from McGuire, tiny details that were hugely important to his system, stuff that would freak most magicians and laypeople out, because it's been largely forgotten.

Scott was an interesting man, he lived quite a life! And Gazzo is my new hero, and not simply for his magic, but because of his experiences and what he went through to meet Walter Scott and write this book. I learned things about him that i just didn't know. The last section of this book was heart wrenching, i cried as i read it. Gazzo rules and deserves a very high place in magic history/present/future. Thanks to Britland and Gazzo, this book reads like a brilliant piece of fiction, but the fact is that it actually happened, and this makes it all the more amazing. It would make one helluva film.

Every card magician who cares about the history of the art should own this book and re-read it at least once a year. It's that important.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I've Ever Read on the Subject of Cards, June 21, 2003

By 

ed accivatti (Pine Island, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Phantoms of the Card Table (High Stakes: Cards) (Hardcover)

David Britland and Gazzo have done a teriffic job of putting together a really original book on card cheats and tricks. It makes me completely hesitant to ever play cards with strangers again! The fact that these people dedicate their lives to perfecting the arts of cheating and card sharping, and the extent of their skills, is completely foreign to most players. The detail in the book highlights the best cheaters and cardsharps of all time, including "The Phantom of the Card Table", Walter Irving Scott. A must-have for any card player, gambler or aspiring magician.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Could Not Put Down This Book, June 5, 2008

By 

Daniel F. Dattomo "Dan" (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Phantoms of the Card Table: Confessions of a Card Sharp (Paperback)

I could not put down this book. I read it at home, at my Son's swim meets, in the car and on my lunch break. I am an amateur magician and I bought this book for the sleight of hand teaching it contains. Instead, I was totally fascinated by the history presented therein on Dai Vernon, Walter Scott and Eddie McGuire. This is a must-read for those who want to quickly pick up the history of close-up magic and of the obsessive behavior of both the magician and the card cheats from whom they learn their craft.

Daniel F. D'Attomo, Esq.