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About Posting: Only Registered users can post new topics and replies in this forum Username: Password: I forgot my password! Message: Click Here to review the topic. [quote] On 2005-03-02 21:35, Bill Hallahan wrote: Glen Bishop wrote: [quote] [quote] On 2005-03-01 22:58, Bill Hallahan wrote: When the young Dai Vernon wanted to learn more about card methods he didn’t look for other magicians, he looked for, and found, men involved in gambling! [/quote] Yes that was Vernons quest but I see little of what Wernons quest and his gifts to magic has to do with the Dime book of George Devol. [/quote] Nothing. I was moving on past the book. That statement has to do with the type of person [b]methods[/b] often come from, which is the word you made stand out in the post I was responding to. Vernon was looking for people like Erdnase. But let me make it clear why that book, and others, [b]are[/b] important in this discussion. Since Erdnase claims to be a gambler in his work, it’s useful to know how a real gambler thinks and feels. Prior to reading several books like these, if I were to pretend I was a gambler, I wouldn’t have known to think that the marks deserved what happened to them. This is a rationalization that comes from the experience of fleecing people. I haven’t done that. Both Erdnase and Devol allude to that thought. And as to the credibility of George Devol, he list many facts in his book that can be corroborated. He brags throughout the book, and there is no reason to believe that when he writes he was broke at times that it’s a lie. And it’s not just him. Other books by cheats, such as “20 Years a Fakir”, a book about a con man (not a card man), describe similar attitudes expressed by both Erdnase and Devol. I understand that recently clues about a man named Erdnase have surfaced, and another person who might be Erdnase, but there is still no corroboration for any of this yet. Without that, all we have is his book to go by. So one is left with the questions about the credibility of what he writes. Does what he writes make sense? Do the facts all fit? Knowing what a real cheating gambler is like can help evaluate if Erdnase has the same type of personality. While the writing is markedly superior in Erdnase’s book as compared to George Devol’s book, there are many ideas that match throughout both works. I read Mr. Devol’s book before I came into this debate, and I was struck with the numerous passages that reminded me of “The Expert at the Card Table”. Devol has a quote about going through money rapidly as does Erdnase. Devol regards marks the same way, as deserving of their fate. Devol writes the same type of disclaimer near the start of the book as Erdnase writes, making no apology for his actions, and then later in the book expresses some regret, just as Erdnase does. But you’re right, it’s another book and it doesn’t prove anything, well, except that Erdnase knows how to express the same thoughts and feelings as a real cheating gambler. Perhaps Erdnase was able to get into a gambler’s head, to realize how they think and feel. Perhaps he knew someone who was a cheat. Perhaps he read an article about one, maybe even George Devol’s book. Or maybe he was one. [/quote] [HTML is Off] [BBcode is On] Options: Disable BBcode on this Post Disable Smilies on this Post

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