Riverboat Gambling: Behind the Scenes
One region largely unaffected by the anti-gambling movement was that of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and the states that bordered them.
One infamous passenger, however, was known to turn the tables on dishonest gamblers--- the inventor of the Bowie knife, James Bowie, who died with Davey Crockett defending the Alamo in 1836.
Bowie often traveled on the Mississippi River and routinely beta professional cheaters at their own game and returned the money to the hapless victims.
Before returning the money, however, he demanded that the victim swear never to gamble again.
One of the best known tales of Bowie's knight-errantry involved a young couple on their honeymoon. Bowie came aboard the steamboat New Orleans in Vicksburg. A gang of sharpers were in the process of fleecing a young planter of $50,000 he owed to various friends and relatives.
He lost all the money and was about to kill himself when Bowie stopped him. Bowie went into the bar and let it be known that he also had a large amount of money and was willing to while away the time in a friendly game of cards.
After winning and losing a few hands, Bowie was dealt an almost unbeatable hand. The pot eventually reached a total of $70,000; only Bowie and one player were still in the game.
The remaining sharper reached into his sleeve and pull out the card he needed to win when Bowie grabbed his hand and pulled a knife at the same time.
Caught in the act, the sharpers had no choice except to met Bowie take the pot. Bowie returned $50,000 to the young man and kept the rest.
New Orleans, one of the largest cities on the riverboat run, became a gambler's haven and had numerous formal and informal gambling casinos.
A very fashionable game in the casinos and on the riverboats was Faro, almost certainly brought to America by the French colonists who settled in Alabama and Louisiana in the first half of the eighteenth century.
Faro spread to the east and north through travelers and sailors. It gained even more popularity after the Louisiana Purchase and was played more widely than any other game until the advent of the twentieth century.
Poque, or poker, was also a favorite in New Orleans and on the riverboats. This game spread through America in much the same way Faro spread; however, poker never declined as did Faro.
Three-card Monte, an offshoot of the old game of Monte, was played often, especially by the riverboat gamblers.
The gamblers usually worked in pairs to cheat their victims. The prey was shown three cards, usually a king, queen, and jack, which were then placed face down and moved around rapidly.
The player had to pick the queen in order to win the bet. The dealer's partner won several games to demonstrate to the sucker how easy it was to win.
While the victim's attention was engaged elsewhere, one of the gamblers marked the queen. When the victim bet to win, often heavily, the dealer slipped the marked card off the table and replaced it with another king or jack.
It is obvious why this game was favored by the river sharpers--- it was a simple matter to dupe the victims into thinking they could win easily.