Of cards, with good caution how to avoid cozenage therein, especially rules to convey and handle the cards, and the manner and order how to accomplish all difficulties and strange things wrought with cards.
I having now bestowed some waste money among you, I will set you to cards, by which kind of witchcraft a great number of people have juggled away, not only their money, but also their lands, their health, their time, and their honesty. I dare not as I could, shew the lude juggling that cheats practice, least it minister some offence to the well disposed; to the simple, hurt and losses, and to the wicked, occasion of evil doing; but I could wish all gamesters to beware, not only of cards, but also of what dice they play withal; but especially with whom, and where they exercise gaming, and to let dice pass as a thing whereby a man must be inevitably cozened: one that is skilful in making bum cards, may undo hundreds of wealthy men that are given to gaming; for if he hath a confederate present, either of the players or standers-by, the mischief cannot be avoided; if you play among strangers, beware of him that seems simple or drunken, for under their habit the most specious cozeners are presented, and while you think by their simplicity and imperfections to beguile them, and thereby perchance are pursuaded by their confederates, which you take to be your friends, you will be then most of all deceived; beware also of the betters and lookers-on, and particularly, of them that bet on your side, whilst they look on your game without suspicion, they discover it by signs to your adversaries, with whom they bet, and yet are their confederates.
But in shewing feats and juggling with cards, the principal point consisteth in the shuffling them nimbly, and always keeping one card either at the bottom or in some known place of the stock, four or five cards from it; hereby you shall seem to work wonders, for it will be easy for you to see one card, which, though you be perceived to do, it will not be suspected, if you shuffle them well afterwards: and this note I must give you, that in reserving the bottom card, you must always whilst you shuffle, keep him a little before or behind all the cards lying underneath him, bestowing him, I say, either a little beyond his fellows before, right over the fore finger or else behind the rest, so as the little finger of the left hand may meet with it, which is the easier, the readier, and better way: in the beginning of your shuffleing, shuffle as thick as you can, and in the end throw upon the stock the nether card, with so many more at the least as you would have preserved for any purpose, a little before or a little behind the rest, provided always that your fore-finger (if the pack lay behind) creep up to meet with the bottom card, and when you feel it, you may then hold it until you have shuffled over the cards again, still leaving your kept card below: being perfect herein, you may do almost what you list with cards by this means, what pack soever you use, though it consisteth of eight, twelve, or twenty cards, you may keep them still together unserved next to the card, and yet shuffle them often to satisfy the curious beholders. As for example, and for brevity sake, to shew divers feats under one.