Card sharp
Encyclopedia
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
or other card game
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
s. Sharp, Snark, or Shark appears to be interchangeable based on region and local dialect.
The label is not always intended as pejorative, and is sometimes used to refer to practitioners of card tricks
Card manipulation
Card magic is the branch of conjuring that deals with creating magical effects using a deck of playing cards. Card magic is commonplace in magical performances, especially in close up magic or parlor magic and street magic. Some of the most recognized names in this field include John Scarne, Juan...
for entertainment purposes. In general usage, principally in American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
and more commonly with the "shark" spelling and much less frequently with "snark", the term has also taken on the meaning of "expert card gambler who takes advantage of less-skilled players", without implication of actual cheating at cards
Cheating in poker
Cheating in poker is any behavior outside the rules that is intended to give an unfair advantage to one or more players.-Types of cheating:Cheating can be done many ways, including collusion, sleight-of-hand , or the use of physical objects such as marked cards or holdout devices.Cheating occurs in...
, in much the same way that "" or "pool hustler
Hustling
Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling with the hustler, as a form of confidence trick...
" can (especially when used by non-players) be intended to mean "skilled player" rather than "swindler".
A card sharp/shark/snark (by either of the gambling-related definitions) may be a "rounder" who travels, seeking out high-stakes games in which to gamble.
Etymology and usage
According to the prevailing etymologicalEtymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
theory, the term "shark", originally meaning "parasite" or "one who preys upon others" (cf. loan shark
Loan shark
A loan shark is a person or body that offers unsecured loans at illegally high interest rates to individuals, often enforcing repayment by blackmail or threats of violence....
), derives from German Schorke/Schurke ("rogue" or "rascal"), as did the English word "shirk[er]". "Sharp" developed in the 17th century from this meaning of "shark" (as apparently did the use of "shark" as a name for the fish), but the phrase "card sharp" predates the variant "card shark". The original connotation was negative, meaning "swindler" or "cheat", regardless of spelling, with the more positive connotations of "expert" or "skilled player" arising later, and not supplanting the negative ones. "Card sharp" and "card shark" are synonymous, although American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
is somewhat, but informally, beginning to favor "shark" as a positive term versus "sharp" as a negative one. (However, not even all American dictionaries agree with this, and some suggest the opposite.)
Film
Card sharps are common characters in caperCaper story
The caper story is a subgenre of crime fiction. The typical caper story involves one or more crimes perpetrated by the main characters in full view of the reader...
films, since the questionable legality
Legality
The principle of legality is the legal ideal that requires all law to be clear, ascertainable and non-retrospective. It requires decision makers to resolve disputes by applying legal rules that have been declared beforehand, and not to alter the legal situation retrospectively by discretionary...
of their hobby also plays well with that of their occupation. Notable examples of such films are:
- The Lady EveThe Lady EveThe Lady Eve is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. The film is based on a story by Monckton Hoffe about a mismatched couple who meet on board a luxury liner...
(1941) - The Cincinnati KidThe Cincinnati KidThe Cincinnati Kid is a 1965 American drama film. It tells the story of Eric "The Kid" Stoner, a young Depression-era poker player, as he seeks to establish his reputation as the best...
(1965) - The StingThe StingThe Sting is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936 that involves a complicated plot by two professional grifters to con a mob boss . The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who previously directed Newman and Redford in the western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Created by...
(1973) - Lock, Stock and Two Smoking BarrelsLock, Stock and Two Smoking BarrelsLock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 British crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie. The story is a heist film involving a self-confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three card brag...
(1998) - The PrestigeThe Prestige (film)The Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century...
(2006), the supporting role of the magician in Falcon's show was played by Ricky JayRicky JayRichard Jay Potash , better known by the stage name Ricky Jay, is an American stage magician, actor, and writer. He is a sleight-of-hand expert and is notable for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter.-Life and career:...
, a world-renowned card sharp - RoundersRounders (film)Rounders is a 1998 film about the underground world of high-stakes poker. Directed by John Dahl and starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, the movie follows two friends who need to quickly earn enough cash playing poker to pay off a large debt...
(1998) - ShadeShade (film)Shade is a 2003 neo-noir crime drama starring Stuart Townsend, Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, Jamie Foxx, Roger Guenveur Smith, Melanie Griffith and Sylvester Stallone...
(2003) - 2121 (2008 film)21 is a 2008 drama film directed by Australian director Robert Luketic and stars Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts, and Aaron Yoo. The film is inspired by the true story of the MIT Blackjack Team as told in Bringing Down the House, the...
(2008) - The Princess and the Frog (2010)
Television
- Stage magician and actor Harry AndersonHarry AndersonHarry Laverne Anderson is an American actor and magician.-Early life:Born in Newport, Rhode Island, Anderson was a street magician before becoming an actor.-Career:...
(of Night CourtNight CourtNight Court is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984, to May 20, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan court, presided over by the young, unorthodox Judge Harold T. "Harry" Stone...
fame) made several appearances on CheersCheersCheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
as card sharp "Harry the Hat". - In an episode of FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Ross was debating with his doppelgängerDoppelgängerIn fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
Russ about the correctness of the term "card shark" vs. "card sharp". - A Homicide: Life on the StreetHomicide: Life on the StreetHomicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
episode, titled "Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song" (season 7Homicide: Life on the Street (season 7)The seventh season of Homicide: Life on the Street aired in the United States on the NBC television network from 1998-09-25 to 1999-05-21 and contained 22 episodes....
, episode 103), features the homicide investigation of a woman who made a living as a card sharp, but whose gambling on other games sank her into substantial debt, with dire consequences for herself and her extended family. - On Mission: ImpossibleMission: ImpossibleMission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
, members of the Impossible Missions Force (particularly Rollin Hand), would often use their card sharp skills as part of a mission. - In Prison BreakPrison BreakPrison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an...
, the character Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell is an expert card sharp, who says, "there are maybe five people in this country who can do what I do with a deck of cards." T-Bag uses this skill successfully in the episode "Bluff". - Sanford and SonSanford and SonSanford and Son is an American sitcom, based on the BBC's Steptoe and Son, that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977....
featured an episode wherein card sharps defeated Lamont at poker. Fred was able to defeat the card sharps and win Lamont's money back.
Video games
- The antagonist Luxord, of Organization XIII in Kingdom Hearts IIKingdom Hearts IIis an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and published by Buena Vista Games and Square Enix in 2005 for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console...
, is a gambler who fights with dice and cards, and uses card tricks as the majority of his attacks. - In League of LegendsLeague of LegendsThe BetFred League of Legends was a darts tournament featuring some of the legends of the game of darts which commenced in May 2008. The tournament is broadcast on Setanta Sports in the United Kingdom....
, the champion Twisted Fate is a card sharp.