User:Phfilip/Dad Stevens

Dad Stevens

Dad Stevens, known in his earlier days as The Mysterious Kid and in his older days as Old Dad Stevens, was an American gambler. He was known for his extraordinary skill of sleight of hand and has been described as the most accomplished card shark of the twentieth century.

Career
Stevens used his skill of sleight of hand to win card games and make a living throughout most of his life. It was during this period that Stevens earned the nickname, the Mysterious Kid, due to the fact that his opponents could never comprehend as to how he always managed to win. Eventually, Old Dad Stevens decided to settle down and used his winnings to buy a $250,000 dollar home in Evanston. He had another $250,000 dollars in the bank and he was proud of the fact that, unlike most gamblers, he was able to save his income instead of gambling it away. At this point in time, Old Dad Stevens spent the remainder of his days playing cards at the Waiter's Club on State Street. Old Dad Stevens visited this club for recreational card playing only and often times he gave his winnings back to his opponents.

Encounter with Dai Vernon
At the age of seventy-four, Old Dad Stevens met the Canadian close-up magician, Dai Vernon, while playing cards at the Waiter's Club. This was a vital point in Stevens' life and it was a crucial point in the evolution of magic, because Vernon was able to study Stevens' technique, record it and pass it on to future generations. Stevens showed Vernon his third and fourth deals, which are more difficult variations of the already challenging second deal. In addition, he showed Vernon a method of controlling four cards of any given value to the top of the deck by simply giving the deck a series of riffle shuffles. This move was Stevens' greatest invention and was known as the riffle cull. It took him eighteen years of practice to perfect this powerful technique.