Achieving Sleight of Hand With the Kepplinger-Style Holdout Device

Concealed on the card shark's person, this Kepplinger-style device was used to secretly add or remove cards from the operator's hand.

Vintage & Historical
1 min
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Achieving Sleight of Hand With the Kepplinger-Style Holdout Device
All stories
Vintage & Historical

Up Close & Peculiar

More than 100 years ago, the globetrotting Robert Ripley began collecting artifacts from his journeys around the world, which today form the heart of the greatest collection of oddities ever assembled.  Up Close & Peculiar brings the curious history of these pieces to a personal level as Kurtis Moellmann explores the strange relics that lie within our Warehouse walls! Become a part of the story as we share pieces for every history buff, pop culture junkie, and oddities collector alike.

Today: Kepplinger-Style Card Holdout Device

A little sleight of hand is no problem for this sneaky card holdout device. Concealed on the card shark’s person, this Kepplinger-style device was used to secretly add or remove cards from the operator’s hand. It functions by using a tension string pulley system to glide that lucky last number or suit directly to or from the sleeve to the deck in hand!

About The Author

Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Step into the world of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, where truth is always stranger than fiction! Bui…

By this author

The Government Once Nuked a Bunch of File Cabinets

The Government Once Nuked a Bunch of File Cabinets

 Diving Into a Historic Election Relic

Diving Into a Historic Election Relic

The Scariest Halloween Monsters and Their Origin Stories

The Scariest Halloween Monsters and Their Origin Stories

Read All Their Stories

Or Explore Our Categories

Have an Amazing Story?

At Ripley’s, we’re always in search of the unbelievable – maybe it’s you! Show us your talents. Tell us a strange story or a weird fact. Share your unbelievable art with us. Maybe even sell us something that could become a part of Ripley’s collection!

Have an Amazing Story?

Read More Ripley's

Get lost in a vortex of weird and wonderful stories! Ripley’s twenty-first edition annual book is full of all-new, all-true stories from around the world.

Dare to Discover book
Buy Now
Swirling Pinstripe backdrop
Ripley's Cartoon of the Day

November 14, 2024

Cartoon of the Day

In honor of "The Addams Family" movie, Burger King created a purple Whopper!

Ripley's Cartoon of the Day

Robert Ripley began the Believe It or Not! cartoon in 1918. Today, Kieran Castaño is the eighth artist to continue the legacy of illustrating the world's longest-running syndicated cartoon!