The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1875-06-18
THE sOIENCE o. BRTTTNG

tunes are Lost and Won by SP d ting |
From ihe New York Graphic
The passion for betting is so strong |
and so general that human ingenuity |
has been racked to devise new methods |
to crafty it. GA man." said promi- |
nent lottery dealer to the writer the |
other dav, "who could devise q new
system OF alloting prizes, even if it |
were no better than the worst of those |
now in use, would make fortune"
II this is the case IN a method OF
risking money on chances which rests
nnder the ban of the law, the system of
betting upon races, which receives the |
sanction of SO large a portion of the
community, has been made the subject
of even a greater amount of study and
inventive application. The result, how
ever, practically, is four different sys-
TENS. The first-that between one in
dividual and the other-is probably as
old as the human race.
POOLS BY AUCTION.
For many years the most popular
system of betting on races and other
sporting events was by the auction of
pools, or pool-selling, as it is called.
This is so generally understood that
only the most cursory explanation is
needed here. Let us suppose a horse
race in which several horses engage is
the subject of speculation. The pool
seller offers at auction what he terms
the 60 first choice" His patrons under
stand that this means that a bet is to
he made on the favorite against every
other horse in the race. "I'u give one
hundred dollars for first choice" says a
bettor. Gone hundred dollars is offer
ed cries the auctioneer. No one offers
more, and the bettOr pays down his
money and secures the right to place it
on whichever horse he pleases. GA
is the favOrite, and he bets on that
horse, ''What is offered for the second
choice ?" shouts the auctioneer. Eff
ty," sixty" seventy" are the cries
of the spectators. "Done at seventy
dollars" cries the auctioneer, and the
second bettor selects COB" or 60" if
he pleases. Then the third choice is
offered and sold, and last of all the
field" or the group of horses entered
in the race, but whose merits are not
we'll enough known to guarantee their
individual mention. These four sums
of money thus risked upon the first,
second, and third choice, and on the
field" constitute a "pooI," to be
turned over, minus a commission for
the bookseller, to the man who has
placed his money on the horse that wins
the race. Each person purchasing a
pool receives q ticket, duly numbered
aud recorded by the auctioneer, bearing
the name of the horse he has selected.
BOOK BETTING.
The system of book-betting has been
in use in this country but a compare
lively short time. To the uninitiated
the term Is only a source of mystery
man who opens books on any race
must be well informed on all points
bearing on the speed, bottom, and prob
able condition of the several Horses
that are entered. He arrEnges a series
of odds on each one az against all the
others, which odds are offered to the
public. In looking down the list
printed on a carl a gentleman may find
that opposite the name of SDringbOk
the odds are five to one. He knows,
therefore, that in th3 opinion of the
book-maker there are five chances that
Springbok will be beaten by some one
of the other horses in the race to one
that he will win. If, therefore, he has
a better opinion of Springbok, he backs
that opiDion by paying into the book
keeper any sum of money he chooses
above a certain prescribed minimum.
If SpringbOk wins he Will receive five
times the amount he has ventured. II
the horse does not win he will receive
nothing. In a race in which there are
twenty horses the odds offered will run
from two to one mp to thirty or more tc
one Suppose the least likely horse tC
WIN, then, if the minimum investment
is $1,000, the man who bets on the
winner will receive $50, 900, less the
percentage of the bOokmaker, and il
return, the boOkmaker will have re.
ceived his proposition, as it is called
on every horse, from which to pay it
II two persona have accepted his odds
on the hOrse in question he will have &c
pay out S60,000 and II his sales oil
other horses have been complete be
may be heavy loser.
The peculiar features of this mode
OF betting are that the sums bet are
usually quite large, and that If a horse
changes owners or for any other reason
does not run, the money of the investor
is not returned to him, but belongs tc
the maker of the book. This is &
favorite way of betting with wealthy
sporting men who prefer to risk large
sums.
THE PARIS ATUTUELS.
The only other system of betting
that remains is one that has attained
great popularity within the past
four or five years, since its intro
dUction into this country from France,
namely, the Paris mutuel pools. The
stands benlnd a counter on which there
is a series of brass knobs ARRANGED like
the keys of a piano-b board. Suppose
there are twenty horses entered. The
tickets are alway So piece. A person
DESTROYS of investing Will purchase a
ticket on any horse he chooses. Imme
diately key is struck, and he sees on
the face of a large machine standing
against the wall a figure l appear Oppo
site the name of the horse designated.
If a second person invests on the same
horse the same kew will be struck, and
the figure l will disappear and figure
will appear in it's place. 10 looking
up and down the list of horses on the
board he sees various figures opposite
the horses names. From these he
knows just how popular each horse IS il
the opinions of those who have gone be-
fore him. II he thinks any horse
although a poor one, mas been rated too
low, 10 st once becomes his interest TO
buy ticket upon him. The sum of all
the numbers shows Just how many tick
cts have been sold. Suppose it a cunts
TO 100, then $500 has been paid into the
pool seller Now. suppose again that