Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-06-17
A Memorable Game.
Alden in the New York Times.

Ifthere is any game that Mr.. Weed can play
better than he can play poker, he would do
well to conflne himself to such game and to
abstain from poker forever. Nothing can be
clearer than that he was never meant for a
POKER player. The purpose Of his creation is
undoubtedly mystery, and is universally re-
cognized as such by all his acquaintances; but
though he may not be able to imagine what he
was made for, he must by this time know that
he was not made to play poker.
There are two aspects in which Mr. Weeds
now celebrated game of poker with DR.. Hedges
and Mr.. Scott may be regarded. The first of
these is what We may call the scientific view
Mr.. Weed had hand of four aces, Mr.. Scott
held straight fush," and Dr.. Hedges had
''full, u which he had dealt himself, Mr. Weed
full of faith in the efficacy of his aces proceeded
to bet as long as Mr.. Scott would '.raise"
was made and Mr.: Scott secured the nice little
pot of $3.50 0O0-of which $15O,OOO represented
the loss of Mr. Weed.
1t is not many years since the straight flush"
was introduced into the game of poker and
given the power to beat four aces. The history
OF the development of the straight flush" since
the date of its Introduction affords curious
instance OF the way IN which nature supplies
every demand that is made upon her. In 1856
straight flush" occurred once in every 1877. 900
once in every 9,027 hands. With the demand
for straight Pushes the frequency of their ap-
pearance increased, until at the time of the IA
nous transit OF Venus, when scientific parties
were sent out by our government to the end Of
the earth, the straight f1ush," according to the
excellent authority of Prof. Hardness, of the
Naval Observatory. could be expected to appear
once in every 81, 600 hands-in round numbers
In the very able paper on poker read at the
meeting OF the American Scientific Association
fnd hot fho
flush" had so greatly increased IN frequency that
it was commonly met once in every ], LAT hands
thus being very nearly as common as four aces
These facts Mr.. Weed ought to have known
lor to sit down to game without knowing
them would have been an incredible act of fOly
Now, when he began to bet heavily on his four
aces, and found that. no matter how much he
might bet, Mr.. Scott was always ready to
eraise" him, he ought to have comprehended
that the latter gentlemen had ssstraight
tlush." The argument was simple one. Eyi-
IDENTITY Mr.. Scott had full confidence in his hand
for no man continues to "bluff7' when $40 600 or
$40 600 is at stake. and his adversary is ready to
bet to any amount. The only hand which could
give him this full confidence was straight
flush, for Mr.. Weed had four aces, and as the
game did not take place on the Mississippi river
there was no reason to believe that Mr. Scott was
relying upon hand Of five more aces. The
chance that Mr.. Scott held ''straight fush''
was greatly strengthened by the fact that he had
drawn only one card. In those circumstances
even wayfaring player, though he might be q
prOtectionist, would have known the character
OF Mr.. SCOTS hand lust as well as if his cards
had been transparent. And yet Mr.. Weed. with
q faulty rarely equalled In the annals of demo-
cratic conventions, went on betting on his mis-
$50, GOO. ~ ''''
In its practical aspect the game gives no pos
sible excuse to Mr.. Weed. The deal, which
was made by DR.. Hedges, reflected great credit
indrr
deavoring to earn an honest living by poker
would have dealt much more suspicious hands
DR.. Hedges dealt Mr.. Scott a straight flush"
with "king high" This was an act of great
sef-restrant. Most men in DR.. Hedgess place
would have given Mr.. Scott straight flush,"
with an lace high" and given Mr. Weed a
straight flush" headed by q king, with the ex-
pectation that the latter would bet his very last
| dollar on his hand. But DR.. Hedges knew bet
ter. With the instinct of thorough artist he
would not OverdO the matter in hand. He
dealt Mr.. Scott q hand which he knew would be
good enough without the gaudy ornamentation
| of an ace, and he gave Mr.. Weed poorer, but
yet an eminently seductive hand.
What Mr.. Weed ought to have done, on dis
covering that he had lost the ''pot'' was to
claim that he was not playing ''straights'-that
''straights" should not be counted except by
special agreement, but that with view to har-
mony. he would accept SIG, 900 from Mr. Scott
and call it square. The wretched man, of course.
did not think of this. He was asignorant of the
ways of Hedges and Scott, as he was of the
cardinal principles of poker. He actually paid
SS5, GOO to his antagonists before it occurred to
him that there was anything suspicious about
the game, and that DR.. Hedges was too bold
and original dealer for any discreet man to
play with.
Mr.. Weed ought to study humble be-peg It
is beautiful game, and just suited to his abili-
ties. It is also an economical game, and, even
If he were to play it with Mr. Scott and DR..
Hedges, he could not lose anything except one