Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-06-11
GAMING FOR A LIVING.

ject - Gamblers Deluslons - henahIs-
cences of the Mississippi RiVer-HOW TO
Win at Poker-Worl<ing the Bug.
TFrom the St Louis Post-Dispatch.l
There was something extremely En-
glish about the gentleman's appearance.
1t was not his trousers, with their da1n-
ty check pattern; nor his silk hat,
nodded in fashions latest bulge; nor
vet the patent-leather Ftooth-picks"
which graced his feet Perhaps it was
the degage air with which he leaned
over the rail in front Of the bar. and
said in sweetly-modulated tones to the
individual with the diamond-pin who
stood behind it: another of the same,
dear boy" There was something that
bespoke refinement and culture IN the
very way he ordered his mint lulep.
'You don't mind joining me?" he said,
addressing the reporter.
The reporter did not mind; on the
contrary, he acquiesced gracefully, and
blithely entered into conversation.
Horses, the theaters, and the price of
stocks became successfully the topics of
conversation. The reporter regretted
the fall in c., c., @. and l., as he was
long cf that stock, very long indeed, in
fact, since he had had any. And what
was to be thought of the failure of
Grant, Ward & Co., in New York, and
the Marine bank?"
''Those fellers," said the gentleman
with the patent-leather boots, remind
me very much of some men [ know out
in Leadville, who invented an original
system OF busting banks. The sys-
TEN was beautiful one to look at, and
was deliberately calculated by algebraic
equations. The only thing it required
was lot of capital, and they put to-
gether every cent they had and tackled
the biggest faro-banks in Leadville-it
was In the winter of 1880. They wanted
to get me into the 'spec,' and were very
much offended when they had exhibited
their system to me, and had offered
me the opportunity of making my ever
lasting fortune, that I didn't care to go
into the thing. No. I said, e don't
see any hole in it, but there is always
hole in these Systems" somewhere,
and / guess you may count me out.
So they put up their little pile and went
for the bank. In three days they were
cleaned out-hadn't a red cent-but
they held on to their faith in their 'sys-
tenn If their capital had held out,
they said, they would have broken the
bank eventually. The fact is, no sys-
tenn of gambling was ever invented,
nor ever viii be, that is sure to win, and
the percentage in favor of faro-bank
will beat you sooner or later if you
play against it.
"When I kept a fare-bank in Ann
Street, New York." continued the
stranger, 81 was victim of the same
sorttbf deiusion / have spoken of. We
did good business at our place worth
perhaps $4,000 q. year-and lots of
wealthy brokers were customers of ours.
My partner and myself thought we had
system that was sure thing, and ev-
cry cent we made we lost at others
banks, until finally we impaired our
own capital SO seriously as to cripple US,
and run of luck the wrong way broke
us. That gave me lesson, and have
given up systems from that time forth
"The notion that it is possible to de-
wise system of play that is sure to win
is one of the most curious deliriums in
the world, and yet the most experienced
gamblers are thoroughly imbued with
it. At Monaco, or any other great gam
bling place, you will see the players
pricking off the turns upon card, and
stalking their money accordingly. They
never quite lose the idea that eventual
" they will arrive at the great secret
which will enable them to beat the bank
"a combination of probabilities which
shall amount to certainty. Men have
spent whole lifetime in the vain en-
deavor to elaborate method, which,
like the philosophers name and the
theory of perpetual motion, continual
" eluded them.
"It is not alone in the percentage in
its favor that the bank has an advan-
tage. The fact is that when you play
against bank you play against ma
chine, and machine can beat man
out of sight every time. Few men have
the nerve to quit the table when they
are ahead, for the seduction of gam
bling is so absorbing that if man wins
his appetite for play is whetted, and if
he loses, he must go on, IN order to re-
trieve his losses. The average man is
not contented TO win a reasonable
amount, but plays on until he has lost
every cent in his pocket. A friend of
mine, an experienced gambler, told me
once that the only system of play he
had ever discovered consisted in fol
lowing the LUCK as he called it. Luck
he said, seems to run in streaks. When
I'm in luck I bet, and when the luck is
against me I lie back, and put up an
occasional chip to see how it goes. If
the luck has been running my way, and
suddenly stops, | cast in my chips and
leave.
SIT is curious how color will run
sometimes, in game like rouge-et-noir
for instance. Red was turned up, on
one occasion at Monaco, thirteen times
in successisn, and the banks won more
than million francs. 1t Is on these
long runs of color that the bank makes
it's biggest winnings. People think that
because a color has turned up several
times in succession it hasn't a good
chance of coming up the next, and SO