National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-06-05
A MIGHTY DECEPTIVE GAME,
How "stud" Poker Was Invented and
How IL Got Its Name.

"" IL Sot Aus Nnme.
San Francisco Post
Like n majority of the gambling games
which help to draw tho vitality out of many
u purse and human heart tiut mi, tat euu IN
something but u wreck without them, Stud
horse poker" was an accident, and, according to
the traditions of Nevada, this is how it hap
pened: During the first few years following the
completion of the Central Pacific railroad, tho
presence Of small army of gamblers made
the several railroad towns of any prominence
in Nevada exceedingly lively. The new
field was magnet which drew the short-card
sport the petty larceny thief aud the in
Vulnerable other fry who found their
grass in the mining camps short. Though
these artists depended mainly for subsistence
on the verdant emigrant, with threo-card
monte or a strap game for their stock in trade,
anything that was sure thing was taken
advantage of, and the miner who came down
to take ride OH the iron horse, or the farmer
who made the first trails into the country,
were robbed with equal indifference. In those
bright but vanished days there was u monte
sharp in Elko by name of Tom Smith. In
Phoebe, 200 miles distant, ut the same time,
was miner named Maurice Connors, who
had saved his wages" until he had &C.
cumulated pile sufficient to justify him
in taking u trip. Maurice negotiated for
and bought stallion from q Mormon
near Phoebe, and ono bright morning,
without q pang of regret he turned his
back upon the historic graveyard of the
bullet-riddled camp and started for Elko.
Maurice had weakness for draw poker,
and he had not been full of Elko whisky an
hour after arriving before no was INDUCING
in his favorite vice, with Tom Smith for an
opponent. Neither the Phoebe mans adverse
luck nor Smiths faculty for holding out full
hands in the back OF his mock could be
resisted long, and, us the sun was sinking
like big ace of diamonds in the west
Maurice sat behind his last 500 piece.
During the progress of the game the bar had
not been neglected, and tho slow card" was
turned with becoming regularity. Smith
had begun new deal and given
card around, when Maurice felt q
dryness arising in his throat, and he
suggested that the next card be turned for
drink. The card was turned, and
resulted in tie. BY n singular coincidence
the remaining three cards Of each
hand exposed were sized the same. Smith
suggested, for the sake of novelty, that they
bet on tho buried cards. Maurice had an ace
unseen, and with apparent recklessness,
though really cool, believing his ace to be
the biggest card in the deck, he threw up his
last twenty with the remark that for that
money his card was the bigger. Smith threw
five $50 pieces on the table, at the same time
ending Maurice with having no Phoebe sand
IL he didn't call ii. Maurice needed no Phoebe
sand to back his lone ace. Without pausing
to reflect that there were other aces in exist
ence, he would have bet one of his eyes on it.
He had no more $50 pieces, but he told tho
barkeeper to bring in his stud horse" The
horse was led into the saloon and to all in
tents and purposes deposited in tho pot. at
$50, which was heavy discount on his
market value. After all the preliminaries had
been arranged and SHOW down" was in
order, Maurice laid down his ace and was in
the act of corralling tho pot, when Smith
displayed an equally largo ace, and claimed
the money on the technicalty that Maurice
had bet his card was tho bigger. 1t was with
much difficulty that tragedy was averted by
the friends of the men, both more than
desperate, but the matter was finally
left TO an arbitration committee
OF Elko's prominent citizens, who
decided in Smiths favor. Tho advan-
tage of game in which three times the
. amount of betting as in draw" poker is
possible, presented itself to the railroad gam
blers at once, aud those who favored Il lively
game, in which much money can soon change
hands and which has no other redeoming
quality, 10 became popular, The incident
connected with the original game was an Oft
quoted one, and it was once carried SO far
that any game whore the "gilly" fell into
the net of tho sharper was called "stud
horse" game.