Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-12-01
PLUCKED PIGEONS.
Viub Rooms as an Institution for
the Robbery Of Amateur
Gamblers.
The Popularity Of Poker ns n ri.,e,,,
@" e--rhe Secrets of tho business
Given Away.


the espionage placed upon faro plavi,c
says the Boston Herald. IN the ranid in,
crease In the number OF so.calloa clnb.
rooms This Is explained by the fact That
these places so far have escapcd molesta.
ton, TO "A great extent. Why thIs sbonid
be II Is hard to explain Most Of thorn
are gambling dens Of the very worst Kind.
Their perniclous influences bliuht Inc
lives OF more young men than any other
one cause, except, possibly, alcohol
Their immunity from police Surveillance
propagatcs their growth. They debauch
Tue morals and impoyerish the purse
All OF them are supplied with Buuors
which are freely quaffed by the plsyers
rms creates abnormal recklcssness
Wagcrs are made without the exercise Of
proper judgment; loss inevitably
follows. Are these facts known M
the officers OF the lawY Certainly thew
are. Then why, in the exercise oi their
judicial functions, isn't something done
70 close these places2 This is question
that has failed OF solution by those
who live outside the circle of police uu.
thorty.
In the conduct Of these alleged club
rooms there are generally two proprir.
tors. One looks after the business while
the other sleeps, His presence is ncccs.
sary IN order TO see that the proper dis
counts are made. This Is the ile-blood
OF the institution. Any failure 70 make
"swipeh Is so much loss to the house;
30 IL viii be- seen that this interest needs
careful watching. II there are two
games going at the same time a trusted
player looks after one Of them. A IRE.
quent visitor 10 these places, who In nc.
customed 20 "drop his pllcn at nearly
every Sitting, Is treated with klngly
grace Too much cannot be done
for him. He basks IN tho sun
nicst OF smiles and Is waited
upon with all the courtesy imaginable.
This class OF customers are known as
"pigcousn and "suckors.n They are
easily and frequently pluckod; even the
piufeathcrs are pulled out. hut their
experience goes for nothing. Night after
night they are strlpped--sngcd. There
isn't poker-player In the city OF Boston
who ever made a cent In game where
there was "A heavy discount. II Is an
utter imposslblllty TO meet, on the long
run, with any ot1er result as viii he
shown In the course of this article. Yet
men continue TO play, and viii do 40 as
long as opportunity affords. Reason has
always been subscryicnt to fascination
and upon this hypothesis an explanation
is reached for many Inconsistencies OF
mankind. This Is why men play poker
yet always lose.
Above II is stated that no pokcr-playcr
can boast that he ever providing he con.
tinued at The game long enough, made
dollar. How does this come about2 II
is as follows suppose four men sit down
at game, each one having 500 They
all invest this amount In chips. These
have four different values--l0 cents, 30
cents, s and 50. Play now heLlns. The
auto TX 10 cents and the limit So. A
deals the cards and Is puts a 0-ccnt chip
on the center OF the table. After looking
the cards over & says, al will pass;n ID
says the same and also the dealer an-
nounCes "jack pot.h Each player puts
up two chips, with the exception OF
Il, who adds one 20 his original
wager At this stage of the game there
IL discount OF chip--a jack pot,
according TO the rules OF the house, en-
titing the proprietor 10 this percentage.
The cards 90 around again, and after due
inspection (B Is dealing now G Says
"I'll open for 81" ID and A follow suit,
Thus three Of the players remain In the
game, which gives the house another
chip. After each player has been supplied
with the number OF cards he asks for, and
after the betting has ceased and the cards,
fnce up, are thrown upon the table, pro-
yidng there has been u "Call, - aud II IL
shown that one player has three cards Of
one denomination, another l0-ccnt chip
goes into the till OF the proprietor. Here
N ~ cents of the original $50 that Is lost
TO the players. Now, II can be readily
seen that IL Is only matter of time when
the entire sum with which the game
started is absorbed by reason Of the dis
count Another way OF depicting the
cash OF the players Is by buylngdrnks and
cigars. One of the party Will say
''Lct ducc out" accompanying the remark
by placing his right hand upon the table
with the thumb elevated. All who follow
this movement IL a Specification OF assent.
The player who shows the last duce pays
for the "roundn The game was started
at II o'clock It breaks up when day has
chased away the night. Cramped and
stiff the quartet arise from their seats,
put on their coats aud hats, cash In their
chips, and the one who has made
winning usually asks the others To "have
something" After the "nightcap" has
been swallowed, the query Is
usually made after the following
style: "Well, how do you all come
out ~ This question Is generally asked
by the one who has made few dollars.
"As for me, am out So" Another
81 haven't enough So pay for car fare,
aud still third. al have Just enough 10
buy Plate OF beans" Who're Is the
money, thenl Why, gentlemen, II Is IN
the "betsey.n That Is sure winner
every time. It has got two.thirds OF the
original sum with which the game started.
DO the players realize this fact Some
do aud some do not But this makes no
difference. Tomorrow night they VIII
come again. "GoOd morning, gentle
men," saws the ahible proprietor, and as
The last echo OF the recedlng footsteps are
heard upon the stairway, The mao Of the
house clicks the lock on the door aud
turns his attention 10 the little belNey
which has earurd him such linc pront
tNh.t, i. ttgiubtf rom 81 started the