Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-06-05
NOTIONS OF GAMBLERS.
Queer Fancies of Men Who Live on
Superstition

| Boston Globe.
''You may believe in luck or yor
may not believe in il" said a vel
known sporting man. ''You may mo-
think there is anything in superstition
or you may, but I tell you there's s
heap In it, and there is not gambler
| in this town who has not his pet super
stition, and governs himself accord
ingly. Why, look here; the other
day found black kitten on the side
walk near my house. 1t wanted to
be familiar with me, and l picked il
up, carried it into the house and gave
it a feed. That day I came down
and made big win against the bank.
and have been winning ever since.
What dye call that9"
1T was certainly coincidence, y
said the scribe.
'Coincidence2 Well, it was blank
sight more than that, and me and that
cat are friends from this time out.
gave my wife a new dress and couple
of huadred cases and told her to put
collar on that cat and let no blamed
rooster get it away from her.
wouldn't take a hundred for that cat
of no mans money. There's jeff
Hanklns; | s'pose you know him?
Well, he had pet mouse once. jeff
was running 1875 and the game
against the bank was mighty big. It
was getting near the end of the month,
the house was SO, 900 or $1,000 lose
and the bank roll was feeling pretty
sick. One night jeff was in the
lookout char, eating an apple, and
some of it fell on the floor beside the
table. Just then a mouse ran out and
nibbled at the apple. the bank was
losing as usual. JEFF saw the mouse
and pitched another piece of apple at
it. 1t darted away and then darted
back again and commenced uibbling.
JEFF says to the dealer, I'll deal So
be took the chair and commenced to
deal lucky right away. For the first
time that month the bank closed
winner. Next morning jeff got a Its
tie cheese and he fed that mouse. And
he kept feeding it, and every day
the bank kept a>winning. Say, what
dye call that9"
The reporter offered the suggestion
that it looked like change of good
luck.
"Well, I should think it was. But,
say! One night about IL o'clock the
mouse ran out as usual, and was
playing around, when some hulk of
player got his foot on it and smashed
it. What dye think JEFF did, and
only IL o'clock at night and a room
full of play ers2 He closed the game.
H. fbo1,nh+ his 1,,ol~ xroe l,;llHd onJ
he wouldn't play any more that
night"
s'Was his luck killedg' quried the
scribe
"Well, nobody knows how it would
have been that night. but of course
tbs bank has the best of it in the long
run. Guess jeff got hold of some
other lucky thing, for he has always
had a pretty good roll, but he always
was in mourning for that mouse. You
ask any of those fellows if they be-
ieve N such things, and they'll tell
you there is nothing in it; but they
all have their signs and their lucky
numbers and their lucky clothes, and
a hundred other things l can't repeat.
for that There's Pat Shesdy. Wasn't
he sitting in bad luck one night, los
ing every bet he made, when he got
up, went home; changed every rag Of
clothes he had on his back, then re>
turned and made the biggest win he
ever made in his life9 No; l guess
there's nothing in it, but they all play
it as if there was, just the same. They
are always on the lookout for some-
thing. You knew, the 'coons' are
great for policy and they are al
ways dreaming numbers. Now, if
gambler can Only get onto 'coon's'
dream he's fixed. Tom Wallis was
walking down State street one day
and he passed two 'coons' very busy
talking. AS he passed he heard one
say: I tell you, honey, |
dream six, seven, eight twice;
you go buy two gigs and a saddle.
Tom is a high-roller, and plays
bank for all there is in it. He turn
ed round when he heard those NUM-
bers, went up to 'ninty-sight' and
played the pot which s'pose you
know, is the six, seven and eight, for
all he could get in it. 1t won for him
one deal eleven times in succession,
and he playing the limit. And he
played it all day, and nothing else,
and he won big pile, | tell you. No,
there's nothing in it: but they all do
it. You know Sam Dalls Sans one
of the levelest headed fellers in the
business. He's pretty high roller
TOO, when he plays against the bank.
Runs 1875 now and stays on the in
side. Tried 10 beat wheat couple of
years ago and got busted Not his
game. Well, Sam used to pass an
old beggar woman on the corner of
Market and Madison every morning.
Sometimes he would throw zine in
her tray, sometimes a quarter, and
sometimes half dollar. he then be-
gan to notice one thing. Whenever
he throwed her a quarter he'd win
against the bank. If he throwed her
anything elsa half, or dollar, or
anything but a quarter he'd lose.
Sam kept that old woman in quarters
for a good while, but one day some
other beggar was on the corner, and
it wouldn't work. Sam inquired for
his old woman and found she was
dead The other beggar Dsver gave
MIN any luck at all
81 know gamblers" he continued,
"who will never play against certain
dealers, nor if certain persons are in
the room. They think they 'hoodoo'
them, that they give them bad luck
by looking at them. They will curse
some fellow for 'hoodoo' up hill and
down dale. Then there are players
who, if you touch one of their chips,
or put one OF yours on top of theirs,
think you give them bad luck, and
that they will loose certain. Poker
players all believe in lucky seats, and
in the run of the cards, and in lucky
dealers of cards, and so do the most of
bank players. They'll walk around
their chairs three times in order to
change their luck. Some men won't
lend money to their most intimate
friends while they are playing, be-
cause it gives their luck away. Others
believe in lucky pieces of money, old
coins with certain date on them, or
some mark or other. I knew an cid
player who mad lucky sixpence. 1t
was an English coin he had found.
he did seem to be mighty lucky for a
long time. But one time he got broke
down to his sixPeRce He laid that
down on a card and told the dealer he