Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-06-03
NOTIONS OF GAMBLERS.
Queer Fancies Of Wen Who Live on Su.
persfitiOn.
From the Boston Globe.


Queer Fancies Of Wen Who Live ON su.
persfifiOn.
From the Boston Globe.
"You may believe in luck or you may not be-
heve In it," said n well-known sporting man.
"You may not think there Is anything in super
stition,o you may but tell you there's heap in
1t, and there is not gambler in this town who
has not his pet superstition, and governs him
self accordingly. Why, look here; the other day
found a black kitten on the sidewalk near my
house. 1t wanted to be familiar with me, and
picked 1t up, carried it into the house and
gave ii feed. That day / came down town
and made big win against the bank, and have
been winning ever since. What d we call that:'
ut was certainly coincidence" said the
coincidence Well, it was a blank sight
more than that, and me and that cat are friends
and a couple of hundred cases and told her to
put collar on that cat, and let no blamed
rooster get IL away from her. wouldn't take
a hundred for that cat of no mans money
There's jeff Hawkins; spose you know him
Well he had pet mouse once. JET was run
ming '12o, and the game against the bank was
mighty big. 1t was getting near the end of the
month, the house was nine or ten thousand
loser and the bank roll was feeling pretty
sick. One night jeff was III the lookout chair,
eating an apple, and some of it fell on the floor
inside the table. Just then mouse out
usual. jeff saw the mouse and pitched
another little piece of apple at it, 1t darted
menced nibbling JEFF says to the dealer, I'll
deal So he took the chair and commenced to
month the bank closed a winner. Next
morning jeff got little cheese and he fed that
mouse. And he kept a-feeding it. and every day
that"
The reporter offered the suggestion that it
looked ike Il change in luck.
well, should say it was. But, say! One
night about IL o'clock the mouse ran out as
usual and was playing around when some hulk
a pDt nc fhnf on md Sl,p6 IL
What dye think jeff did, and only IL O'Clock
at night and a room fun of players? He closed
the game. He thought his luck was killed, and
he wouldn't play any more that night.
WAS his luck killed. queried the scribe.
"Wel1, nobody knows how it would have been
that night, but OF course the bank has the best
of it in the long run. Guess JET got hold of
some other lucky thing. for he has always had
apretty good roll, but he always was in mourn
Ing for that mouse. You ask any of these fell
lows if they believe in such things and they'll
tell you there is nothing in it, bui they all have
their signs and their lucky numbers and their
lucky clothes. and n hundred things l can't re-
peat, for all that. There's Pat Sheedy Wasn't
he sitting in bad luck one night and losing every
bet he put down. when he got up, went home
changed every rag of clothes he had on his back
made in his life: No; 1 guess there's nothing
In it, but they all play it as if there was, just
for something You know. the :coons are
Ing numbers. Now, if a gambler can only get
lis was walking down State street one day and
he passed two 'coons' very busy talking. AS
he passed he heard one say: 1 tell you
honey, l dream q. :, 8, twice; you go buy two
gigs and saddle Now Tom is a high
roller. and plays bank for all there is i'm 1T. He
turned round when he heard those plumbers,
went up to '9S' and played the pot which,
spose YOU KNOW is the 6, : and s. for all he
limit. And he played it all day, and
s yos there he nons ia big but R ebc1
all do it,. You know Sam Dali? Sans OF
the levelest-headed fellers in the business.
plays against the bank. Runs .125' now and
stays on the inside. Tried to beat wheat a
beggar woman on the corner of Market and
Madison every morning. Sometimes he
quarter, and sometimes a half dollar. He
then began to notice one thing. Whenever
the bank. If he throwed her anything else
half or dollar, or anything but 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 then the
quarters wouldn.twork: Sam inquired for his
old woman and found she was dead. The other
beggar never gave him any luck at all.
II know gamblers he continued, "whO will
never play against certain dealers, nor if GER
tam persons are in the room. They think they
'hoodoo' them, that they gave them bad luck
by looking at them. They will curse some fel-
there are players who, if you touch one of their
chips, or put one of yours on top of theirs,
tnlnk you give them bad luck, and that
they will lose certain. Poker players all believe
In lucky seats, and in the run o. the cards. and
In lucky dealers of cards, and do most of
bank players. They will walk around their
chair three times in order to change their luck.
Some men won't lend money to their most in-
it eSes he uek are pbaynE @
lucky pieces of money, old coins with a GER
tain date on them, or some mark or other. 1
1t was an English coin he had found He did
seem to be mighty lucky for long time. But
laid that down on a card and told the dealer he
would make it good for a quarter. The dealer
knew him and knew about his sixpence. He
turned and the sixpence was swept into the
TILL You see, Joe, said the dealer, there's
nothing in it, You know if it had been such a
lucky piece for Joe he ought not TO have lost it.
So ii must have been something else that gave
Joe his run of luck.
NO gambler in his senses will pick ND a
crooked pin ON tbs street or one lying crOsswise
with the way he is walking. The way to pick
up pin is to have the head turned toward you.
i know some say that the point should be to-
ward you, and / have heard that old Thad
stevens, who was great gambler, would only
PICK II up with the point toward him. I've
tried all ways but pins don't seem to affect nv
luck one way or the other. A four-leaf clover Is
great thing to find to bring fellow good luck,
but they are about az scarce good luck is
generally. Mos; gamblers wear a watch charm
or finger ring that they build q heap on CIV
buy, and he don't believe in it either. If You ask
him. Still he likes to have the ring on when
he IS dealing. Another thing, a man will have
lucky and unlucky days. | tell YOU YOU can
lecture all day and preach all night, but luck is
luck and know it, / dreamed one night that
the jack won four times in succession. Next
DAY i went to the bank. i broke and
couldn't play, but l II be blamed if the very first
deal L looked at II the jack didn't win four
times straight
There must be good many ups and downs
AT the game, suggested the scribe.
ps and downs: believe yOu," said the
sport Il went down town one day with 10
cents, and that night carried home $780, 1
went down the next day with the $500, and
mad 10 borrow car fare 10 get home Don't YOU
touch IT young man; If you do YOU II ne yer re-
greet II but once; thatll be all your life. As for
me, I've got my cat now, and shall try and
get out" ~
A day or two atterward the scribe met his
sporting friend again. "Say! lost my cat day
DeIofe yesterday, and last night went broke.
am on the hunt now for a black cat,
A Young English Girl Becomes a Budd.
hist.
From the Times of India.