The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-04-21
Poker Stories.

A party of good looking men, sev- eral of them of national fame as legis- lators, sat around a table the other night in one of the coGy hooks of the front dining room of mine host Cham berlin. X petd SoapeF had been dis cussed, and clouds of blue smoke were being puffed toward the trescoed ceil- ing.
 "The last time ] smoked & cigar of this brspd," quoth one, twas way back in the sixties, and the occasion was the meeting of five congenial spirits enjoy ing the seductive beauties ot game of draw poker, and flatter myself that & small bit of the divine affiatus came to me at one of the oriti- cal moments that evening. Let me recite the incident:
 "I had been quite successful and was perhaps 1000 ahead, when, as the age, l discovered, on picking up my hand, that the lowest straight flush in hearts had been dealt me, pat. The blind was 25 dollars. All came in, and promptly raised $loo; two of the players saw 1t and another raised me the same amount returned 1t. The two dropped out and the third man raised again. raised him five times more and he stopped. or course did not take any cards, and he drew one. At this point would not have taken &lo,o0o for the pot. However, l watched my adversary closely as he examined his one card, and, although his expression did not change parti- cle, knew absolutely that he held the winning hand. His entire course was as clear to me as though he had just explained 1t. His four cards of sequence; he had taken terrible chance before the draw, and had bet to the limit He had made his straight flush, and as mine was tho lowest possible one, it was assumedly higher than mine.
 "lt was his first bet, and after rum ming over his hand he slowly showed $25 toward the middle of the table. l saw his bet and raised him Si He immediately raised me Sl0o. threw my cards face upward on the table and said, Your pot How did you ever guess it?' he replied, as he turned over cards, showing a straight flush in spades, nine spot high"
 The brand of cigars was carefully examined, while remarks were made AS to what the player should have done.
 "My belief in the adage that light ming never strikes twice In the same place has been shaken since certain poker experience two years ago." said another member of the Chamberlin party. "There was six of us play ing, and the limit was small. had been playing in average luck and was some- thing of winner, and, having dex- terously secured two pairs, queens up, l called a dapper young gentleman sitting on my left, who blandly ex- posed four sevens as he gracefully raked in the chips. On the next deal l was the age, and pair of trays was dealt me; the man who held the four sevens the hand before drew three cards, and the others drew one, two and three respectfully. My chances 'oA Pot NtI HIlin, ! thought, but in picking up the three cards called for found three aces, making my an ace full. To my de- light tine betting opened very lively. The first man bet the limit, only to be raised by the three players that succeeded him. Of course 1 raised when it came to me, and after little the battle fastened itself between the man who held the four sevens and myself. reasoned that as he had held fours the hand before, 1t would be impossible for him to hold them again, and fours were required to beat my ace full. raised him twenty times; he had become automatic in raising me hack, and was very pale In the bargain. hesitated for minute, but the memory of the hand before nerved me, and l kept up the raising. Finally called. He couldn't speak from nervousness, but that didn't pre- vent him from exposing four hxes He had held pair of sixes, and had drawn the other twol In a more or less elaborate experience of the game, l have never, save that once, known fours to fall 10 the same man twice In