The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-11-27
The Manual on Which he Was En-
gagged at the Time of His Death.
Fronl e Nelr 20. So

SOHuo ms ocObcn WHISKY and he took few
| drops. This seemed to cheer him, aud be
! drove off to the station in a cab.
Theproofs that Mr. Florence was revising
We're for book on draw poker, which be
mad finished writing only a short time be-
lore, and which it was proposed to put upon
the market very soon. Mr.. Florence was
very ford OF a social game of poker. His
acquaintance among men of standing who
were POKER players was very large, and he
was the author and hero of many a good
poker story of wide circulation. He was
generally recognized as an admirable
player.
He died before he had completed the re.
vision OF the proofs, and the appearance of
the book will therefore be somewhat
delayed. The nature of the book is fully
set forth in the title page, which reads;
THE
GENTLEMAN'S HAND BOOK
POKER
FLORENCE"
''See the players well bestowed"
Shakespeare.
The way in which he came TO write the
book is characteristic of the man. The
story as told in the preface, is this
''At Eastbourne, on the English coast,
one evening in August last, some gentlemen
sat down to friendly game of poker 1t
was urged by one of the party that book
should be written in which the rules govern
ing the game should be succinctly expressed
Some one said it would take year to com.
plete such a work. Whereupon the writer
said it could be done in month. This led
10 a considerable discussion and in q banter
ing manner a bet was proposed and accepted
that IL could be written inside Of four weeks.
This title book is the result
with the hope that it will meet the re-
qulrements OF the gentlemen players on
both continents, am yours ever,
"W. j. FLORENCE
He won the bet, for the book was COM
pleted within a month"; and the arrange
ments for publication were partially made
at the London office Of the firm before he
left England. He completed the arrange
ments in New York upon arrival here and
turned over his manuscript at once Here
is the dedication
ITO Hassan H. Whesier, ESQ, of Brook
lyn, n. Y, a gentleman player who has en-
tered, passed and raised many Jackpot,
this little volume is affectionately inscribed
by the author"
Mr.. Florence's wish was TO write a book
which would bear unmistakable marks Of
being a compendium of the game for gen
tlemen players only. Its pages throughout
convey his purpose. For the professional
gambler and the many who play poker for
the pecuniary gain he always bad the great
est aversion, aud when he decided to write
the book ne told his friends that his On,
great dread was lest it should become rocog-
nized as the authority OF the professionals.
In his Introduction, he says:
1.-THE game of poker has become popular
during the last two decades, and is now
known in every civilized land. have seen
it played by the donkey boys in the streets
of Cairo. and by the Pluto Indians on the
plains of Nevada. ! was present on one
occasion when poker party was made up
Of a reigning monarch, a future king, and
three princes imperial. That might be
called royal flush
"That game which could hold such COM
petitors must be fascinating ons cannot be
denied. 1t is indeed held by some to be the
most dangerous of all games of cards, since
1t can only be played for stakes; but it must
be remembered that this Is true Of ali games
in which the player conceals the value Of
the card he holds.
ITO the objection that'ooker is an unsocial
game, since it admits Of no partners, each
participant striving for himself alone, it is
said that for this very reason poker absorbs
its players with deep fascination. Since
one object Of the game is to mystify your ad-
versaries as to the value of your hand, and as
all sorts of chaff and badinage are per-
mitted, it cannot, after all, be termed uu-
sociAble amusement. Nonsense may fly
from tongue to tongue, fast and furious, TO
any extent, providing it does not delay the
game. Then, when hand shown down de-
tects its owners late futile attempt to mis-
lead the table, rousing laugh usually fol-
lows, so that the fun is always kept up"
Speaking Of the possibilities OF cheating
which the game affords, Mr.. Florence
notes that loaded dice were taken from the
ruins of Pompei and Herculaneum, but be
warns players about entering game on an
ocean steamer, in a railway carriage, or a
western hotel. But for party of gentle
men and for limited stakes he says poker Is
fascinating and harmless pastime. He
continues:
while a number Of books have been
written about poker none can claim abso-
lutte authority, though the rules of the game
are really simple The deviations. altera~
tiors and amended allowances, and the fact
that almost any party sitting down to play
may and often does make his own rules
about certain matters, renders poker by
no means an easy game. 1t Is to
fix the positive and long accepted statutes
of the game that this book is written, the
rules herein set forth having been sanctioned
by the best custom wherever draw poker is
played in its integrity"
Mr. Florence then gives detailed and
entertaining description OF the game, with
rulings upon many points that have always
been in dispute among poker PLAYERS in diff
ferent sections of the country. he follows
his own discussion with the rules of poker
as formulated by Schenck and Proctor, the
two leading authorities on the game, In
order that the player may have all the light
possible. He includes also a very interesting
chapter on ''poKer sharps." in which he ex-
plains how gamblers marked cards are
made. and describes other devices used by
INSCRIPTIONS professionals. Another chap
ter gives the rules for playing poker dice.
Mr.. Florence follows up the serious part
of his book with a number of pages of ex-
cellent poker storiesswhich he had heard
from well-known players. This chapter is
styled Senatorial Poker Stories" and is
exceedingly entertaining. The publishers
requested him to add to t1e book some OF
the good stories which he was In the habit
of telling his friends of high play and amus-
ing incidents at the table of which he him
self was witness. This he had promised to
do, but death prevented the completion OF
his work. -m