Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-07-11
POINTS ON CARDS
4 Few Remarks About the NatiOoE
Garoe Of Poker.


4 Few Remarks About the NatiO1S
GAME OF Poker.
The ordinary American citizen who
hasn't got at least one good poker story on
the end of his tongue ought to be a ht can
didAte for a dime museum. There are
probably more stories rife about this 2 Ar
sicular game han almost any other sab
ject because, as a matter of fact, poker
brings into play about every emotion that
Is common to humanity. When you play
poker with a man all of his characteristics
are brought at once into bold relief. You
can tell whether he is brave OF cOwardly,
whether be is mean or generous, whetheI
he is quick or slow, wAether be Is open OF
shut, whether he is honest or dishonest
whether he is true or false. You can tell
what kind Of a lover he makes You can
place him among husbands. You can tell
to q hair just how much nerve he has, and
IN short you can know him better than in
any other way.
The best telescope in the world to en-
amine a mans soul with is his pocket and
nobody ever plays poker except for money.
IL h a gambling game, pure and simple
and the moment the cash elemenE q
thrown out o. il it loses all interest Il
like to play poker just for the fun Of it.
usys one. II don't want the limit - b.
any higher than ten cents" WhaE be
veally means Is tha. he don't care 70 risk
any more money, and that he is going e
do his level best TO win all he can out Of
that ten cent limit II. as he says, be
wanted 20 play the zane purely for tnn
he would play it for fun, and nothing else
So that you can set Il down as a safe rule
that poker is purely a gambling game. and
II people begin by playing it for fun they
invariably end by playing it for money.
The tendency the anne has Is to cheaper
the valne of none and the best illustra-
ton of this is tina when the same people
5lay together for ,0me time there is a con
slant craving to lcrease the limit.
A mar who Is earning to play poker will
start on a ten CENT limit because he cannot
lose much, u then again q dollars worth
u blue chips e. ten cents each looks larger
than it does lassr on. BY and by he wants
20 make these blue chips worth a quarter.
hen a dollar apiece, and as his confidence
n himself increases he makes the limit
larger. One Of the strangest facts in poker
thai the more a man loses money the
more his confidence in himself increases.
And this is the most potent force that aids
he professional sharper "a fleece his VIC
i'm
There are stories without number Of the
Jeculiar fascination of the game-how one
game has been carried on for days together.
low meals were forgotten, etc. But one
{ the most pathetic things / ever wit
lessed l saw last winter in an Arkansas
lOtel. One rainy afternoon six men got
together in a game Of POKER. They
lad been playing for some little time
nd had been in the habit OF changing
round from room to room. so that each
nember Of the party was in turn a host.
n the last room of the corridor OF the sec
nd floor of the hotel there was a sick man
he room next TO this was occupied b. OBS
1.-THE players, who on this particular dap
.cted as the host.
The game began early In the afternoon
nd the chips ratified merrily. There WA
q trAnsom over each door, which made
aounds more audible. Very soop e be-
<me evident to the players that the maa
4ext door was pretty sick. They could
he man was dying, but the game nex1
IGOR never tagged stood in front Of the
SONS, and heard the roans of the dyinA
san in one room and the laughter and rat
ale of chips in the next room Finally one
as the players, who had a wife in another
Jal4 Of the hotel, got up and cashed in his
hips. "Gentlemen," said he, 1--WE had
sAough- Pm pretty tough, but this is
more than I can stand" Not long after
is the sick man nert door, In poker par
'cashed In has chipAS but the game
Int On.
To change the train Of thought
The other day a gentleman told me Of .
sic game OF draw he IVA in not long ago
There we're four Of NJ in II" said be
and b dealer was . stranger to me. On
-an held four twos. the dealer held four
i-.s and / held four threeA It was .
r1ighty interesting situation, ] can I'd
"a. and the man who held four two
.opped everything be bad"
What did you dor I asked.
oh" be answered carelessly, II droppe5
81 TON MAssoga