, 1891-01-04
POINTS ON CARDS.
A Few mark About the National
Game of Poker.

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 n 1t can.
didate for a dime museum. There Art
probably more stories rife about shis par
ucular game than almost any other sub
Ject, because, as a matter OF fact, poker
brings into play about every emotion that
Is common to humanity. When sou play
poker with n man all of his characteristic
are brought at once into bold relief. You
can tell whether he is brave or cowardly,
whether heis mean or generous, whether
he Is quick or slow, whether he 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
70 a hair just how much nerve he has, and
in short you can know him better than In
n other way.
The best telescope in the world to or.
Amine a mans soul with is his pocket, and
nobody ever plays poker except for money.
1t is a gambling game, pure and simple
and the moment the cash element Il
thrown out OF it it loses all interest. 81
like to play poker Just for the fun Of 1t,
says one. 81 don't want the limit to bs
any higher than ten cents" What he
really means Is that he don't care TO risk
any more money, and that he is going 70
do his level best to win all he can out OF
that ten cent limit. II. as he says, he
wanted to play the game purely for fun
he would play it for fun, aud nothing else.
So that you can set 1t 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 game has is to cheaper
the value Of money, and the best llustra,
ton Of this is that when the same people
play together for some time there Is a con.
slant or sllg to increase the limit.
A mHu no is learning to play poker will
start on 70 ca cent limit because he cannot
lose much and then again a dollars worth
Of bit CLIPS AT ten cents each looks larger
than it does later on. BY and by he wants
TO make these blue chips worth a quarter,
then u dollar apiece, and as his condolences
In himself increases he makes the limit
larger. One of the strangest facts In poker
is that the more a man loses money the
more his confidence in himself Increases
And this Is the most potent force that aids
the professional sharper to fleece his VIC
tim.
There are stories without number of the
peculiar fascination of the game-how one
game has been carried on for days together,
how meals were forgotten, etc. But one
Of the most pathetic things | ever wit
80 q e@N a. "a III dl AIhhuah8
hotel One rainy afternoon six men got
together in a game of poker. They
had been playing for some little time,
and had been in the habit OF changing
around from room to room, so that each
member OF the party was in turn a host.
In the last room OF the corridor OF the SEQ
ond floor of the hotel there was a sick man.
The room next to this was occupied by one
Of the players, who o. this particular day
acted a. the host.
The game began early In the afternoon
and the chips ratified merrily. There was
a transom over each door. which made
sounds more audible. Very soon 1t be-
came evident to the players that the man
next door was pretty sick. They could
hear him groan. The doctor came, said
the man was dying, but the game next
door never tagged. | stood In front OF the
rooms. and heard the groans of the dying
man in one room and the laughter and rat,
tie of chips in the next room Finally one
Of the players, who had a wife In another
part Of the hotel, got up and cashed In his
chips. Gentlemen" said he, 1--WE had
enough. Pm pretty tough, but this Ia
more than l can stand" Not long after
this the sick man next door, in poker. par
lance, "cHshed In his chips" but the game
went on.
To change the train OF thought.
The other day a gentleman told me OF q
little game OF draw be was in not long ago.
There were four OF us in it, said he,
land the dealer was a stranger ~ INC. One
man held four twos, the dealer i,al,i four
lves and / held four threes. vas q
mighty interesting situation, / cau tell
you. and the man who held four twos
dropped everything he had"
"WhRt did you do" | asked.
"Oh," he answered carelessly, I dropped
out" TON MASON.