The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-12-25
POOLROOM TOUTS.
Tips ON the Wise Men
Who Give Pointers.
PICKING DEAD-SURE, WINNER.
Sharpers Who Play Upon the Credu-
lily of Would-Be Sports-A
Queer Set of Fellows.

The tout Is familiar figure at the race
track these days. He elbows the man who
| plays the races and swells the profits OF the
bookmaker. No sooner does the former
signify his Intention TO buy pool than the
| tout is by his side to give him Tip"
Sporting men say there are fully fifty pro-
fessional touts in San Francisco at present,
| the majority of whom can be found at the
| Blood horse Associations grounds every
| day.
| The tout, taken as whole. is quite an in
teresting individual. He Is essentially, OF
course. a man Of points" or rather point
| ers." His characteristics are cheek and as
surance. He is a sharper who plays upon
the credulity OF racetrack bettors.
AS a prophet Of course, his main stock in
| trade consists In an ability to inspire con-
| fdeDce. He may or be may not be a good
| judge of equine flesh, but he is sure to tell
| you he is. There is no combination SO
! difficult that he cannot tell you winner.
He is better judge Of human nature, how
ever. than anything else.
| Until the Bl0od-horse races opened the
| tout had a hard time of 1t. Like the book
makers, when the poOIroom5 were closed, he
was driven from very prosperous field of
| business. Before Chief Crowley closed the
|
| at those institutions as the bookmakers
/ themselves. He had regular list of
| clients" who paid according as their luck
varied. Then he moved to Oakland with
| his chiefs, but the staid people across the
| bay made him hunt other stamping grounds.
1t cannot be said that ''touting" Is very
| prosperous business to follow. The tout's in
| come is mainly question ofluck and ability
| to pick winner. If he is successful in his
''tip" and his client happens to be
1 n6ltnnfhVOniP a fattQW
| quite stake.
| The successful tout is a good Judge of
| horses. He has followed the track SO long
! and become so intimate with trainers and
1 jockeys that he necessarily has absorbed
| large amount of information about the
merits of the animals.
After mature elaboration he will stake
| his reputation on one particular horse for
| he Is gambler at heart. Ii he is success
| fui in inducing moneyed bettor to plunge
| on his fayorite and it wins he makes what
is known as hog killing" His fees here
may be as high as 500, which he straight
way proceeds to invest in pools. A run Of
| luck may strike him now, and in the course
OF a few days he is fixed"
Sometimes a tout will tip the whole field
to as many different bettors. One. Of
| course, Is sure to win, and it may be "iong
shot" This form OF tipping is attended
| with danger to the touts reputation, es-
pecially if the losers should compare notes.
Touts are as different in their customs and
| manners as any other class of people, and
| when he comes from the south of Market
| street region he Is usually very tough
specimen of the genus homo He wears his
hat perehed on the side of his head. chews
| tobacco, and Is not as inviting in appear
ance as a Mob Hill swell. Throwing his
head to one side and shifting his guild, he
| assails his victim in this fashion:
"Say, put your bones on Joe Cotton in de
fourt race. l ain't frOwing yer down,
| needer. Me cousin works right here on de
| TRACK, an Eve got it on de dead square dat
skates amt in ii. See?"
! II he is not successful he shambles of in
| search of other game.
Then there is wid-mannered and rather
| weli-dressed fellow, who opens In this
fashion:
ut looks to me as if wildwood would
| have waikoyer. There is nothing worth
! speaking about against her. I saw her do
| good work Mt Sacramento and Stockton, and
wouldn't give a fig for the chances of the
remainder. She'll win in a walk.
| know il"
The sure winner is sometimes at the
end OF the string, and il you have bet your
money you will never see that tout again.
Sometimes when Il prospective beItor is
endeayoring TO pick winning combination
well-dresSed gentleman at his side will
open on him in this manner:
nat do you think of Lady Anne's
| chancesY"
4 q
| about town. He seems Indifferent to the
| results. and TO have only passing interest
| In any Oh the contests. The questioned re-
plies, OF course, that he don't know. He
SAYS:
~ don't think much of her chances
| either. L was given a tip on Lurline this
| morning. in which | put a good deal Of
confidence. Nose Gunst, Charlie Kingsley
ana al those fellows are backing hin. and
| think he will beat the field ONT womb
| have bet myself, but put few hundred
| on Darling IN the first race. / think it's a
geod BET, though, to take Lurline."
| should Lurline win the gentleman before
mentioned hunts ND the winner as he is
| cashlng MS ticket and declares: Didn't
| tell you SOP"
He proceeds forth with to borrow $40.
ihsn tnere is the ex-trainer who has his
pointer direct from Jocky. the friend of
| tue driver and others of like Xix.
Colored mon are usually great FREQUENT.
ers OF the races, but there is only one col
| ored tont in San Francisco. This is Long
Jonn wilkins. who has been son the turf. -
so 10 speak, for number of years, and is
I lSMS.lsr &c every ksSSsGz sH the Pacific
| Coast Wilkins is very successful toni.
| de Is lucky IN his tips aud has managed 10
make considerable money
| III is related that when Long John was
New at Inc business be walked into the
MINING exchange one day and gave by
stander tip on BEST & Belcher" as a
horse that could do six furlongs in fo'teen. j"
john has since learned the difference be-
tween poolroom and mining exchange.
| Inc most successful tout that ever fire.
| qneDted the poolrooms and racetracks in
| Cai!fornla IL an individual who went by the
| sonorquet OF Brighton Beach Johnnie.
| johnnie is no longer known as Johnnie, for
ne mas graduated from the ranks of tout
| dom 10 be bookmaker and is now doing
| good business at the racetraek
Other well-known touts about town are
hungry BIZ" .'Three-Fingered Joe" and
Jack the Tout"
AT the present time a number of we'll
known Sacramento betting men are being
teuted oy weilknown little Hebrew. who
| was familiar figure in the poolrooms in
Odhiahu. sometimes the horsepower finds
Tue tout OF great service to him. lie selects
one OF the most popular of these fellows
anu gives it to him in strict confidence"
| that his horse BeelZebub is a sure winner
Inc tout immediately proceeds to be gen.
| eiouS Win his information and gives all hjs
| customers the ''tip" as we'll as the other
TOOLS. The horseman's news is soon broad
| cast. There is wild rush to back BeeIze.
pup, ana up go the prices laid against the
MeIu. hr; Horseman, knowing all along
| that his horse stood no chance to win. i'm
| medlately proceeds to pick winner from
the held and back it in a handsome manner.
Inns Is bad day for the tout and the
| oettor, put usually a lucky one for the
owner OF Beelzebub This trick Ia an ola
one III Stockton and Oakland and il USUALLY
succeeds. Truly this horse racing is hard
thing to beat
:, 1t is claimed for the new magnesium flash
i.sne LOT lighthouses. introduced expsr-
penetrate almost OPAQUE atmosnbars s "
ceedS that of any other known urTt "a