The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-04-25
IS 1T OUR NATIONAL VIoEp
A Millionaire Philosopher Talks About
Poker Playing.
From, the Nelv York World.

room. There was one gentleman, however
who never took part in the game nor seemed
to feel any interest in its outcome.
| won't you take a hand with US to-day
sirm asked one of the gang" few days be-
fore they were due in New York.
mo" said the other quietly. 81 never
play poker"
mo doubt you are prudent there, for III
an expensive amusement"
The mans tone was almost sneering. and
certainly offensive.
MY dear sir" said the man who would
not play, speaking with dignity, my mean.
are abundant to allow me to play poker il
it were merely question of amusement,
not only with the IS limit you are playing
now, but with limit of $500. l am Mr..
! h., )" aud he mentioned the name of Wall
street millionaire who could have bought
and sold the whole ship, cargo and passen-
gers, and not felt the outlay.
The gentlemen at the card table stopped
their game while their companion apollo.
| gized for his rudeness.
| II have been playing in such bad luck
this afternoon" he explained, that l am
| all out Of sortsn
IF you are interested in knowing l will
tell you why do not approve Of the game
OF poker" and offering choice cigars to the
| company, the man Of millions proceeded to
hold forth on the national pastime.
| don't agree with you, sir, at all, " said
| one OF the players, a hard-headed west
erner. Out in our town we have poker
party which runs along from the beginning
OF the year to the end without any raise
| being made in the limit. We play for a
| couple OF hours two or three times a week
and at the end Of the year there ia nobody
much ahead and nobody much behind. Our
losses and gains about balance, and we
get good deal Of pleasure out of the
thing"
NOT THE REAL GAME.
"Ihehyour limit must be small" an
| swered the other Either that, or you run
sort Of credit system, which is playing
poker on paper, aud not the real, merciless
game"
The westerner admitted the truth of this
reflection, and the speaker took up his
theme again
where you will find one poker party like
yours, moderate enough to keep the limit
down to point where losing or winning is
| matter of no consequence to the players
you will find hundred other poker parties
where the contrary will be true The reason
| for this lies in the fact that gambling Is
gambling, and whether a game be entirely
OF chance or only in part chance, the gam
| bling infection must spread and grow among
the players. One of two things will happen
either some members of the party will
lind that things are very slow and tame
with the old limit and will lose interest in
such small game, or, as Is the case nine
times out OF ten, things will be made lively
and exciting by making the money stake a,
| issue OF more consequence, something worth
playing for-that is to say, something
which several Of the players, at least, can.
not afford to lose. There is no more limi
| to this sort OF money increase than there il
TO the greed and folly Of a gambler"
WHAT ALL THINK.
| but poker Is a game Of skill, sir; yoU
seem to forget that" objected another OF
the company.
| mot at all. l know poker is a game OF
| skill, but the popularity about it is thai
| every man who takes part in it labort
| under the delusion that he possesses at least
as much skill as does his neighbor, and he
has sneaking idea somewhere way down
| In his boots that he has more skill than the
| othsrs If the cards would only run halt
way decent II men did not believe this
in their hearts they would not go on play
| ing with one another with the certainty OF
| losing. In other games of skill a man will
recognize his inferiority and accept odds
| Who ever heard of giving or taking odd
at poker~
"lf man is bad poker player he will
| find it out before he has played with the
| gang very long" said the man who had
| been discourteous, with rueful smile.
YES, but not until he has crippled his
resources and lost some of his friends" was
the grave reply. IF you have granted my
point that the game Of poker almost invari-
ably develops into a game where the money
lost or won becomes an object to those play.
ing, and no one who has seen the feverish
nights which young men pass over Jack
pots and 'hushes' and 'straights' will deny
this, then you must see that as far as the
individual players are concerned and as far
as the effect upon the whole party Is con-
cerned poker presents all the evils of rou-
lette or baccarat. ana l think can show
you that it presents even greater evils"
WHAT IT MEANS.
The gentlemen filled their glasses and set
tied back to listen.
"You play poker, you win or you lose,
and what does that mean2 1t does not mean
that you have gone into an establishment
conducted on business principles by a COM
pany or a corporation which IS prepared TO
take certain risks aud give certain ODDS, as
the case when you go to a we'll conducted
gambling house or club. 1t does not mean
that, as at faro, you enter into brief rela-
lions with utter strangers, between whom
and yourself there is not the slightest bond
or sentiment. No, sir; playing poker means
that you have taken cut your purse and given
its contents to an intimate friend or that
you have emptied the purse of that intimate
friend into your own pocket for | suppose
no one Of you will dispute me when | say
that man is an arrant fool who plays
poker with strangers or with any person in
whose fair dealing he has not the fullest of
confidence The result Is that poker means
either taking from your friend more money
than he can afford to lose or giving him
more of your money than you can afford to
have him win. There is no escape from that
alternative.
''Now, gentlemen, put it to you frankly,
can man have such money relations as
these with his intimate friends very long
without his beginning to hate them or they
beginning to hate him3 That is human
nature"
AN IMPOSsIBILITY.
"But don't you think, sir, that poker
would be the queen of all games If this
money question you speak of could be elm
inatedp
THAT is an absolute impossibility, as
have explained. Poker without money
enough at stake to make it worth while soon
becomes tiresome, and would never be
played as the gambling poker is played at
all times and in all parts Of this country.
But even leaving that aside, | despise the
whole idea Of poker. Look at it! What
are the qualities which make successful
poker player9 The ability TO deceive, a cold,
calculating, Indian cunning, which makes a
man hold his dagger behind his back and
pounce down upon an unsuspecting and de-
fenSeless adversary; a brutal skill in
tempting your opponent 80 make a