St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-14
LUCK STOOD BY HIM.
How Square Player Won a Repu-
tation Among Strangers.

How Square Player Won a Repu-
tation Among Strangers.
st. Louis Republic.
abe yOd want a new poker Story?''
said well-known man. "Weli, I'll
tell you how little game gave me a
great reputation and made me at least
temporarily hero. all through the fact
that l, by the merest accident, got the
best hand and was just smart enough
or foolish enough, as you choose to
look at ito stay with it as long as my
money lasted. First, let me tell you
that, while l like to play poker lit
tie occasionally, know nothing about
manipulating cards or playing tricks
with them. | know only in general
sort of a way the relative value of pairs,
threeS, fullS. fiuShes, straightS, etc.;
but the science of the game is sealed
book to me, and | am absolutely ig-
norant of the first rudiments of the edu-
cation Of card sharp.
81 have just returned from trip to
the Pacific coast. On my travels l
found myself one afternoon in a good
big town where everything was run
wide OPEN | am not going to tell
you what town 1t was, but this is
what happened to me. [ strolied
into large gambling room, one of those
places where a sport can get almost
anything that he calls for. | watched
the faro game for while, glanced
at the roulette game, and then float
ed naturally up to a poker game.
Five or SIX men were playing. 1t was
table stakes, and if you wanted to play
you called one of the men behind the
bar, and he brought you $40 worth of
chips. Then you made the usual con-
ciliatory remark: If no gentleman OBJ
jects, I'll sit in for an hour and went
at 1T. l. watched the game carefully
for twenty minutes, and made up my
mind it was square, and then sat in
"Ihe cards came my way and | soon
had 500 to the good. Opposite to me
sat fair-faced young man who, l
learned was one of the proprietors of
the house. The other players joked
with him occasionally when he made a
winning by declaring it was no use try
ing to buck against the house-that's
the way knew who he was. Well, the
house wasn't in it after l sat down. If
he held threes showed down straight;
II he held a straight 1 skinned out a
flush, and if he held a flush my hand
frightened up. Then the other PLAYERS
grew facetious and joshed the house,
but still the cards came my way, until |
stayed out of jack pot which had about
$50 in it, and which the house raked in
with the remark that he could only win
Wnen the st. Louis man kept out. The
game went on for few rounds, and
then l won again, but this time ''the
house" stayed out. He still had a big
STAG of chips i'll front of him, and was
surprised to see him draw out of the
game and cash i'll at the bar. | WON
dered why he drew out. He evidently
had it III for me, and as he was winner,
L couldn't understand his retreat. [
watched him 60 over to the faro table
and speak to one of the players. The
two men glanced over toward the poker
table, and then | caught on. The house
had called for reinforcements, and /
SAID to myself that if my fair-faced
friend and the faro player came into the
game | would cash in and quit.
- moment later two losers left the
table, and the vacant chairs, side by
side. were taken by the faro player and
my former antagonist. 1t wouldn't do
TO draw out at once, of course, and so
let the deal proceed. The game pro-
crossed. After few deals the faro
player picked up his hand and remarked
IN careless kind of way. FIVE got
tens APP He had no occasion to make
such remark at that stage of the game,
but when l saw the other man pass him
card l knew what was going on. 1t
was clumslly done, and | couldn't help
smiling inwardly at the crudeneSs Of
the cheating. The faro player had sim
ply called for ten-Spot 10 I'LL his hand,
and his partner had given it to him. |
stayed out at that hand, and was re-
warded for doing So by seeing ten full
on fours shown down.
I'm the next hand a big-fSted miner
dealt the cards, and | knew that it was
an honest deal. | had an ace full pat,so
when the faro player picked up his hand
and murmurcd: I've got Jacks up and
l again saw a card passed which | was
willing to bet something handsome was
jack, felt pretty easy. | believed
that he had jack full. | stayed in, but
let him do the raising. Before it got
around 10 him another player raised it.
The faro player saw the raise, showed in
his pile with the words: Il tap vou.'
He wasn't after me and expected me to
drop out. l studied for a moment, made
up my mind that the first raiser had
threes. and then showed in my pile,
which was just about big enough to meet
the second raise. The first raiser stayed
and the others fed. We drew cards.
1t was my first say, and had to expose
my hand by standing pat. The first
raiser took two cards; the faro player
stood pat. All our money was ND, and
it was show down. The first raiser
had three kings to go with, and didn't
help i'll the draw. The faro player, as
suspected, had a jack full had an
ace full. | wish you could have seen.
that mans jaw fail. His fair-faced
partner, the man who had passed him
the jack, leaned back and roared with
laughter. ] could see that he had sized
me up for card sharp, and that he was
amused beyond measure at the smooth
way l had done him up. An ace fulIv
he shouted. well. I'll be -. An ace
FULLY raked in the pot. raked it off
into my hat, and said: Yes. an ace
full; good, isn't it? l am going 10 quit
you, gentlemen and did quit, too.
And here comes funny feature of
the adventure. l was attending to a
little business for Uncle Sam, and in
accomplishing my mission it was neces-
sary for me to be just little bit quiet
and clrcumspect in my movements.
But the story of the poker game was
told. and, although my winning was
purely piece of luck, l was pointed
out probably twenty times day for the
three days | remained in town as the
slickest card sharp in the country,
which. while it was a little amusing.
was anything but desirable reputation
for me-"