The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-22
A BLUFF THAT DIDN'T co
By Julius Chambers.

! goods house and reached Chicago on a
winter afternoon from the northwest
! with several thousand dollars OF the
| firms money in my possession. The col
lections made in the larger cities were
chiefly in the form of certified checks
| but In the smaller towns, the traders were
unable to pay IN any other form but cash,
and Objectionable as it was for me TO
carry large amount of money, 1 was
! compelled to receive what was offered. 1t
was too late for me to deposit the money
in bank. The result was that l was
compelled to place it in an envelope and
! leave 1t with the clerk of my hotel for
safe keeping. He was undoubtedly in col
fusion with lot of professional gam
| blers who lived in the house, because be-
fore supper, I had been introduced to
several very sleek looking gentlemen,
who manifested considerable interest in
my welfare.
After supper game of poker was pro-
! posed, and as had several hundred dol
lars Of my own money in my clothes 1 saw
no objection to the suggestion. The limit
| suggested was comparatively low and l
| knew something of the game, at least suf-
f1cient to induce me to believe that /
could hold my own.
Such is the vanity of the amateur in
nearly all games of chance.
The party was practically made up,
when 1 was accosted by fellow traveller
on the road, young Cincinnati salesman
! named Whitney, whom had known for
several years and whose frank,
honest face inspired me with
the highest confidence. 1 was par
ticularly anxious that he should Join the
| game in order that might have some
| body at the table who was not an entire
| stranger. OF course, the other men pre-
tended to be mere speaking acquaintance ;
but was notso green" as to accept that
! theory of the situation, and had all nv
perceptive faculties keyed up to detect
collision and fraud. Larry whitney
agreed to take a hand provided he
would be allowed to stop whenever he
chose.
The game ran along quietly for half an
hour, nobody making any suggestion to
increase the So limit agreed upon l was
ahead about $50 Whitney was a small
| loser. No amount of money worth talk
ing about had changed hands 1 had nv
eyes about me, but had failed to detect
the slightest evidence of collision or
fraud on the part Of my new acquaint-
anceS. / played, therefore, with feeling
of greater confidence, and threw myself
with enthusiasm into the game There
was very little talking at the table
Probably did more of it than anybody
! else
About this time we had lack pot. "
The deal was in the hands of the man to
| my left, one of the strangers. The first
player passed" the second player said
he couldn't open it," the third PLAYER
whitney, knocked on the table to indi-
cate that he had not lacks or better"
the fourth player (the man on my right
tossed blue chip in the center of the ia
Bile as he remarked:
Il break 1t for the limit"
Hooked my hand over, and, having
kings and jacks raised the bet another
liver. - The dealer quit, - as did the man
next to him. The second player stayed"
for the $40; so did Whitney. The fourth
player who had originally "opened the
pot" saw the raise and raised again. l
"chipped along" but was rather sur
prised to find strength" develop in the
second player, who not only raised" the
pot again, but did 1t with a pTonptitude
that indicated that he meant to stay.
Whitney wouldn't be frozen out"
When il came to number four again, he
again raised" 1t then dawned upon me
that Whitney and | were being saw
bucked, and Immediately determined
that l would quietly drop out.
Surely enough, number two lifted it,
again. Whitney laid down. Number
four merely stayed, and l concluded to
draw cards.
This is what the draw revealed:
Number Two took two cards. The logic
of this act was that he was drawing To @
small pair and kicker" or that he had
declined to open on "threes, or what
was highly improbable) that he was try
ing to fill a three card flush" set him
4 H~.r, ,f.fr -
or king. If a king, had little fear of his
getting the case card, as l already held
two kings myself. OF course the chief
danger to be apprehended from him was
that he had "threes" to 90 in.
Number Four's draw was rather inter
esling. He took one card, placing his dis
card conspicuously before him and laying
a chip upon it. This was obviously in
tended TO give the impression that he had
''broken" a pair, upon which he had
opened the Jack pot" and that he was
now drawing to flush or straight
Realizing that [ possibly had ''threes"
to beat at Number Two ana straight"
or flush" at Number + our, ! made "a
freak draw" l discarded MY pair of
kings and the four of hearts ana drew
three cards. The reason l preferred TO
IS .ay'' TO the Jacks rather than to the
kings was that had an intuitive suspi-
cion that Number Two was holding up'
a king. These inexplicable impressions
that all card players have are very curious
psychological phenomena; but every man
who plays poker understands how strong
is their influence.
picked up my three cards and dis
covered, 10 my surprise, that two of them
" ere jacks and the third one was a king
That disclosure gave me little start, be-
cause IL was obvious that / would have
had a full hand in any event-that is, with
Whitney driven out of the game and
exactly two men to take cards before me!
So strong was the eject OF that thought
that now would have played a king or a
jack fall with great caution. But with
fours il was different There was nothing
Whatever to indicate suspicion of any
such strength around the table. / tried
TO look unconceTned and waited for the
opening bet. Then raised it 10 the limit;
l heard it raised again; l saw the original
opener lift" 1t once more, with a remark
about ''ovcrplaying high flush"
/ am not sure whether | first suggested
the removal of the limit or whether the
thought was advanced by the man on the
Left of me- l began TO feel the indescriba-
bic passion of the gaming table. The
prospect of winning the money of my com
panIons was so promising that all the
mean and avaricious traits Of my charac-
ter developed, and | became another and
a different man-bereft Of human sympa-
thy, dominated solely by a selhshness that
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