The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-05
HIS LAST HAND AT POKER.
END OF A GAME THAT WAS MARK
ED BY PHENOMENAL LUCK.

Hoyay With a Very Exciting Epi-
sOde at the Finish.
From the New York Sun.
Five men of better nerve never dealt
cards than the ave who sat playing poker
the other night in one of those uptown
club rooms that are so quietly kept as to
be entirely unknown to the police and the
general public. The game proved to be
phenomenal.
The play was high. The party had
played together once week for a long
time, and the limit had always been 81 at
the beginning of the evening, though oc-
casionany 1t had gone as high as ten
before morning. This particular night,
however, the cards ran remarkably well,
and by midnight the limit was ignored If
not forgotten. Two of the players had
laid their pocketbooks alongside their
chips. They had not played so before,
but the gambling fever had come upon
them with the excitement of good hands,
one against another, until the friendly
contest had become a struggle for blood.
Fours had been shown several times since
midnight, and beaten once, while straight
hushes had twice won important money.
Deck after deck had been called for, and
tossed aside in turn after a few deals.
till the carpet was strewn thckly with
the discarded pasteboards, but there was
no change in the remarkable run of the
cards. Pat fulls and Pushes showed In
deal after deal, and the luck in the draw
was so extraordinary and so evenly dis
tributed that they all grew cautious of
betting on any ordinary hand, and a bluff
had not been tried for an hour. Yet no
one had offered a remark, though the
play grew higher and harder 1t was as
If each man feared to break the run by
mentioning it. At length the colonel
spoke.
THE devil himself is playing with his
picture books tonight, I think" he said,
with short laugh. as he lost two stacks
of blues on seven full.
1t had been the doctors deal, and he
looked up quickly. Gazing at the colonel,
he said:
1.-THE hands are certainly remarkable.
never saw so many big ones at one sit
ting" The words were simple but there
was curious tone, half of question, in his
voice. There had not been such nervous
tension in the party before, but they were
all men of experience and had seen trouble
words on many different occasions.
Tho colonel detected the tone and an
swered quickly and gracefully:
That's so, doc. I've beaten some strong
hands myself tonight
"A new pack, Sam" said the editor, who
was the next to deal. The imperturb-
able darby by the sideboard produced one
instantly, and the editor shuff1ed it care
fully. Then he offered it to the other
players in turn. They all refused to touch
1t, and, shutting the deck himself once
more, he laid it down for the cut and be-
gan to deal. 1t was a little thing, but so
far out of the ordinary as to mark the fact
that they were fencing now with bare
blades, and from that on there was a
strict observance of the punctilio of the
game.
One by one the cards fell in five symmet-
rical little piles, as perfect as Hermann
could have made them, for the editor was
delft with his fingers, but one after an
other of the players passed out and
Jackpot was made. The big hands had
failed to appear.
1t was the congressman's deal, and he
doubled his ante and took the cards The
colonel sat next and pushed out four chips
800 The others all came in, the congress
man making good and dealing without
word. There was 500 in the pot, and there
came that curious certainty to all of them
which sometimes comes to an experience
ed players, that mighty struggle was at
hand.
The colonel made a pretense of looking
at his hand, but in reality looked only
at the first two cards. They were both
aces. He passed.
The lawyer sat next. He found a four
flush and pair of tens; so he passed
The doctor was next player He held a
pat straight, king high. He opened the
pot for $50
The editor came in on three deuces and
the congressman with a pair of queens
put up his money. The others came up
promptly.
The colonel, having first call, looked
over his hand carefully. The last card
was an ace also, and he called for one,
holding up a seven. The four hearts in
the lawyers hand were the queen, ten,
nine and eight. He promptly discarded
the other ten and drew one card. The
doctor, of course, stood pat, and the ed
itor drew two. The congressman also
drew to the strength of his hand.
With all the players in, the doctor felt
that straight was a doubtful hand, but
he put up twenty and waited. The editor
looked anxiously for the fourth deuce.
but. finding neither that nor a pair laid
down his cards
Three skies had fallen to the congress
mans queens, and he raised it twenty
colonel. Not a muscle moved i'm his stern,
handsome face, as he saw the raise and
went fifty better.
1t was 800 for the lawyer to come in.
He simply made good and looked anx-
iously to see il there would be another
raise. They criticised his play afterward,
claiming that he should have raised back,
but he defended it by saying that there
were two players yet to hear from. The
first of these resigned. king straight
was no hand for that struggle. The
congressman was still confident of his full
hand however, for he had drawn three
skies, and he came back at the colonel
with fifty more.
The colonel raised him a hundred. 1t
looked as II 1t would be duel between him
and the congressman. but the lawyer was
still to hear from. He raised 1T a hundred
The congressman made good, and the colo
mel raised again.
The lawyer counted his chips carefully,
and finding exactly the right amount, COW
cred the last raise. Then. opening his pock-
etbook, he drew out hundred dollar bill
and pushed that to the middle of the table.
Once more the congressman made good.
and the colonel raised IL hundred The
lawyer came back. and the congressman
dropped out.
The colonel raised II a hundred. The law