The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-21


Another queer kirk in the slope game
of draw is that straights don't go. I've
been catching occasional pat straights and
drawing 10 en- all my life and l think the
straight is one Of the prettiest PLAYS in
poker. In playing straights, if the chap
across the table draws one card, you've
got the fun of trying to figure out wheth-
er ne drawing 10 couple of pairs or bob
DlnS 10 straight or a flush. and it's in
teresting work. If he stands pat, it's up to
you 10 determine by the mind-readlng pro-
cess whether he's simply bluffing or act
uaIly has pat straight or full hand or
hush IN his paws.
Wei out on the coast they've heard oc-
casional rumors of such things as straights
being played somewhere or another in the
game OF draw, but you won't meet one
coast man in hundred that knows pre-
clsely what the straight consists of and
what the chances are of mans getting
a pat straight or of filling a one-cuded
or double-ended straight. AS for playing
straights, they've never even dreamed of
such an absurdity. l found that out in
the second game of draw 1 got into out
there.
1T was in Portland. and another four
handed game, the other fellows being
business men also. We played along for
while without my running into any
snags sticking out of the coast game, and
then 1 got on the deal four cards that
had in them the markings of a corking
good straight, capable of being filled at
either end, from nine up to queen. so that
either an eight or a king on the draw
would have fixed me all right. I decided
to draw to it just for luck although all
three of the fellows were in and had stood
a raise before the draw. When l caught
my king l was glad 1 had decided to
draw to my straight A king-high straight
is a pretty good mess of cards in any
mans game of draw, as we know back in
these parts.
There was a heap of betting on that
round, and. of course, with that clipper
built straight of NINE I wasn't going to
let any of EN- put it on me. l met every
raise and stuck so persistently and con-
fidently that the whole three of them be-
gan to regard me as the main guy so far
as that deal was concerned, and to look
a bit afraid of me. The last time l raised
ii they kind O. exchanged looks. and the
man at my left called me. The two other
men followed suit and there was a gen
| eral laying down of hands. The man at
my left had three Fights, the fellow next
! TO him aces up on trays and the man at
my right three skies. l projected my right
| arm to sweep in the good-sized pot after
| spreading out my king-hiSh straight.
Hold up, therer they all yelled at me
| at once. What's all this? What are you
trying to do-hypnotize us| And the
| man who had laid down his three elghts
| made a reach for the pot.
1T was now my turn to think the whole
| three of EN- looney.
lis there so much smoke in here, SAID
| L that YOU three people can't perceive
| that I've got a king-high straight"
Straight said the man with the three
| Fights Straight be damned! You've got
oneAiing up on nothing. How ola are YOU;
anyhow-seven? Straight? Listen to him!
| And the three of EN- gave me the hoarse
boot in chorus. l asked 'em to get around
| me and pinch me- because l wanted TO
! find out if l was dreaming or not, but they
| were too busy leaning back IN their cnalrs
| and roaring like so many wild asses OF the
woods to pay any attention to me. mat 5
what got for not inQuiring beforehand
into the kind of draw l stacked up against
in Portland.
"The next poker knock I got was down
| in Santa Barbara. l got into a game OF
draw with three hotel clerks all GOOD Tel
lows. but all addicted to the nursery pok-
er they play out there, and again for
| got to nail em up against the wall and
make 'em exude information about the
kind of game they purposed playing We
got along all right for an hour or so, and
! at the end of the time l was comfortably
| well ahead of the game. 1t kind o TICK
| led me- too, when l caught the joker on
| the draw three or four times and beat EN-
| out on their own game-which is a silly
game and about as brainy as bean-bag
| all the same l also kept away from my
| inclination to draw to straights and, nav
| ing made this much progress, l really
| didn't think I was in for any more rude
and costly surprises in the game. That
where l did the leapyear figuring.
| 81 gave myself a neat mess of clubs
| four of them-With the ace for a capstone
1 have always been lucky in bobbing to
| fushes, and this looked good. Two of the
! other fellows drew two cards each, and
| the other man asked for one. I gave my
self another club, and tried to look gloomy
! and depressed. An ace-high flush has al
ways been good enough for me on this
| side of the continent, and bet it for all
| il was worth. The three hotel clerks evil
IDENTIFY thought they were pretty well nix
ed too and, although there was nothing
| frantic about the betting it was nice ana
| smooth and even, and the pot grew in a
wav that suited me down to the ground
| When il got so large on tive-dollar raises
| as we thought it ought to be there was a
| general suggestion for a call and show
| down. Two of my fellow players had
| threes, small ones, and the other two
| pairs that we wouldn't stay with very long
| in this neck of the woods. Well, flashed
nv ace-high flush of clubs on them, and
| was Just about to say something about
| easy money when the man with the best
| threes scooped In the pot.
| Must have left your specs at home
my boy said l, thinking he was only fool
ing Pass that pile over
For why?' said he
"Then ! looked him over and saw that
he was serious.
Gor why? 1 repeated. Well the in
structors at whose feet l sat to learn what
is learnable about the game of draw poker
| always taught me to believe that a flush
! is better than threes.
YES said he, but didn't you draw a
card?
".'What the devil difference does that
make? l inquired.
ooh said he patronizingly, II see
| you're a bit new al the game. You see
you can't draw to fiushes. You've got to
| hold EN- pat
"Well, that was the worst jab had yet
| received but had to stand for it, on the
| 'do-as-the-R omans-do' principle.
"In San Diego | got into a game with
| some fellows who were so warm that they
wouldn't play anything but jack pots. At
! the start off of the game-the first hand
none of the four of us could open it, 1t
went around three times, and on the
fourth deal / caught pair of queens Two
| of the other fellows stayed. I caught an