The morning times., 1897-01-20
1t Rarely Happens That six GEN
tlemen a re Found at the Same
Boa rd-Poker Very Largely a
Game of Human Nature-UgIy
characteristics Displayed.

he Will be sure to find some faults in himself
| and his neighbors he did not know existed.
| And if he viii take the lesson home to him
self he will be a wiser and better man for
! having played poker in studious frame OF
| mind.
There are a lot Of little vices locked up
in man some here which the ordinary
! affairs of life do not seem fitted 10 bring
| out. Bnt the game of poker is the key that
will let them loose, and they come some
| times with rush. An sorts Of petty vices
| and larger sins flow out OF man onto tile
! poker table with rush that is painful to
| every one around the board And then the
| man himself goes home to suffer the reac-
! ton OF his own viciousness, vexed at him
self for his ungentlemanly conduct and sur
! prised at the shortcomings OF others He
] did not know how mean and small and
| abusive his friends We're until he pia yed
poker with them, and he never knew be-
| fore that he could be tempted into like
| exhibition himself.
\ If there be any good in the game Of poker
| it is that { conpels a man to know himself
| and much of human nature he never dream
| ed of before. Poker is very largely game
| of human nature, and the greatest students
with an aptitude for that kind OF learning
| are the successful players.
The chronic losers, on the other hand, are
| those who will notlearn this truth, but go on
charging their misfortune TO luck, and
perhaps acting on superstitiCns instead Of
reason. II does not seem 10 matter much
whether tits 25-cent limit or a table-stake
game the temptation to make themselves
| and others miserable is bound to possess the
! ma jority OF men
There is the man who sings and whistles,
tells funny stories and tries 70 cheer up his
compa Mons when be wins. When he loses
he has a genius for doing and sa wing mean
things that is little short OF marvellous. The
settled rules of the game are violated ma
lciously and the plain laws Of common de-
cency are set at naught. regardless of the
effect on the rest OF the players. When he
begins to lose he will be sure to call for
new deck of cards, and he will not consent
to the use of the old deck until the new one
arrives. He Will insist on his right, as a
loser, to delay the game until the new pack
is brought. When it comes. if il happens to
be red deck, he Will demand a blue one, and
another delay results from his whim. He
will stand on his right to cut and reshuffle
| the cards, and he viii be so long about it
| and he will give the man on his left sig
| nificant look as if to throw doubt on his
| honesty. The pot is opened and the Cisa-
| greeable man has three aces. His celights
| up, then the lines grow hard and he filings
handful of chips into the pot saying:
II raise YOU
| How Inuch?'' says the opener
Cant you see?" says the disa agreeable
| man. Count 'em!"
| But there is no way of counting them ex-
| ceptto calculate the amount known To have
| been put in This means counting out the
| original pot, the amount it has been sweet
! ened' and the amounts properly put in by
the men who stayed.
The disasTeeable man insists he raised the
| pot So, and when count shows he only
raised it So he declares he is getting the
worst of it in all possible ways, and then
| he viciously tOsses in another dollar.
| whats that for?" says the man who
opened the pot.
| II raised it So, but you say 1 am 81
| short, and l am making it good
You simply opened it, says the opener,
| land a count OF the chips shows you raised
| il So You are not permitted under the
rules to raise it again until another bet is
| made"
'weIl, I meant to raise it So, and if 1
was ST. shy in the pot ought to be allowed
| to put it innow.''
| When he is told the rules of poker take
no account Of what he intended to do, but
rather what he does, he simply says, "All
right; let it go. If there is a tough end Of
! propositionI am sure TO get it,
The first bet the disagreeable man makes
after the draw is called, he reaches out,
scoops in the pot and then Ia wing his hand
down, says, in a merry mood, Three
| aces
But says tile man who called him,
''wouldn' t it be just as well for you to show
your hand before you rake in the pot2''
What the difference" he replies, gruff
ly. You can't beat 'em. If you can take
the pot
''You have upset your own chips in the
pot, and if could beat your hand don't
know how you could separate the pot from
your own chips, Meanwhile, I'll ask you
| to show me your hand
The disagreeable man finally spreads out
his hand. There are the three aces, but the
man who opens the pot discovers the hand
contains six cards. He shows down q
pair of kings in proper hand and demands
the pot.
when / threw it down.
but there are six now. ana YOU alone are
the keeper of your own hand.''
well, | had three aces before the draw
! and everybody heard me call for two cards
If the dealer gave me three, it's his fault
not mine Besides, the cards l drew did
not help my hand any. The pot is mine bl
| all the rules of common sense"
'And it's mine by the most elementary
rule Of poker, quietly says the other. "A
foul hand has no value, whatever, and il
makes 10 difference how it became foul
Every man must pick up five cards only OF
lose his rights i'll a pot. No matter how
many cards are dealt him he must not
pick up more than the proper number
Before the disagreeablc man will yieIt
every other man at the board has 10 in
sist on his giving up the pot. But the pot
is mixed with his own chips and mora
time is necessary to make a separation
When it is made he is sure he is dollar
short. and finally he declares every maj
at the board is against him and cashes il
his chips, upsets the mans stack next t,
him andquits the game, thoroughly worked
up to the idea that he has been robbed.
This fellow plays in nearly every ''gen
tlemen's game" 1t is the only game il
which he would be tolerated.
!, -
Mr.. McAdoo to Speak.
Assistant Secretary McAdoo will speal
at the Newark, n. j., board of trad
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