The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-09-13
BIGGEST POKER GAME
PLAYED IN AMERICA

Li2'ES tN fhtsEiasCFt,
Saratoga, N. Y.-ttLucky'' Baldwin,
one OF the most prominent men in the
history of California, a man who has
seen and sat in the biggest poker games
ever played in this country. talked to-
night on the great American game and
OF his experiences. He said:
Poker is an art, a science. I be-
lieve it is fast becoming a lost art, so
to speak
II never hear any more of such games
as we used to have ~ the Pacific coast
in the early days-ganes which re-
| quired skill, science, nerve and big
money. No, I believe those days are
gone forever.
What is poker? Why do 1 say it is
a. science, an art?
Poker is the science of pretending
that you have one thing when you have
| another. Poker is the skill of looking
pleased when you are displeased. 1t is
the science of deception, 1t is the art
of discrimination.
1t is the subtle power of eliminat-
ing from your face the real thoughts
of your mind and feelings of your heart
and substituting the opposite.
Poker is a school for the study of
the foibles Of human nature-a college
where the courses are deception and
cunning, ayarice and greed. deceit and
fraud and false pretensfon and dissim-
ulation.
81 can recall few 'stttings,' such as
you don't hear of nowadays. Why, I
was $685. 800 winner in one game and
started off $4,000 loser. NO such
games as that now. The times which
| permit sudden acquisition Of great
wealth in a community are always the
! forerunners of big poker games Tt
was so in California. 1t may be so in
! the Klondiloe country
rs it not so il congress? Do not the
members of congress know how the tar
| if is going; whether sugar will be fav-
| ored or not? Then the inevitable hap
pens"
What is that?"
Why, they make thousands easily
and quickly and then sit down to q
quiet game of poker to beat each other
out of their newly acquired riches.
I've often thought I overlooked a
big bet in not going to congress. There
has been a great deal of easy money
there in those big poker games.
And why shouldn't our typical ma
tional legislators be fairly good poker
! players? Have I not defined chat
poker It?
Gle who acts out deceit to the most
{ finished nicely and can most skilfuIIy
make others believe he has q good
hand when he hasn't and vice versa
! he is a poker PLAYER. Well that's the
average candidates by throughout.
isn't ft9
''But I was going to tell you of some
! Of those big ganles-those historic
games Of the Pacific coast. I never
played only in private roorns-never in
saloons or club houses. The game I
/ have most in mind was usually played
in Senator Sh2ron's rooms at his hotel
or in the rooms of some other MEN,
/ Der of our party. We had no kitty or
j rake off In our game were Ralgton,
J president of the old California bank:
I Senator Sharon. Mark Livingstone,
/ Michael Reese, John McClaren and a
few others who were making money
/ fast, and myself
CHEAPEST CHIP 800.
Our cheapest chip was 500. at the
/ end of this game-three years. was
/ 100000 winner. A jack pot always had
/ s6OO TO SEQ in it to start with, IF the
/ deal went round the table one time only
there would be from $4,000 to SIS, 600 in
/ the pot If'it went twice around. IS GOA
and We always opened the pot for
! the size of it, Those were big games. /
tell you. It was a common occurrence
/ TO bet $4,000 to $50, 900 winner or loser
This particular game lasted for a lit
4 tie over three years. Sometimes we
! would play once a week sometimes
three times, and sometimes not so Of
ten. We never had such a thing as 9
+ poker debt unpaid in those days-yery
{ different now I'm told Every MANS
word was good for a million.
! Let's just look In on the game. Sav
a jack pot is opened for S6,OG0-three
I men say-SlS000 now in the pat. Tehe
third man comes in and raises it $40
/ G0oi $4,000 noiy in the pot All drop out
except myself, the opener and the fell
i low who TaiseS-the opener stays-S10.
! 600 more-$44, 600 in all. We draw cards
/ the first man. ore, the ~~c~7d mo-
the second elevates me $4,000 Talk
about quick thinking ana colicelltrt-
/ ton! Talk about brain work. lightning
/ calculators and that sort Of thing You
haven't got a week to considC~ this
matter and talk it over with a friend
/ and a lawyer.
is he bluhng? Can his threes beat
| mine? Is he trying to steal the pot
Is he nervous because he's afraid ne is
beaten If I call? Or he is nervous Tear
ing L viii call and so ne will not set
my additional $4,000?
"A cold shiver goes around the room
when that $4,000 bet is made-$69 G0(
now in the pot. There is a sigh or two
but not a word spoken aloud. The
/ silence becomes oppressive and the
/ ticking Of the watches becomes more
and more distinct Finally L say: I
see that and raise you $4,000
Nov the scene of action is changed
the guessing goes 20 the other man
After squeezing his cards, a little medi.
tation. he says: That's good, I guess
! but 1 had three queens all the way
u raked down the $4,000 and tbs
! $50 900 just pushed in.
He felt relieved when I leaned owe
and showed him three aces Neither O
us had bettered. He naturally though
after I drew one card thatnI had TIVE
pairs or threes, but never played me fol
three aces or any big threes.
Now he played me for two big pairs
! probably aces ap, and thought I nigh
call, but he did not believe | had three
/ bigger than queens all the time. De
ception or cunning on my part in tn
draw? Or both?
ITO play poker successfully you hav'