The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1897-08-22

few minutes wandered away to a Sc
Guided spot and wondered and wondered
whether she really meant it or was bluff
hng. 1t has happsned TO you, and the
| Shanees are that you guessed it wrong.
We'll, You encounter he same preposf-
| 1ion with women In a. poker game. onIv
you haven't got the time to take the Sc
cluded walk by yourself ard m aditate AMI
determine whether she is bluffing or not
! when she says with "a b.witching, coax
inc little smile, arching her eyebrows ana
! glancing slyly, yet almos- innocently, ait
| you out of the corners of her eyes: I
think my hand is worth 81. 500 more
Now, there's poser for you. Ever
been there? No? Well, I've been in a
good many tight Pieces, where l had to
think quickly. but I am free to confess
tha't the woman in a poker game Is TOO
much for me-
''Now, I've always made 1t a pom. to
study my Adversary CHI his actions
and the expressions of his face. Well,
watched two Cinnamon and three white
men plying game IN Frisco once. You
could CLEAN about as mach from the ex-
preston of mud fence or the side of an
adobe building as you could from the ex-
presslons on those Chinamen faces. No,
1 never played with any myself.
'fTher= are two ways at Which to win
a., poker, which ought always be borne
in mind. One is to have the courage
1 say courage, for III takes courage, and
lots of ito lay down a hand when you
feel that you are b aten and the other
is that when you have poor hand or
orjly a fairly good one, and you feel that
your opponent is b1uf1lng, never call;
always raise; raise ILL you raise him out.
"The man who can push 81 500 into ~
big poi and say, Boys, III have to raise
THAT 't1ife,' with the air and manner
which, though he speaks nothing more,
by his very action, says: They'll call that;
I'd bet $780, only they would call that
much when he actually has only a.
busted flush, is on <he high road to be-
coming an artistic success in the science
OF pol1er-the science of deception and
false prd.ension.
There is not mach skill or science in a
So or $40 limit game. The skill come in
when a man taps you. IA table stake
game is the only game to play IL you
want to thoroughly master the game. In
linz, game there is always too much
tendency to- call, and no chance for "a roy
al big biuff-whclS is the principal fra
ture of the game.
THE lucxieSE draw ever made was in
a game with Banker Raflston. Sharon
and an Engdishnjan also sat in the game.
I'll never forget how squeezed the cards
and glanced at the corners of the cards
after the draw. Rals,on and nyse If wers
the only ones in, the rest had dropped.
I had sized him UP all along for three
aces. 1 felt thlalt 1 was bea ten. hesi-
tated WHISTLER l would draw one or two,
finally took one, went in with three
queens and was right in my supposition;
Ralston had three aces.
We'll picked UP my hand and looked
1t over carefully after the draw. 1 shah
never forget 1T. When had woman's
face hooked so sfweet-and 1t was the or
dlnary flgly Black queen of spades. There
was $4,000 in the pot. Rallston got pair
with his aces. l knew it from his face
could tell the minute he looked at his
hand. Now, what did l do-looked how,
acted in what manner-not as 1 felt, for
if 1 had I would have Jumped over the
table meditated, hesitated coughed,
looked i'll and squeezed my cards time aad
time again as I dehberated, and 1 knew
at the time I had him beaten. He be- a
chip and / bet him 100000. He simply
called, although he started to raise me
back. THAT WAS my uckiest draw and it
was one-card draw at that"