The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-26

was as remarkable a draW as ever oc-
CURED. knew the position Of three of
the aces, and the card he drew was the
fourth, to which I had paid no attention,
| because the chance that he would not get
it was sufficient for me to bet against. DO
you know the man who loaned me that 500
thought purposely played away his mon
ey and then divided with the other fellow
/ guess he thinks so to this day, but, hon
or bright, l was a good deal more sur
prised than he was when l saw that ace
full spread out on the table.
Then there was a wonderful draw that
] made once in John Morissey's magnifi-
cent club house at Saratoga Springs in
the summer Of 1873. Morissey himself said
he had seen nothing like it in several
years. The remarkable circumstance, too
Is that my most extraordinary hand was
/ beaten honestly by a man. who has since
been "A United States senator on this coast
He was fun OF champagne, and was reek-
less all the time, betting high whether ne
had anything or not. OF course, he won
several pots by blufiing, because no one
would call him for big bet without hold
ing anything. l was waiting for big hand
because j knew that as soon as it came 1
could break him Ny four tens came just
az the right time. There was a jack POI.
and had the first say. opened it gently,
| say Tor $50, because I knew the plunge
would come back at me. He did with a big
raise. / just called him becaUse l wanted
more play after the draw, and he was
sure to bet everything he had. ! looked
over my hand slowly, as in deep thought
and then called for one card I'n draw to
the strength of my hand; 81 me three,
said the other fellow Then I made
heavy bet, and he came at me harder. We
kept al each other back and forth until all
the money about his person (some $3.50,
beiieve) was on the table. ! showed down
my four tens. He skinned out four queens
He had drawn two more queens to his
pair. IL / had stood pat instead of draw
| inglone card ne would not have caught his
queen, for the first card that came to time
in the draw was a nine-spot, and the two
queens were together OF course l was the
one who was broke.
"Once in Denver, overlooked a crooked
game, where rich suckers We're playing
professionals, and / saw a square hand
win against crockedness. Five men were
playing poker. Two of them We're part
ners together to do up another two, but
they did not want to take anything from
the fifth man, who was a kind of friend
OF theirs though he did not know there
was anything wrong about the game. One
of The two who were doing the crooked
work rung in a cold deck, and he dealt
great hands to the two fellows that were
to be skinned. One was four mines, and
the other a jack full. He was careful to
give 40 pair to the man he wanted to be-
friend, and he dealt his partner the win
ming hand. He thought It was the winning
hand. Well, TO the surprise of the men
who put up the cold deck, the fifth fell
low, with no pair. stayed right in and
saw every raise. They didn't dare kick
him or wink at him; ne piled his money
in with the rest In the draw he took a
card and then he was raising more than
anybody else around the table. There was
50, 500 in the pot a the showdown and the
fellow that had no pair won it all. The
man that fixed the deck had paid no at
tention to suits; he was looking out only
for pairs and threes and fours. He dealt
the fifth man a four straight of clubs,
and the one card he drew made a straight
flush"
What was the very best draw you ever
saw" asked the reporter.
I've been asked that hundreds of times.
so I'm quick with an answer. 1t certain
ly was one that occurred in a game at the
Araphoe Club in Salt Lake City, five or
six years ago this winter. 1t was a gen.
tlemens game, and the man who dared
to have been crooked with cards would
have been shot then and there I was
merely an invited spectator. One of the
players a rich banker and cattle ranch
er. was wild over poker. which he had
learned year before. lie wanted TO make
the bride off every hand TO win a hun
bred on a blum was worth 81 900 10 him.
One time in the club there was heavy bet
ting before the draw. The plunger was
in and raised until all his money was up,
so of course there could be no betting al
ter the draw. He put down his cards, and
I never saw a worse hand He had no
pair not even a face card. He was going
20 throw away the bunch and call for five
cards, when he noticed that he held the 9
and 10 Of clubs. IN draw to a straight
flush; give me three, said he; and do you
know, the three cards that came to him
were all mines. or course he then had
four mines, and he drew in the pot. One
man had pat jack full, and another had
three kings.
There's sometimes a bit Of humor amid
the abundance of pathos and picturesque
in the career of a professional gambler.
and draw that | myself made one day
in an impromptu poker game was as I'M
usual as ii was funny. l was going from
ST. Louis to Kansas City. Three of the
second-class gamblers who work the Pull
mans tried TO get me to play cards. /
knew their business as soon as l saw
them, but none of them knew me. Two
of them were dressed a s countrvmen. and
the third did the gentleman play. They
started in the STALE old way. suggesting
a game of eNcher. One would remark
that he would like to bet his eucher hand
in poker game, and another would agree
with him. Well, l consented to play
eucher with them, but first I looked care
lessly at their cards, and then ] went to
my grip. had a couple Of packs OF cards
in my bag-not for poker never gambled
on the trains, and no artist az the green
table will fool away his time and name
in that way. Some times I nave made the
acquaintance of gentlemen on the trains,
and afterward played with them in their
clubs or hotels, but on the trains ] have
played nothing, save an occasional game
Of whist. l could not resist, though. at
tending to the case Of those three trained
gamblers.
II happened to have a pack just like
the cards with which they were playing.
took from IL an ace then ] Joined in
the game and bided my time. Ten min
utes later one of them casually remarked
that he'd like 10 bet his hand In poker
and the others said they'd agree to change
the game, holding the hands dealt them
for euchre. ] consented also. and we bet
our money They bet all they had. in
Guiding a roll Of bogus bills, called 'spies
used for that sort OF work. Then / show
ed down four aces, and pocketed all the
money
you should have heard them roar when
A HOUSEHOLD REMEDY,