The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-02-21
TOO SMART FOR THE SHARPS
DRUNKEN REGULAR WAS ABLE
TO PLAY GOOD POKER.
Gamblers Were Fooled When They
Thought They Had Good Snap
Hot Game at Tampa.
New York Sun,

CNew York SUM-
Inc man from Tampa, in company
with party of New Workers, was en-
1oying his after-dinner cigar in an up
town cafe His chair was tilted back
on its rear legs and diamond as big
as a Springfield bullet biazed in his
RULED shirt front
speaking of pekah, sah,' said the
tampa man as one of the party con-
ciuded story OF that game, permit
me TO observe that some of the most
remarkable pokah playahs in the coun-
Try ali to be found among Uncle Sans
private soldiers Yes, gentlemen, among
the enlisted men Of the regulars.
Remembah, gentlemen, that the en-
hsted man of the regulars is the most
cafe-free of men. The nickels with
winch he antes in a. small pOkah game
are nothing more To him than so many
beeah checks. 1t is the same with his
dollars in a biggah game. The neces-
sar1es of life he can lose only by bad
conduct. He can gamble away only his
lu%uries. That makes him the most
dashing of gamblahs, while constant
practice makes him most Dowahful
pokah playah. Yes, sir, and a most
skillful and dangerous deaiah.
At Tampa Heights last spring there
was a bahn-like building that the
n.
II that because it contained all the
animals, including the tigah. If there
exists game that was not on tan at
Noah's Ark | do not recall its name
The Droprietah of the ark did not run
the games. He simply ran the bah and
rented the tables and .layouts to the
soldiers. In that way he was able to
Juggle with ouah local laws foh many
weeks a private who had won
couple of hundreds at pokah could rent
a faro layout and open a snap foh his
less afiiuent comrades TO buck. In adj
dition to the banking games there
We're many games of draw pokah. The
place was packed to the doahs and
money was plentiful 1t did not take
long fob ouah southern professionals
TO realize the possibilities of Noah's
Ark
One evening l happened in and
noticed the operations of a couple of
that gentry whom 1 knew by sight and
reputation. Their names were Jack
son and England. and they were most
expert and dishonest gamblahs. Aftah
that used to drop in every evening
and watch their progress. They played
only draw pokah and were winning
steadily from the soldiers. There were
always a numbah of uniformed on
lookahs about their table and I could
see that every play of the professionals
" etso tiuSGlN SCruInlZeQ ana STUDIED. !
But no one evan interfered
We'll, sahs, one evening I found |
the patrons CT the Ark in a remarkably |
quiet mood. The drinkahs at the bah |
We're not, as usual, boisterous The |
playahs at othah tables cast furtive |
and eXpectant glances ovah their |
shoulders towahd the table where the /
CANADIANS were engaged with two SOL |
GierS. The crowd of bluecoats around |
a Ia !, n
1 felt that a denouement was at hand |
and edged up close to the game One !
OF the soldiers was strictly Sobah and /
the othah was apparently drunk 1t |
was the drunken soldiers deal. He !
shuffied the cards clumsily, passed (
them 10 the soldier on his right foh
the cut and dealt them about as skill /
fully as a niggah bay playing old !
sledge on a bale of cotton. Then he
hoWled fab a drink befoh the game
proceeded. Meanwhile, the gamblah,
England. who sat-opposite the drunken
soldier, picked up his hand and found J
four kings pat He slyly gave his
partner, Jackson. a glimpse of it.
Jackson and the sober soldier held
worthless hands The drunken soldier
turned from the table to take his drink
and at the same moment his sobah
also turned and asked an on
ooker back OF him foh a light foh his |
eiSah. In that instant Jackson deity
turned over the drunken soldiers hand
and showed it 10 England. 1t was
pat ace full on queens. At this act of
reachery l looked in surprise at the
Uniformed OnlOokahs. but their faces
we're as imDassiVe and Indifferent as
I they were Cinnamon. I was indig-
lant, sahS, and came very neah inter
ering, mahSelf
Having finished his drink. the
l-ar,
zane. Jackson. on his left, came in
With his ante. England, with foah
Kings, pat. raised it s20. The sobah
oldier threw his hand in the discahd
The drunken soldier just called but
he Two gamblahs continued raising
lis calls until every dollah on the
able was in the pot: for the drunken I
older borrowed and bet all his com
AIDES money. 1t looked like a plain
ase OF two men cross-lifting a third
ut of all his money on Il shuah thing.
When all the money WAS up. the
runken soldier dealt the draw. Jack
on drew three cards. England. with ,
oah kings, pat. drew none When il
anne to the drunken soldier instead =
+ standing pat on his ace full. he
ossed the two queens in the discahd
nd took two cahds. Then said Jack
on:
- 7 call table stakes
England smiled confidently ovah his
bah kings and said:
e I regret exceedingly that. having
o noah money ] must do likewise. Z
THE drunken soldier. suddenly be =
oming sobah, remarked with Indian 0
reVity: Il
Same heahr Y
Then he turned oVah foah aces and :
lked in the pot. Stuffing the big wads .
{ bills in his pockets. he got up from /
le table, stretched, yawned and said n
eepily: It's neah tapsr d