The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-27
FARO TOO SQUARE A GAME.
The Old Gambler Says It Has Become
Unpopular.

mo. young man: faro amt PLAYED
much any more" said the old gambler.
THAT grand old gambling game passed
away with honest gamblers. You don't
see any Of those old time square gam
blers, do you, bud? 1 haven't seen one
of the old stock for many a day. Why,
the games Of these days are nothing
but pikers. II somebody should open
up and deal faro in this town he
wouldn't get any play except on the
high card and the bank wouldn't take
in enough winnings in a night TO pay
the porter.
Faro, son, is too square a game for
these times; the percentage fer the
house isn't big enough The gamblers
killed gambling because they got so
cheap and greedy that sensible men
quit gambling. / was a faro dealer
for forty years and I've seen more
money won and lost at the grand old
game than it would take to start half
a dozen banks. 1t used to be that a
faro bank without bank roll of $4,000
would be called a shoestring bank and
nobody but pikers would buck it. Such
a bank as that usually had a limit of
about 800 on bets. but I've seen wide
open banks where you could bet yell
low chips in stacks as high as cats
when the faro banks were Datronized
by rich men, such as s.ockmen, miners,
rancheros, contractors and big mer-
chants.
II see $4,000 stacked on a. cat-hop
once" said the old gambler. suddenly
biting the end off his cigar and blowing
away furious cloud of smoke.
Whats a cat-hop?"
why a cat-hop's a cat-hop." the old
nj r-h
the last three cards in the box when
the deal is out That is it's cat-hop
If two of the cards are pair. Or IN
stance, suppose the deal is do. TO
four cards. One card shows and there
are three others under IL, say a pair or
trays and a king. That's cat-hop and
if you call the turn on cat-hop the
bank pays four for one If You should
play the cat-hop tray-king and the
tray should lose and the king win
you'd win four for one Sabe?
swell, this cat-hop I'm telling about
happened way back in the latter SOS
Sam Cherry and me was taking turns
dealer and lookout for Bill Kelly. 1t
was in the early winter when cattle
trade was good and the stockmen were
bucking the tiger every night. A Dig
fellow named Thompson had been win
ming like a streak of lightning. In two
days play he was $4,000 ahead of the
bank. There were a dozen other cat
tlemen around the layout and everv-
body was betting yellow chips-four
for s25-six and a quarter piece A
cat-hop comes up and THOMPSON saws.
fellers. Pm plungin' on the cat Tne
other fellows laughed because Tnomp-
son was regarded as heady gambler
and heady gamblers usually leave cat
hops for pikers.
Thompson looks over the case
keepers tab and sees that there are
two fiveS and queen under the ten
spot that showed in the box. He looks
over at me an says. gimme marker
for 10000 I glanced up at Kelly who
was standing near the lookout. He
nodded his head. 1 handed Thompson
the marker.
CT play it queen five for s1O,Ooo,'
says Thompson.
Now, you know it takes long nerve
to bet $4,000 on anything and it takes
a longer nerve to bet s4o'Voo. heny
stood to lose SAC, 1000, but he never bat
ted an eye. Sam Cherry was leaning
forward in the lookout chair, with his
ewes bulged out like pot legs. l held
my wrist under the table for an in
slant just to steady my hand and then
[ says, Gents are you all set% NOBODY
was set except Thompson. He Seacned
Tor teddy the porter was handing
around and / says, Mister Thompson,
here goes your tenspot.'
'I pushes the ten out and there was
the five; the next one was the queen
and the other five IVES the hook card |
Thompson looked through the glass
as he poured the liquor down his
throat and as he wiped his mouth on
his sleeve he said: They'd been one |
,ank less in Redbud if that air queen |
ady had a cum fust- Thompson |
played on that night and the next |
lay, but he lose back his winnings and |
I, 900 more to Kelly before he quit.
Faro is a square game. 4 never |
lee it dealt crooked in the whole forty |
years 1 was at it. In them days IL |
would have cost big money to hire a |
,race dealer. There was too much |
LANCER of getting shot. / saw one |
rocked trick at faro end in a killing /
,nce. A gambler named Patterson had |
,een hanging around the house for a |
week or two and one day he began to !
,uck the bank heavy. About two deals
fsd been run out when he asked sor |
lew deck The porter brought it and l |
broke the seal, ran through the cards
md put them in the box Patterson
vas sitting at my left and seemed to
watch me pretty close. He didn't wait
or cases or anything, but piunked
Iown $500 on the ace. coppered. and
when the card showed I paid him. The
Iext ace that showed sure enough
here he was with $500 on it, open, and
paid him again. Kelly says. Aces
must be yore fav-rite. Mister Patter- /
on and the words wern't out of
zelly's mouth before PUNK goes $500
more, coppered, on the ace and out she
ops loser.
II paid the bet and Kelly edging
round close to Patterson, saws,
Mister Patterson yore limit is 81 till
he deals out and then I'll cash yo're
hips
What fur?' says Patterson, push
ng back his chair.
30, because says Kelly.
Amt afraid of losing your money,
re you? said Patterson, bluffy like.
That riled Kelly and he reaches for
he box. You BACKED the edges of the
ces in this deck, any you're a thief.
aid Kelly, reaching for his shooting
ron. Patterson raised up with bowie
n his hand and Kelly paid the funeral ,
expenses next day out of the crooked
of this peart sport
How did he mark the cards?"
why, he bribed the niger porter to
ing in a deck on us"
What became of the porter"
A smile fitted across the face of the
Id gambler and he said, meekly: I'VE
ever knew"
Cuttlefish Ink.