The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-03
Odd Games of Draw Poker.
New York SUM-

| A party of card players were seated
about the hotel corridors discussing old
days and old happenings. Among them
was Doc Magrew of Helena, Mont,
formerly well known in Chicago, New
orleans and other gambling centers.
This is the story he told:
I've Travelled from Maine to Califor-
mia and Chicago to New Orleans, but 1
| reckon that Montana has seen as stiff
poker and faro games as any of them.
[ remember one remarkable stud game
played right here in Helena, and not
over ten years ago, either.
'Swede Sam, Brockey Pete and sew
eral cattlemen had been sitting in the
game all night long without any start
ling winnings, when. about o'clock.
all the cattlemen departed. This left
| only Swede Sam and Brockey Pete, and
as they both had about $4,000 in front
of them. and as they bore no love for
each other, it was surmised that one or
the other would go broke shortly, al
though no one expected it on the first
hand. The two first cards dealt, of
course, went to the hole Each had put
up IS ante, and after looking at his
card Pete bet 800, which Sam promptly
covered. The next round was dealt,
Sam drawing a king, while Pete secured
an ace. Pete bet $500 and Sam saw the
bet. Again the cards were dealt, Sam
and Pete both drawing for an eight
spot. Pete passed and Sam bet $780,
Pete saw the bet and two more cards
We're dealt, Pete drawing a four and
Sam covered the same. The last hand
was now dealt, Pete getting a ten-spot,
While Sans was a nine. There were
two hands spread out and not a pair
in sight. Sam had a king, eight, deuce
and nine, while Pete had an ace, eight,
four and ten, and it was Pete's bet.
Without the least hesitation he pushed
all his chips to the center of the table.
Sam hesitated, and then asked that
they be counted. This was done. and
the bet was seen to amount to 81, 59o.
Again Sam meditated. Then he fingered
a stack of chips and looked at Pete's
face, which was frigid enough to be
used as an ice-making machine.
" I'll call that bet said Sam, finally,
although his hand was only ace high,
he having an ace in the hole. That was
the nerviest bet | ever saw. Did he win
it? OF course. Pete had ace high, but
Sans king beat Pete'S jack in the hole.
Everyone thought Pete had pair, and
when he turned over, exposing a worth
less hand, the surprise OF the crowd
was indescribable.
THE largest bet ever made was up
in the old capital 1 was working the
graveyard trick-that is, from midnight
to a. m. I was just off shift, having
been relieved by one of the proprietors.
/ was just pocketing my days salary
standing there celebrating whether to
try my luck, when the door opened and
in walked cattleman who had just re-
turned on the overland train from Chi
cage, whittier he had taken a load of
steers. 1t was the last turn out of the
box and the lookout had announced:
Last turn, gentlemen; to 1 on the
call He walked up to the layout,
and, laying down a roll of bills, said:
Ace, trey for that money The pro-
pretor asked him how much there was,
and upon being told about $1,000, he
proceeded to turn with as much ease as
if the bet were two-bits
. 1.-THE first card to appear was an ace.
and a flush was seen to appear on the
cheeks of both, thoroughbred gamblers
as they were, for the bet then stood
four to one against the house, and
chances even. Slowly the dealer pushed
the ace from the box. True to the call,
the trey was the next card. Not word
was uttered. The dealer counted out
the roll which was found to contain
81 GAO. He gave the cattleman back his
bet, and as his winning called for more
than there was in the drawer, it was
necessary to write out a check for the
$500.
zone of the longest games of draw