The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-09-01
Bit OF POKER ETHICS.

Held.
New York Sun: let go the an
Choir" cried the skipper.
-Four poker hands were slapped
down on the cabin table and four land
lubbers started in four different dlrec-
lions to obey the order.
You're It, Penheid." said the skipper
to the man who came nearest to obey
ing the orders. THAT IS the rope right
In front OF you"
Penfeld let the anchor drop and the
yacht was presently riding quietly.
Nov, see here" said the skipper, q
little man with large inspiration, II
have put UP with you win never learn
the names OF the different parts OF q
yacht and ] am going to fix things SO
that you viii know at once what /
want done and you can obey me In turn
instead Of all jumping on deck at once"
Acting on his inspiration, he took q
discarded poker deck and fastened q
card to each article regarding which he
might be Obliged to issue an order. linz
medlately he had an intelligent and SER
yfceabie crew. When he called out TO
"let 70 the king OF clubs" or to "tnke
in the queen of hearts" the landlub-
bers Jumped to their proper places like
old sea dogs. With this satisfactory ar
ranEement they were able to continue
their poker game with but few inter-
ruptions, When an order was called
one man could attend to It with the
others laid their cards on the table
and waited, instead Of all rushing
away in four different directions in the
hope that one would be In the right
place to perform the required service.
And now that the situation is known.
you must get acquainted with the
players. Chief OF the group was John
Balm, millionaire, who once announced
in O burst Of unusual confidence that he
never played for more thnn a fve-dol-
lar ante, for when one got above that
he was gambling. OF course he looked
on any game with a limit on 1t as
merely showdown and the others In
the party suspected that he was show
ing condensation to them when he
took a hand In their little dollar limit
game. When he played poker the
cards occupied secondary part: for he
played the men more than anything
else, He seldom paid any attention to
the cards during the first few rounds,
but devoted himself to noting how the
different players acted when they bat
tered their hands in the draw. He as
serted his right to use every fact he
could observe In game Of poker and
the keenness Of his observation was
marvellous. It is recorded that on one
occasion he met man with a corpor'
alton face who proved TO be worthy
foeman. BY dlnt Of close watching,
however, he finally discovered that his
rival had one weakness. When he bet
tered his hand, although he never
changed q muscle Of his face or showed
the slightest tTemor Of his well-trained
voice, the little finger on his left hand
twItched perceptibly. Banking on this
knowledge, Balm had beaten the other
man to q standstill. With such play
er in the game 1t naturally followed
that everyone was keyed up to his
best: for the smooth, leather-like face
and steel gray eyes made one feel that
the game was presided over by the
fates themselves.
The most enthusiastic player was VIII
Penfeld, n young married man who
used to tell about his wonderful baby,
when they were not playing, and who
was enjoying his first outing since his
married life began. From his CONVEX
satlon 1t was easy to see that he was
one Of the most uxorlous of men. His
wife knew all about his business and
was his chief adviser. The sole rea-
son for his presence IN the party was
that his wife was still young and had
ideas about allowing husband pro-
per amount Of freedom. She had urg-
ed him to take this holiday and be one
of the boys again. He enjoyed himself
like a half broken colt turned out to
pasture and kept up enthusiastically
the game OF poker which Balm took In
part stoiitiiy. Eikins, the third mem
Der OF the party, need not be especially
described for he was one OF those self
ehaclnE men who enjoy themselves
without the inobtrusiVe and may be
bored without showing It. He could AL
ways be counted on TO take hand In n
game OF poker wherever and whenever
proposed, As for the last member,
Smith, he possesses some high-priced
Information about the game which he
would willingly dispose OF to some rich
beginner who Is nobly blessed with a
beginners luck.
For five days OF the cruise they play
ed most OF the day and all OF the nights
without any occurrence especially eX-
citing. During the daytime while they
were cruising, the skipper stood at the
wheel and issued his orders from time
to time: from where he sat he could
watch the game by looking down into
the cabin and could take part In any
conversation that took place during the
evenings he naturally took part In the
game.
They touched at various towns and
club houses along the Sound and owing
to the varying luck Of the game had
each cashed checks so that there was
considerable money In circulation about
the yacht. AS Is usual where game Is
kept up continuously, the limit becomes
irksome. With only dollar limit no
one could do any blufling, so when PEN
field finally exclaimed: Say, fellows,
this Is the last day Of our cruise. Say
we wind up with n game OF poker that
will be really q game. move that we
throw the limit TO the fishes" All
agreed and the game proceeded. PEN
field was the largest winner and so the
others had no computations about let
ting him into game that was much too
warm for him. They took fresh deck
OF cards and began. The skipper inter-
riinted them from time to time, but In
spite OF that they continued to get more
and more Interested. The bets con-
tlnually crept higher. At last there
came a Jack pot that Seemed rs II II
would never open, ana even with the
ten-cent ante there was several dollars
in 1t. Finally It came 10 Bain's deal.
The cards were dealt to Penilcld on his
left, Elkins, opposite and Smith on MS
right.
This pot is worth opening for $?."
said Penneld. after looking at his cards.
The pot was worth opening for much
more, and the others all knew that he
was only trying to coax them In. Elk
lns came in but Smith dropped out, for
one OF the things he had learned In
purchasing his knowledge OF poker Is
that n speckcl medlocrity which shows
neither a pair nor the nucleus Of
straight or n flush is nm excellent thing