The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1900-04-21
ETHICS OF DRAW POKER.
A Veteran Sporting Mans UncomDli-
mentnry View of the Gam
bler's Favorite Game.

us it possible for man to learn TO
play poker?" was asked OF veteran
sport the other day.
"Of course it is" he snorted. THAT
is, it is possible for Some people. Inc
man with sporting blood in his veins
and without too much regard for ethics
in his composition can learn to play
poker. This talk about everything be-
ing in the cards you hold is all rot. l
haze seen a man lay down three aces
to a pair of deuces, and that certainly
demonstrates that there is more In
playing poker than the value OF the
hand. Of course such thing as that
would not be possible where the limit
was about the size of the pot but then
q good poker player steers clear of any
such sketches as that. 1t places the
sport on the same level with the sucker,
and there is no chance for man to dis
play his skill or knowledge of the
game.
ut is easy enough to spot sucker"
he continued "He can come into the
game with as much Of swagger as he
can muster. but he will show his weak
ness inside Of ten minutes, and then
he will have more trouble on his hands
than he can take care of in year. lie
is slow about getting his ante to the
center of the table, and if the cards
run against him he is always cursing
his luck and making things generally
unpleasant for the players. II he gets
a good hand he crows over his winnings
until the others get sore. You can al
ways tell whether he has good hand
or not, for he has never learned the
value of self-control and his exultation
is always evident. He never has tho
slightest idea of the percentage he
stands Of winning, and is always com
ing in on short pairs. That is where he
loses. He can't wait for fortune to
come to him, and he is always trying
to bull his luck He will chip away
more money in two hours than q good
player would in two days.
watch the contrast between the
sucker and the trained sport. The lat
ter comes and sits down to the table
quietly and without any fuss. He
skins his hand carefully and keeps
an eye on every play around the board.
No one ever has to tell him to ante, and
he never holds post mortem' to see
what he might have got. He may not
make move for half an hour, but
when he gets out on a play he will
break some ones heart, either on a
bluff or with a hand that the devil him
self could not beat
"Is it right to cheat? Well, you are
getting too personal. won't admit
that / would do such thing, but if
there is any crooked work going on
am going to have my share Of the pro-
ceeds or know the reason why. This
talk about a gentlemen's game is all
dream. If man plays poker and
keeps at it he is going to be party to
something crooked, whether he plays
at fashionable club or in wine room
at the back of a saloon. For my own
part, 1 prefer to play in hard game.
where something is liable to be pulled
off. for / know that l have TO look out
for myself Humanity is reduced to a
moral level when it comes to gambling,
and while some of these silk stockings
NAV prate about their honor and all
that it is only their fear of being found
out that keeps them from being as
crooked as any longshoreman. provid-
ing, of course, that they need the
money.
"a man can't have too squearnish a
regard for ethics or conscience if he is
going to play poker. If | see cheating
going on ] merely declare myself in.
II 1 see a dirty card thrown OF catch
a man holding ont 1 think my proper
course would be to hum gently TO my
self and say, as if ] were grooming a lul-
laby: ] want a slice Of that. / think
I will have a slice of that, for the rea-
son that it is too good to pass up
Then the man who turned the trick
would be Pretty apt to give me the
wink: ! would get a divvy for preserv-
ing the peace.
.Now. 1 admit that could get uT
and make a great roar. I could slam
nv cards on the table and protest that
I was Kentuckian and q gentleman
and shat. begad. sahl I would tolerate
nothing of tlaa sort in 8 game wherein