The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1900-10-03
THE LAST DAYS OF
HARRY ALBRO.
A Little Talk With the Famous Sport.
ing Man Who Has Now Retired
. to Southern California.

George Albro. once known as the most
scientific poker player in the world.
! lives retired among the orange groves
of Pomona Valley in Southern Cali
fornia.
He Is one of the scant few profess
sional gamblers that ever got together
q fortune In cards and kept it, He
was born In Philadelphia in 1888 and
was famous poker player in Wash
ington before he was % He taught
the Prince of Wales the principles of
poker. and in 1870, when Gen. Phil
Sheridan was in Paris. he was asked
by the General to inform no less a per-
son than Napoleon Ill, the mysteries
OF the great American game.
Albro Is in poor health. and with the
fortune saved from the hundreds of
thousands of dollars that have passed
through his hands. he has babe fare
well TO the green table and the clicking
chips. He won't even play friendly
games of whist nowadays.
4 learned my first card games in
East Philadelphia forty three years
age" said Mr.. Albro. as he sat beneath
the shade of an orange tree and inhaled
the odor of clumps of roses. Il showed
an aptitude for cards, and when | went
House Ca place secured for me by
Thaddeus Stevens) l saw the finest
players of poker and faro there were
anywhere. l have watched l.. G. La
mar Stephen a. Douglas, Ben Hill and
Samuel J. Randall play poker many a
time.
Yes. l have laid by some money. but
II had never had good sister. who
made it 4 point 10 beg me every time
she saw M through some years to in
vest my earnings in real estate and
taEe a solemn vow never to sell or
mortgage any part of IT, should have
been dead broke, Ike every man l have
ever met around the green cloth.
4 suppo=e that superstition will al
ways be a chief characteristic of a
gambler IT'S part of a sports life as
much as thinking. Now. I've always
argued that | was above such nonsense
but since I've retired from the profess
sion and for the first time in my life
begun 10 look at problems of life from
the standpoint of a legitimate business
man, | see how a whole lot of super
stitions possessed me ana didn't know
it. The most common superstition
among all professional gamblers is that
it is bad luck to win the first hand, and
that, sure as fate, the winner of the
first pot in poker will lose the game
For years I've kept out of the first
jackpot in the game to the best of my
ability, and when Eve been forced in it
and won. I've thrown up my hand for
half an hour or SO, until the bad luck
has gone away. A common superstition
OF gamblers in the far West, but not
in the East, is that the mixing of bank
notes OF any form of paper money with
piles of gold and silver invites III luck
/ knew a man. Harry Parker, the
greatest faro dealer, by the way, ever
known in Helena. Mont. to quit a game
for good when he saw that some one
about the table had carelessly mixed
the paper and coin stakes.
Il know that l myself had a six days
run of wonderful luck knocked galley
west once by fool who piled stack of
golden eagles on top of some paper
bills at my side. The most common
superstition the world over-you see
that l admit II is superstition. but |
believe in it just the same-is that turn
ing around in ones chair reverses the
luck This belief extends to the posi-
ton of the seats, some of which in a
long game Of poker become known as
lucky seats and others as unlucky
seats. 1t is common for one player to
ask another player to change seats with
him."