The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-06-11
HOW A COLD DECK WAS
WORKED ON WOMEN
POKER PLAYERS

There are poker games and games of
poker in Butte, but as a rule there is
not much excitement in connection with
any of them until some one cries CON
stable!" ('police!" does not go now or
one of the players breaks a fat jackpot
and the others are we'll enough fixed with
cards. and money to prevent the breaker
from rakinc in the ducats on a pair of
jacks.
Imagine six persons seated at cir
cular table in a room in which the fur
nishings are as luxurious and costly as
those of the apartments. of an Aston or
Vanderbilt! think of a $4,000 jackpot in
the center of the table and not one of
the six men around it holding worse than
three of a kind before the draw and the
imagination is in shape to receive the
reflection of one of the exciting rami-
f1cations of game of draw poker. Then,
to add spice to the picture, imagine you
hear one player accusing another of hav-
ing rung in a cold deck and punctuat-
ing his accusations by demonstrating the
sincerity of his contrite profession.
All of this is not real poker as played
according to Hoyle or square deal, but
it was a feature in a recent game in
this city in which one of those who took
part switched the well mixed pack of
cards in use for one he had previously
fixed and thereby fractured his social
prestige with his friends.
There were six men in the game: not
men who make gambling business. but
men who occasionally meet under the
lurid glare of the club rooms chandelier
to discuss matter in general and the
game Of draw poker in particular. While
the play was on, one of the players left
the room. but returned just as it came
his turn to deal the cards. A jackpot
had been formed and it's proportions
were sufficient in size to make it's ac-
QUESTION desirable. The returned play
er dealt the cards and the man at his
left promptly opened the pot for IS on
an ace full. The man next to him stayed
and the next one. after making the good
raised it $40. Two Of the players dropped
their hands. but the others kept raising
each other until their raising material
gave out. On the draw the dealer and
the man at his left stood pat" but the
other two. who had concluded to see their
hands out, drew two cards each. Strange
as it might seem. each completed his
hand. making two full hands and two
Pushes that were lined uD against each
other for final attack on the pot. All
Of the resource at the command Of the
four was rushed to the center of the ta-
BILE and for minute or two it looked
as if the players would bet their boots,
jack knives and throw their lives in on
the side. but they finally drew the line
on cash and called for a showdown. The
four hands fell on the table together
and the four men that held them reach
ed for the money. The dealer, however,
had the top one, small straight flush,
which he had generously bestowed upon
himself as a panacea for the tired feel
ing possessed by the average man whose
momentary affairs require an occasional
boost to prevent total collapse. While
the hands were being examined one Of
the two players who had dropped three
of a kind because of the hot pace set
by the other four. picked uD the re-
mainder of the deck and looked at the
first two cards to see whether he would
have caught anything. He found that
he would have filled his hand. Then
the other player, who had been COM
PEELED to drop three mines, made an ex-
animation and found that he. too. would
have filled his hand. which would have
made four full hands and two f1ushes
This don't CO." said one of the party
addressing the man who had dealt the
cards. Cash in your chips and leave
the club"
The dealer cashed all right. but KEEP
his seat at the table until one of the
players reached over and pulled a decl
of cards from under him. He then ad
mitted that he had given them a colo
deck deal with view to making clear
up. Each man took back his share Of
the pot shook hands with himself or
his close call from financial humiliation
and then took hand in firing the colo
decker out of the house.