The Dickinson press., 1901-03-30
A POKER FAIRY TALE
QUEER CLIMAX or THE WIND UP
JACK POI or THE GAME.

QUEER CLIMAX or THE WIND UP
JACK POI or THE GAME.
Nasty Disrlaynd wsnaerfal Pswsrs
81 Perceptions and Ana1ysis, Won
the Pool and saved His Opnonsnt:
the Amount q tAe Last Haise.
.Manxy was n Of the best poker
players I ever saw. He was . good
winner and a good loser. He played
his cards all the time for everything
they were worth and then some more.
and he played a game that was simply
insoluble."
The board Of trade. man leaned back
in his chair and smiled rem%iniscently.
"Manxy not only had Hoyle down so
that he could recite the poker rules
backward and say sir after each
word, but he rose to the higher science
of the game. He made a careful study
Of every man around the board, and he
never played a card but what he darted
a keen, sweeping glance at every play
er and drew his conclusions as to what
they we're about to do. II a player had
any little tricks or habits that asserted
themselves in spite Of efforts to repress
them, Manly knew them by heart.
II will never forget the night he took
Carter into camp. Carter was a good,
cool, nervy player too. he was an old
player and possessed splendid judg-
ment. One night we had been playing
several hours, and as 1t was getting to-
ward daylight we agreed to have one
more round Of Jack pots and then go
home. We had our round of jack pots.
three Of which Carter won, and then
decided on n last consolation Jack
pot, with no limit but the roof and IS
to come in. Carter raised the come in
to $50, and everybody dropped out ex-
cept Manly and one other player.
Manly called for three cards. showing
that he had only one pair or nothing at
all; the other man took two cards. indi:
eating that he must have threes Of n
kind, or else he wouldn't have paid $50
for the privilege of playing any longer.
and Carter stood pat.
"That looked bad. Carter had never
been known to stand pat on anything
but something that was worth while.
He must have had something pretty
good to raise the come in to $50, and
his standing pat argued that he either
had tours or else a straight or a flush:
He had betrayed q nervous start when
he first picked up his hand, and 1t
argued that he had seen something aw-:
fully good. Now. Manly had seen the
start that Carter gave and knew his
style of play well enough to argue that
Carter had seen something wen better
than a straight or a flush. and that was
a straight flush, something that ZONES
once in a great. long wlia In n poker
game. In fact. Manly came to the
conclusion that Carter had a straight
flush, and the fact of the matter was
that a straight lush in spades. king
high, was just exactly what Carter had
seen in his five cards when he picked
them up.
"AIanxy deliberated a long time be-
fore he came In with his $40. but he
was out SIS Or 500 on the game, and
as it was the last pot he determined 10
stand a good bit Of money in the hopes
of making a recoup. He drew to a pair
of tens and caught n more. Manly
startea the betting with a SO biz The
ser man dropped out, and Carter saw
ind raised $25. That looked as
Efanxy's surmise about the
SUI lush which he thought Carter
was hdN1lnx was good. He deliberated
for some time Then he said:
".Carter, l. think and everybody
around here thinks yul've got some
thing better than fours. twas playing
you for that. But now I'isell you,
Carter, what I'm going to do. I'Tepo-
ticed that your eyesight is bad and that
tobacco smoke when it is right in front
Of your face always i%nterferes, for q
moment or two with your vision. Just
as you picked up your cards l noticed
that you pulled q great cloud of smoke
out Of your mouth and that the cloud
of smoke was In your eyes when you
looked at your cards. Now, ! believe
that you think you have 2 straight
flush, but Idon't believe that you read
your cards correctly. I am going to do
something that may seem to be awfully
bad poker, considering the hand Ishave,
but l am going to play you for your
poor eyesight I see your bet Of $25
and raise it SIS more on the ground
that your eyes deceived you. You'd
better studysyour cards before you see
my raise
I'VE all waited in breathless silence
for a moment, then Carter quietly
threw his cards face upward on the
table.
you're right he said quietly. I
thought I had a spade straight flush,
king high,i In my hand. What I thought
vas q nine Of spades was a nine Of
clubs. lose'"-Chicago Tribune.