The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-08-18
LUCK AND SKILL AT POKER.
OLD NAN GREENHUT TELLS o.
SOME CANES HE SAW.
a I.enE Run NJ Misfortune Brought tn an
m ny the Deuce of Crubs -Anether
case In which q skiifui Dealer Heat
Man VINO Played the Game ON Isck

Luck h sure a queer thing. said old
man Greenhut. ~ he leaned his elbows
on the bar and looked meditatively after
q prosperous Appearing mar who had just
strolled In with a friend. and after taking
n drink had walked out, absent mindedlv
ncglectins to pick up tho change for
the silver dollar he had thrown down In
payment.
There goes q man. he continued. after
musing a few moments, that was one o.
tho unluckie-t fellers that ever rified a
deck o. cards for the first thirty-hve years
or 30 that he was a ~meandering along the
dusty highway o. life. There didn't seem
TO he no kind o. trouble handed out no
where within q hundred mile O. where
Sam Sanger was but what he'd get there
In time Ca TAX a good big hunk Of IL sfore
twas all gone. Then all Of n sudden he
drawed the deuce o clube, scttin' into n
game o. poker one night. an the whole
tide changed. right on the minute, an since
then ! don't reckon he's ever knowcd what
twas TO ave things go agin him like they
used to.
Now. I've herd feller- say that there
was more luck than anything else about
poker. an when I hear EN- say IL ] arays
lttA " tlla fiN NiAAN WIN 80 - 50
There was a Teller I'm up the river come
an settled In Arkansas City sope ten year
ago that useter play poker on that principle.
an | must say, he done very well at IL for a
time. Feared like he lad all the luck there
was some nights, an other times he couldit
win a pot. no matter what cards he might
hold. Two seen him win n hundred dollars
on a pair o. sevens. an I've seen him loee
four hundred on an are full. That amt
nothin' very strange when it's took by
itself o. cours., but the funny part 81 u
was that them sevens nome on one o his
lucky nights when he win everything IN
sight. no matter now poor hs cards Was.
an the are full come one night when ne
didn't take In a pot.
There amt no d.nyin' but what there IL
such a thing as luck an II does have a
heap to do with the game o poker, but
the man as plays luck against skill Is goin
10 lose In tine long run. Thu here teller
I'm up the river, his name was Bill Dob
son, used to say that II he ony had Iuck
IL didn't make no difference 10 him who he
was playin' against. but h 60, come up
with. very slick. one night when Jim APP
pleby s.t into the game. jim was lust
the other kind o. player He use'er say
Z he didn't care how good any mans luck
might be, II he on'y had his regular turn at
the deal.
This here night Dob-on. he'd been a
winnin' right along for more n an hour
when Appleby come into tho game. Ap-
pleby he came In an looked on a while
afore he offered 10 play. Feared like ne
was a watchin' how the other feilers ali
seemed to be losin' their nerve against
Dobson's luck. - = Z they wa NJ maxim
no sort OF play even when they had him
heat. which van often. After he'd
looked for awhile. though, he spoke Ny
sudden an says he'll take a little OF II
there amt no objections.
Nobody mad none, an he flashed a
hundred right at the start. i see there's
one man got that much In front OF HIM,
he says. an I always likes Ia have as many
chips on the table AZ any other man mas
just naturally Their. want nobody made
no objections 90 that. neither
They hadn't played long afore they all
seed that ApPleby, Was playin, a plkin
game too. Feared like he hadn't nerve
To CONS. in when anybody else opened the
pot, or else he want holdin' nothin'. for
about all h- did for the first half hour was
Ia ante when IL came To his turn. an chip
In for all the jackpots without ever ge'tin
none OF hem.
sTwa'n't like Appleby to play that way,
an I made up my min that he was a layin'
for Dob-on, an II looked To me n though
there'd be some fun when he ht on him.
which was more'n likely To be on his own
deal
.surr enough Il came. Dobson had
been hllin' fushe- In a most outrageous
lucky wav Feared like he couldn't catch
the wrong suit when he drawed one card
~ | reckoned he were likely To get q pretty
good high nr.h on Appleby's deal sure
enough he did II was q jackpot an u
had been -weetened two or three times. no
RELY good deslln' havin' been did till u
came Appleby's deal Dobson AT on MS
right. 80 he had most the last say. an
when he saw an ace. king, jack nush Ia hl-
hand. pat, he opened !, for the size o th.
pot. all the others but Applehy havih'
-Appleby studied his hand for a bong
time afore he comes up. 'Peared like he
was -tudyin' whether to rai-e or not, but
finally he did rai-e il twenty. Dob-on havin'
opened for twelve. just naturally the
other four laid down. lone ~ 'em havin'
openers 'twa'n't no time To be piayin Tor
monkey fushes nor DRAWN to AGE. king,
against openers an a raise.
AFTER they'd passed. Dobson made u
twenty mon 10 play. and Appieby made
good after another long study. He soon
did look like n mar that had a chanst Tor
a good han but was afraid TO bank on II
to no great extent. An uob~on' bein
a man a. played on his luck always, an
was havin' a particular good run that night,
was cocksure o winnin' the pot.
When Appleby picked w tb. deck to
serve the draw. he says How many an
Doh-on never saws nothin' hut pushes up
a stack a. r-ds, bein' ten dollars, as the
reds was fifty cents. An then Applehy
s,udicd a while longer, an finally says,
Well, III take one. an II it's a spade ]
reckon III have TO raise you Az he
-Sure enough II wer- the nine o spades.
Now, Do,pson's flush was n spade flush an
him havin', n ! said. ac-. King an lack,
surs thought he had a cinch. u were a.
plain as anything that Applchy was pullin'
Tor n spade flush, an. q c.ur-e. Iobson's
would I've the best hand.
lie hugged hi-=elf with delight when
.pplrhy pushed up all the chips he had In
. ZlallnW R.alNH