The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-08-18
How a Poor Hand at Poker
Won a Fortune.
BUT OWNER NEVER SAW IT
Owned oil and Did Not Know
\ Streak Of Luck that Gould Not
BE Broken With
Club.

IN the car, Dut no was also t1o IllOSI 81
lent. Scarcely a word had no uttered since
the train left Omaha, except to his travel
ing companion, and by the time Ogden
had been passed there were several Of
the other passengers who had developed
considerable curiosity about him
It was the long haired man especially
who began to show something akin to
anxiety about It, II would have takcn
no great powers OF divInation to deter.
mine the theatrical character Of this
mans occupation, even II his lam
guage had not loudly and frequently pro.
claimed It. But the tall, broad-shoulderad
man simply sat In his place, and played
q kind Of two-hnnded whist with the
whlte-haired old gentleman with whom
he was travelling, and kept his mouth
shut while his wits worked.
At 2Winnemucca the actor jumped up
with camera to try to get some pictures
OF the blanketed Indians who were sitting
along the platform. Maybe the tall man
had got his problem all thought out. or
maybe he Just thought It was his come
in. Whatever It was, he' looked UP as the
actor started and called out to him:
'&"You can't got picture OF those In
dIansl'
Can't" calculated the actor, In aston.
ishment, Why not?"
1T HAD BEEN DONE.
no." answered the tall man, any
more'n you can make pair OF deuces
beat fush.''
The actor stopped and leaned against
the arm of the seat opposite the tall
man.
"But that has been done'' he said.
Il never happened to see IT, replied
the tall man. 1T never was done 10
me-"
The actor looked at him thoughtfully
for moment. There was something In
the expression of the big man, the way
his head was set on his shoulders. the
contour OF the jaw, that helped one to
understand that It might not be healthful
to trifle with his feelings
YES" continued the actor. y saw that
done once. in fact did It, That was my
one chance to be rich, and let 1t 90.
Now s'pose Ill be lucky II avoid
walking hereafter III
Both the tall man and his partner look
ed up with an expression which plainly
demanded the rest of the story.
GU should never. show down after n
bluff" said the tall man. TITS bad luck
sure. Wouldn't they stand for it?''
''Oh, yes replied the actor. '"The other
fellow stood for 1t all right. but It -
the hoodoo that got me. admit that ita
bad luck to show up winning blur
Nobody but a chump does it. It certainly
fixed me. all right.
THE TEXAN IN 5rFITl GAME
There were five nf7lIs IN the game. I
was playing In WASHINGTON TINT winter
1t was only few years aEo-the show
was, I mean-and sometimes usnd t. get
into game with some OF the Congress-
men.
q had heard betoro that they ran mp
some pretty steep sa mes ono. in n while,
but had no real notlon OF the way they
do play or I should nevor have taken n
hand with any OF them. But tho first
time did was fairly lucky, and after
that ] suppose l got a little datfy on 1t
and thought could come out OF 1t MS
we'll MS the next one. but some of those
fellows were millionaires and had about
as much business playing poker with
them as have trying to fly. When 1t
comes to an open game have observed
that big pile is a great assistance to q
steady nerve In making the other side
look for nickels to pay street car fare
home with. .5tiils
There was man from Texas In the
game the night speak Of, and you
wouldn't have to get out the biographical
dictionaries to see who he was II should
tell you his name. He had been drawing
n government salary for spending his
winters In Washington most Of the time
since the war, ! guess, Also there was
a Western Senator and n colonel from the
War Department besides another Just
plain, common man and myself
A GOOD RUN OF LUCK.
. Unuoer how 1IcIS Rms SOmatllneS. You
couldn't beat me that night With
sledge- hammer, caught EN- coming
and going. s
Every time filled 1t was sure to be
the winning hand, Every time missed
filing on the draw It turned out on the
play that would have been skinned TO
death II had caught what I wanted,
There's no doing that sort Of luck, and IT
wasn't so very long before begun to
nile IN the stuff In front of mo rs II
were running the bank al Monte Carlo.
,'You know how often It happens tina
there will be one man In game whom
vou cnn beat every hand. 1t never makes
any difference what no holds Sn'l always
have something little bit DETER.
''lve had that happen to me when
was the follow that was getting left every
time, and It always nearly drives me
crazy. can stand losing rs well ~ The
next man, I think, but to llaVs II 20 nj
ways to the Same man, ana 10 nanas tllil
arc always just point or Two better
than Nine sure puts me on the ragged
edge before long.
''Well that was what was happening
to that Texas man the night nm telling
you about. He was certainly game about
it. never saw n man take run OF
mean luck better than he did, and he
used to come after me when he got u
good hand as II he meant to eat me UP.
COlJl,DN'T BEAT HIM WITH a CLUB,
II reckon he figured after while that
i. had got to change before long and
GA CHI time he had something nice he
thought the change would come. Then
he would go after me to get It all back
at once.
''The end OF that sort of play Is certain,
II a man sticks to IT, There Is always a
lot of talk about q change OF luck being
hound TO come, but l doubt II either OF
YOU gentlemen has ever seen It come
during the game,
y III surely never did, and 1t did not come
to my friend from Texas that night. lie
lust kept plunglng and plungtng. going
Ina rder each time, until at last he went
hrrka .