The Elbert County tribune., 1903-11-19
STIFF POKER GAME.
LED TO MISUNDERSTANDING
AND TRAGEDY.
QuarreIed Ovsr the Rates of the Play
and One Man Had His Eye Gouged
Out while the other Was cut To
Pieces. =

4Hc man Wuo hltS INTO Bdhc u
poker in strange region without first
understanding the rules OF the game
is liable to get into trouble. says an
old Californian. For there's a lot of
different kinds of poker played in this
country. and the worst of 1t is that
the man who plays the kind Of game
he was raised on in his own section
OF the country is always blind to the
beauties of the entirely different game
that he drifts into when he gets away
from his own neck O. the woods.
suited pretty seriously for two play
ers on account of the lack Of under
standing betwewen them before the
game started as to Just what the
hands were worth. 1t was in Vallejo.
bac! in SO. and Vallejo was then a
red-hot town. was In Ned Car
baugh's big Vallejo faro mill on Sun
day afternoon-for the game was as
wide-open on Sundays as on any other
day-trying to pump little sense
into the head of fool friend OF mine
dollar he had in the world at VAL
lejos brace games. when one of the
lookoiits. who knew OF the interest
l took in watching a good game OF
poker. although ] never played the
game except with friends. came over
to where l was standing and said:
Il ou's got good game of two-hand-
ed draw on with n man upstairs: go
up and take 1t IN" He referred to
Lou Corby. who was then about the
hottest poker player in the state of
California-he went out to the bark
of several Arizona shotguns about 10
years ago. When went upstairs to
the poker room Corby was sitting in
his shirt sleeves opposite a solid
looking man OF 40 or thereabouts,
dressed in the uniform of a steam
ship officer. He was the chief en-
gineer on one of the big Panama boats.
and having been transferred some
time before from the east to the west
coast, he was ignorant of the Cali
fornia brand of poker. There was a
big jack pot in the center of the table
when l went upstairs to look on at
the game. 1t had been sweetened half
a dozen times and already contained
something close to $1,000 in double
eagles, but neither man seemed to be
ablo to catch openers. 1t went around
a number of times. and every time
1t passed each man sugared 1t for $50.
The chief engineer dealt hand. Corby
was one of those frappe chaps who
pick up their cards one by one, and
when he had picked up his first two
cards he calmly jolted 5000 into the
pot. remarking: Its open." before
looking at the other cards.
This fistfull of mines worth $500
MORE" said the chief engineer. who
was a pretty self-contained chap him
self, showing the yellow stuff into the
pot.
Then you want to play It for
keeps" said Corby. standing for the
raise. and discarding two OF his cards
The chief engineer stood pat. closed
up his hand like a fan and laid 1t face
down on the table before him.
DO your bluffing." said he to Corby.
well. say $1,000 WORTH" said Cor
by. looking up at the ceiling.
Thousand more'n you." said the
engineer.
And another" murmured Corby.
Now. had been standing behind
Corby when he drew his cards. and
when l saw him catch pair Of mines
to his three kings | figured that It
was all over, especially as the other
fellow had been nipped in two or
three standing pat bluffs before. But
the way the sailor man kept hitting
back at Corby finally got me to guess
ing. and by the time that he had
scooped out nearly all OF the coin
from his sack,I had almost began to
believe that he had caught pat fours.
When the $1,000 raises had gone back
and forth several times. and there was
nearly $1,000 in the pot. the chief en-
gineer. cool as a mountain trout in
a shady hole. emptied out his sack and
found out that he had a little more
than $1,000 left. He showed the
money to the center
Call you." he said.
Corby spread out his king full.
Won't do" said the chief engineer
spreading out seven-high straight
flush OF diamonds and reaching for the
pot.
Huh? What's upg That won't
do?" said Corby. with a queer express
sion on his face. Hands off that NOT,
What the devil are you talking about? +?
Since when did a flush beat a full
hand?"
"A flush don't. but this thing of
mine is straight flush which Is rooa