The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-07-12
THE FOOLISH FOUR-FLUSH HABIT


10 Atiidt0uTS ASdtuSt II
pot. which was IS. Gates stayed. and
Bolton, who was next TO him, stayed.
The next two drCI3ed. and my right
hand neighbor, Hendricks. came in. Il
looked fairly well for me, as out of the
three against me two had passed.
The Bluff Didn't Win.
, Bolton might have passed blind. but
the chances were that my queens were
! better than his or Hendricks hand.
OF course 1 could not judge what
Gates might have. Nobody had raised
| however. and 1 decided 10 stand pat
and bluff on the queens. Gates took
! three so / figured that he would lay
down, and I put up SIS.
L was right as to Gates. but, to my
disgust. Bolton raised me So. Hen
bricks then folded, and 1 was left alone
with Bolton.
1T was practically certain that he
had filed q strong hand. and, Of course,
my queens were worthless. If IL had
been any one of the other four VINO
mad been in his place would have laid
down, but my temper got the better
of me, and L showed my whole pile in,
making a raise of nearly $40 over his
bet. MY thought, of course, was that
he would credit me with a strong hand,
and lay down, but he didn't.
Whether he had judged me correct
II for a bluff. or whether he called me
on general principles / can't say, but
he called and showed a small straight,
OF course winning the pot.
THE feeling that / deserved 20 lose
the last thirty-fiVe didn't make me any
happier, or decrease my hostility TO
Bolton. but it did have the effect Of
bracing me up, and ] bought the last
hundred with the fine determination
that 1 would cash in the moment l
found myself even with the game. L
lost all ambition to come out a winner,
but 1 was desperately resolved to go
broke or get back the whole OF my $780,
"As it happened, my chance for
start upward came on the very neg
deal. which. of course. was Bolton $
1t was a jackpot on his straight, and IT
passed all the way around to Gates. 1
had q four straight. king high.
Gates opened il for 50, and the other
four all came in. That made $50 in the
pot. and it only took So for me TO play,
for no one had raised. L judged thae
the hand was worth the money, as 1
had not only a chance OF a straight,
but also a chance for a pair Of kings
or queens or jacks. Kings or queens
might perhaps be enough to call on
That I could not judge Of till later, buS
I put up the So and waited.
I'm the draw each man excepting
1t was a doubtful outlook for him, and
he laughed as he threw in a white chip
without even looking at his draw.
e" What show have 1 got against five
one-card draws% he said carelessly-
But before it got around to me II
locked very much as if he might nave
a show, for they all laid down their
hands.
Won the Pot.
IT had waited, as he had done, before
looking at my draw, to see what the
others would DO, and when it came my
turn I picked up my card. 1t was a
king, and without the slightest hesita-
ton I showed $50 in the pot. I had
made up my mind to do it, before ! saw
what I had caught. for I couldn't have
had a better chance for a bluff. es-
pecially as I had just been caught in
one and might be supposed to be
afraid TO try another one so soon.
Gates puzzled for fully two minutet
before deciding what to do, and I could
see that he was looking at me very
carefully. At last he said:
-" You're a pretty bold player ]
wouldn't suppose that a man would
try the same sort of a play two deals
in succession. when ne got caught the
first time, but, honest Injun, 1 believe
you're bluffing.' And he put up the $50.
1T was a good CALL but I won the
pot in spite of il, Cor he had a pair of
kings. the same as 1 had. but his next
card was a ten spot and mine, OF
course. was a queen.
"That gave me about $50 more TO
play with, and I decided that it was
time for me to play cautiously for the
rest of the game, so I stuck to the safe
end and nursed my pile up to 1904 in
the course Of half an hour more. Then,
I'm glad to say, I had sense enough to
cash in.
you might think that an experience
like that would tend to make me more
liable to play fotN<hushes and four
straights, but it didn't. There was
nothing in it to upset the line Of reas-
Oning, which. as I said, convinced me
that it's not the best poEEr"