The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-09-13

in Europe The poker rooms in Chicago
ana ST. Louis multiplied fast and q
a smashing business just after the war.
Inc older ] grow and The more play
p l,,i>,. the more ! am sure II is che least
known or any game of cards. 1t is the
young fellow who is having beginner
luck who knows all about poke. Cen
orally poker is played far more honestly
nowadays than twenty or thirty years
ago A man who has played the game
IN an the western towns as long as 1
have must necessarily have oeen am hon
est player or he would not be alive.
Poker Playing a Good School.
The scientific playing Of poker is the
greatest school of human nature ever in
vented. L once lost $500 by an opponent
observing a very minute fact in my ma
ture at that time. II was fifteen years
aGO. at Leadville I was on the Santa Fe
La Junta. Colo Colonel George Quicker
and several other professionals were
along Someone found out tnat we coUll
not make connection at la Junte. Colonel
Quicker casually noted that in my worry
about missing close connection I lightly
fingered the button hOl IS IF NY coat with
nv left hand. Ii was several weeks later
that Sucker and met i'm game at Lead
Vile There were six of us around the
table. The Jackpot had sWclled TO about
sL-0v- j had $500 In IT, finally called
Quicker and he won on three seVens. [
had three fiVeS- He told me some time
after that when he saw me put my fin-
gers in my button hole my sUOid COuntg-
nance then was mask for my somewhat
worried feelings al poor hand. Buffalo
Bill once told me that in a big game a {
Onana an opponent observed MN lEiIJ
bite MS mustach5 the least bit. The Ou-
pOnent had noted that as Bits III con-
SCiOuS trick when little nervous about
hand. on the strength of that ODscrVu-
ton Bill was called after dozen raises
ana he dropped several Thousand dollars
IN few minutes
Il was at Leadville i'm 1880. when games
in which there were $4,000 and upward
were sometimes played. and also i'm Vir-
GINA city in 1873, when the Comstock
some men $4,000 and $4,000 richer. [
once saw a game I'm Leadviile I'm which
four miners Omitted States Senator Ta-
Dor among them handled $4,000 between
9 p. m. and ] a. m. 7 believe a Denver
man named Peters started i'm that game
with Sl.200 in his pocket that night and
came away with $4,000
Big Games at Cheyenne.
"The longest succession of big games
Of any town I have ever known I'm the
west were those at Cheyenne. when the
cattle kings became famous. from 1913 20
lo62 MilhoDalres abounded there then,
and many men who were poor cowpunch-
erS in 1870 mad bank accounts Of 500 600
in 1880. besides herds worth twice as much
more. These men were very prOdigal
with their cash and all were c0uCeftcd
enough to believe they knew an about ey--
thlnE-pOker included. They were fust
meat FOR professional gamblers Then
LutIe was also small army OF young
EngIShmen who came ont west to get
into the cattle business. The English
who have money and who think they are
poker players are exactly the men that
the fraternity seeks There were at one
time twenty-five big poker clubs and
twice as many cheap ones. People used
10 say thar no other town Of the Size of
Cheyenne had so many gambling places
i have known young Englishnen to land
in Cheyenne with $4,000 and $500 for
the purpose Of going into cattle. and the,-
never did thing until they had gambied
away every dime. There were two sui
cides in one week alone i'm the sumner
OF 1913 of young Englishmen who had
spent large fortunes I'm faro or n0Iyer
vided into farms and the cattle barons
lost heavily by the freezing winter wealth
er. Cheyenne began TO decrease I'M fqoulr-
lauou and her rich men became poor The
gorgeous gambling houses closed one b1-
one. and i'm ISIS there was hardly ore
left. New York World