New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-05-19
METHODS OF P0OLR00MS.
HOW BETS ARE HANDLED.
Schemes by Which Bookmahers
Vim on Patrons Money.

The poolrooms in operation in this city are vastly
different from those existence in the sos. Four
teen years ago there only one kind of pooroom
one which occupied the ground floor Of some
business building like the famous White Elephant
poolroom. in Broadway. or the floor above saloon
Those poolrooms had wide. swinging doors at which
guards seldom stationed. and which any
stranger might open without finding his way barred
to the Everything possible was done in those
days TO attract the betting public and yet keep in
the favor of the police.
None of the rooms were attractive: most OF them
were poorly furnished. A room with carpet or
oilcloth the floor unusual. Each room had
a complete wire service There platform ex-
tending the length Of one of the walls and above
the platform the same wall was long black
board on which the Of the horses, Jockeys
odds, condition of the tracks, weights, ETC., were
written. Behind a thin partition. which separated
the players and certain employees of the room, sat
the telegraph operator, and him sat the
cashier and sheet writer
Little windows cut in the partition, and
when person wanted to wager on the chances of
a horse he handed his money through the window
near which the sheet writer sat The money
taken by beside the sheet writer. and the
bettor received small card showing what horse he
had bet and the amount OF the bet. The number
of pooroom players in those days was much larger
It is said. than now. and big wagers were also more
numerous than at present.
To-day there many kinds of poolrooms. The
most popular what known wire rooms
connected with syndicate. Then there are wire
not members OF syndicate. and telephone
rooms Wire rooms get their news direct from the
track by wire from nearby central dis
tributing stations. Telephone rooms receive their
news from wire room, and are usually n branch
of the wire room. 1t costs considerably less 10
operate telephone rooms than 1t does the rooms
with a wire service. One Of the largest poolroom
syndicates this city which has been in existence
for about fifteen years, owes its growth mainly TO
the way it tried to reach the betting public 1t
has had n telephone room wherever such room
could be conducted successfully 1t has a hun
dred telephone rooms to every wire room. AS its
patrons numoer thousands Of persons, including
many women 1t has a better chance OF making
what Is known as round book than any other
syndicate in the city. It has never been known 70
refuse any wager from 81 TO $1,000, and 1t has been
known 10 take wagers of several thousand dollars
METHODS OF BETTING.
"round hook Is an old racetrack term. When
q boolxmaker is able to get good play against the
chances Of every horse in race. and he stands TO
win no matter what horse is the victor ne mas
r,.da \ round book" Should the book show that
:, ono horse wins the bookmaker loses. it is n
..r,,,ar,s hook" All the rooms Of syndicate
arc expected TO make every effort to make round
book"
The manager must report AT once 10 'he c.n ma.
oe,ca Of the syndicate all wagers made over Soo on
q favorite and any large bets on long shot'
horse that IS practically despised In the betting
This enables the heads OF the syndicate TO lay
off, the bet If they want 10 do So TO lay OH d
hot means 70 place the bet with some otheT sytul-
Cnte at the track "Het7 'i'e "''"' ~ We 80
entered to run
The svndicates usually lay off the big bets at
the track for by doing they run, no risk OF
losing and may win n large sum OF money with
the bettors' money For instance, II tho odds
against horse to l at the track the syndi-
catc will place the bet those odds II they lay 1t
Of ana Will only take the money from tho bettor
al the odds Of 20 l. Should the wager be win
ming one they would give the bettor 5000 and put
IN their strong boxes the other $500 when the
bettor for them.
HOW THE INFORMATION COMES.
The employees OF the up-to-date pooroom are a
telegraph or telephone operator a sheet writer. a
cashier and several watchers at the doors Tho
telephone or telegraph operator handles all tho
messages Most Of the messages from the
track and from them the patrons OF the room learn
tho condition OF the track. the weights TO ne car
ried by tho entered in the races. the names
Of the Jockeys the odds quoted by the bookmakers
at the track against the chances OF the horses
winning the race or finishing place or second,
besides a description Of the races as tho horses are
running after the barrier goes up, and the results
OF the races. The time made by the winner is also
received.
The messages have been sent from the track by
an employe Of the telegraph company. Tho track
man must have his wits with him at all times. or
he may make serious bluncers which would cost
the subscribers his service large sums OF money.
with the poolroom men on a horse and send a
message to the effect that the horse Won when he
finished second third or among the also rams.
OF course he would have TO have Confcderates to
carry out such scheme Track operators have
yielded to this temptation. and one OF them some
years ago was alleged 70 have feeced pooroom men
Of more than $4,000.
When the track man sends the message that the
rier went up. The receiving operator places in
memorandum book the time when the barrier went
up in each race and these memorandum books are
compared by the heads Of the syndcates TO dis
in a service when 'wiretappers'' busy. They
a wire between distributing station and
pOolroom, ana hold back the result Of 4 race until
they have bet on the winner.
awake the track man. MANY special messages
the wires. especially what called
flashes. When a horse is heavily backed tho
track the odds against him drop and the track
backed down" for instance. from 20 to l TO 10
to J. That message is called the flash on the horse
a bettor makes a straight bet when he wagers
horse to win. a place bet" when he bets tho
show bet when he bets that the horse viii be
first second or third II the horse finishes third
better he wins the show bet"
The floors of most rooms are now carpeted and
made and there is little combination play. \
person makes a combination play II he bets that
three horses will run as he names them 10 run.
For instance. he selects three horses 10 win. One
tho third at 3 TO / in the betting His wager is S.
His winnings the first horse placed the
second horse he has named TO win In another
and then the total sum of the winnings OF the
must win for him another race TO make the
bination successful The combination would be
equal 20 a wager Of s. against S2635