The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-23
WOMAN CHEATED AT POKER.
WASHINGTON INCIDENT THAT
STOPPED A LITTLE GAME.


wives OF Representatives, all from the
South and West, organized themselves
into a poker club. Not being women Of
fashion they knew nothing about bridge
except that 1t was the rage in Washington,
as everywhere else. But they knew all
that they needed to know about poker In
order to extract fun from the game.
They were all middleaged women, most
Of them with grown children. but they enc
joyed poker, and played three afternoons
a week, from 2 until o. They played In
rotation at each Others homes, hotels or
boarding houses, and a little luncheon
preceded the game. The ordinary ante
was five calls ten" cents, and the limit
was a quarter, except for iackpots, which
could be opened for four bits.
The six Representatives wives found a
lot Of pleasure in their little poker fiestas.
None Of them won or lost very much. While
none of them was rich, they were all in
such circumstances that neither winnings
nor losings OF a mild little small limit poker
game could affect them In the slightest way.
There wasn't a greedy woman, OF one over
eager to win. in the group. They merely
played for pure fun.
Then q new member of the poker group
was admitted. The new member was
several notches above what is here called
the Congressional set. She was above all
official connection, although she trained
with Washington's top Hottest official and
diplomatic set when she wanted to. She
wds a widow with plenty Of money. One
of her daughters had married into the
European aristocracy.
She was addicted TO cards, but curiously
enough, had not been swept from her moor
ings by the bridge craze. Poker was her
game. She adored poker. She knew one
of the women who belonged to the little
poker group comprising the six Representa-
tives' wives. She had only to hint that
she would like 10 join the party to be in
stantly admitted. A woman Of her social
importance could not fail to impress q
party Of women who moved within the
somewhat limited orbit Of Congressmen's
wives in Washington. She celebrated her
initiation by giving the first Of the poker
parties after her admittance at her suite in
one Of the main hotels here. The luncheon
that she served was extremely dainty. She
was brilliant and engaging. albeit a tnfe
naughty and distant on early acquaintance,
but the half dozen Representatives wives
from the South and West voted her charm
lhB tHC hAo S1AhC OC6ohs
After the first game they found it a bit
difficult to analyse the new member Of their
poker party. The new member had won
virtually all OF the money at hat first sitting.
On three separate occasions she had had
all OF the chips on the table in from Of her
place, and the other six members were buy
ing chips from her all the time.
What the six Representatives wives
HU..a1 Il AtHEN.,lN - account HA- In nNn-
sidering the system Of play Of the new men,
Der. was a little popularity she had when
she was called or called somebody else.
She never actually showed her cards.
She gave merely the most ~mouaenLary, not
to say instantaneous, fash at them before
she tossed her hand into the discard, and
then she raked down the pot.
For example, on that first afternoon one
Of the Representatives wives filed a queen
high straight, and she bet the limit on il
for quite a long time, the new member
boosting her baok every time. Eventually
the Representatives eife concluded that
nor queen high straight couldn't be very
good, and she called the new member.
Il have a queen high straight" she OBJ
served, in tossing her quarter chip to the
centre and calling, What a v your
mine is king high. said the new member.
barely spreading the cards out in her two
hands, and almost instantly shutting them
up again like a fan and tossing them face
down into the discard. Then she hauled
in the large pot. None Of the other women
had actually seen her cards.
But it was all right. The new member
had said that her hand was a king high
straight, and that settled it. 1t was i'm
npssible to suppose that she could be mis-
taken as TO the makeup Of her own hand
and equally impossible to imagine that she
tossed her cards, face down, into the discard
| from any motive except oarelessness or
| perhaps forgetfulness OF the rule.
However, that same thing happened very
many times in the progress OF the first after
| Moons game. Almost every time the new
member called or was called she'd simply
name what she had-and it was always a
shade higher than the next best hand out
and Dull the chips over TO her stack.
All the ak other women were struck by
this popularity. n they all exhibited a
certain amount of nervousness and pass
ing chacrin when their hands were lust
topped. Yet while this was going on they
did not even exchange glances with each
other. They disliked TO display whatever
passing annoyance they might have felt
even to that extent.
When the first afternoons session was
over and the new member, who acted as
banker-the hostess was required by
the rules of the group to act as banker
had scarcely any money TO pay out, for
she had the great majority OF chips
at the finish, they all congratulated her
upon her wonderful run OF luck.
Marvellous, wasn't it2' replied the new
member, sweetly and pleasantly, and the
ak Representatives wives departed from
the hotel together. But they didn't say a
word TO each other about the popularity in
the play Of the new member
The next session was held at the home
OF one of the Congressional women. The
new member was again INDUCED in her
strange but exceedingly profitable peou-
Iiarity OF play. She won nearly all OF the
big pots, but only on a few occasions did
| she show what had won the pots on,
and when she did display her hands her
cards were'yery strong ones. With the
exception OF the three times, however,
abe merely announced, in q placid, perfectly
confident and eesy sort Of tone, what she
had, threw her cards face down into the
discard and pulled in the chips.
At the close Of play on this afternoon,