The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-12
HERE IS 4 MAN WHO COULDN' LOSE Charlie Taylor Has Sure Thing
 Poker System ALWAYS PLAYED HONESTLY But His Cautiousness in Handling His Chips and His Habit of
 Hiding Away Money Made
 the Game Pay.
ALWAYS PLAYED HONESTLY

the Game Pay.
 From the New York Sun.
 'I have heard tell said Col. Dabney, pulling his slouched hat trihe further down over his eyes and setting the back of his chair more comfortably against a post on the porch-"I've heard tell of many fallible systems for winning at poker, but I ain't never seed but one that worked all the time.
 He was a good looking chap was Charlie Taylor andS wore good clothes He had a shiner in his shirt front that looked to be worth $500 at least. He said he carried 1t around against his going broke some day when he was playing poker and might need a fresh stack to follow up his luck
 '"rhe boys found out afterward that this was just a joke of Chariie's cause he never went broke and his sinner want nothing but paste. In fact they found out good many things about Charlie later on that was paste also but we're coming to that"
 Most sports carry the real thing in shiners." said the barkeeper
 Course they do." agreed the colonel promptly, but Charlie want nothing but make believe sport What Char lie was was a iolier. He was the great est jolier l ever heard tell of The yarns that fellow could spin and the variations in the length of 'em seemed like he had 'em in stock in assorted sizes for every l occasion. Always begun just at the right moment and finished up the the very sec ond they want wanted no longer "Cording to his cards which was printed both sides and looked like a cheap job, he a real estate agent, i looking up properties for investment for his clients, he called em. Them i clients of his all lived down east some 1 where and didn't seem to bother him much seeing as how he never got up 1 till 10 o'clock and loafed round all day Maybe them clients was paste too, observed the barkeeper.
 The eolo2el only smiled in reply. It WAS evident that he agreed.
 SThe boys eould ssver get him into game of poker" Col. Dabney went on, sthough they know he played most every night He always said they was too strong for him and he only played for amusement anyway. The games he got Into was little 25 cent limit things, 
 that thought they was doing something devilish to play for real money with strangers. He got acquainted with the drummers through hs everlasting stock of yarns and then they used to ask him to play poker with 'em. Always had to beg him three or four times, too.
 You shouldn't never drag man into a poker game declared the barkeeper with emphasis. Hes sure to beat your l boots off you. It's worse'n sitting down l to play against a drunken man" l Well" continued the colonel, there i was something so jolly about Charlie 1 Taylor that the drummers kind of felt 1 their little game wouldn't be complete without him. He always had so many 1 funny things to say during the play that it was as good as a show. "If Charlie bet chip worth five cents l and another fellow raised him ten cents 1 Charlie would let out laugh that would make you jump. as If the ideea that any man should think he had a hand l worth betting ten cents on was absured. A ten cent bet would make him handle i his chips as gentle as a champagne glass and he'd hold his head away back and look at his papers as If he had specs on l and was trying to see under em.
 You could never tell what Charlie was | going to do next when there was only one man In against him and he laughed that away. He never told any funny stories when there was only one man in the pot with him, and if he called a hand he had the stuff with him. He most always got away with it when 1t was a man to man. but that want l his regular system.
 Good system, all the same, if he could always beat one man in.' remarked the barkeeper dryly
 ] "It was a long time before the boys found out why Charlie liked the little twenty-five cent limit games and pre- ferred to play against drummers and clerks Many of the old sports wished they could work it like Charlie did, but I don't believe there's another man liv- ing that could work that particular sys- tenn just that way.
 "It wasn't holdout he was using, I suppose?' demanding the barkeeper, get ting curious.
 'sHoldout LOT bless you no!' ex- claimed Col Dabney. His game was as straightforward and honest as mes sage to congress so far as handling the cards went. The system was in the way he handled his chips.
 Didn't put up no more'n the proper odds on a hand, I suppose?" querried the barkeeper.
 Didn't even put up that much most of the time" answered the colonel, smil- ing q set behind him and watched his play for more'n a week before l got on to the first idea of how 1t was that Char lie couldn't never lose.
 He didn't care nothing for pots with only two men in. Unless he had three or better he skipped them. What he liked was pots with four of five men in, all watching each other and all talking at once and none of 'em watching him. When there was two or three out he Jol- lied 'em with one of his yarns and 1t was always just the right length or yarn to cover the ground
 "To cover up his play, l suppose you mean?' said the barkeeper.
 That's the idea answered the colonel. with four or five others in the pot he didn't never ante If he could help It. He would be right in the middle Of some funny story when 1t come round to him and he would make motions in the air with one hand. so the others would all look up and make a push motion with the otherhand, like he was pushing chips fin the pot at the same time, but all he was doing was pushing the chips lit- tie further from him without adding anything to the pile.
 More paste" remarkeed the barkeeper smiling I've seen them make-believe antes before"
 well, he done it most artistic" sait ! the colonel "1e never looked at hi' cards while he went through the motions