Evening star., 1942-10-19

W1V1A e41C AAGA1 III
Henry McLsmors. the arm ed
forces. Once a week, say, make it
obligatory for the WAACS and the
WAVES to sit down to a poker ses-
sion with the soldiers, the sailors
and the marines.
This comes close to being the all
time suggestion for morale building
among our fighting men. If car
ried out, 1t would do more good than
100 USO huts, 200 assorted can
teens, 1000 song tests and double
portions of chicken on Sunday.
Why? Because it would make
our soldiers, sailors and marines
wealthy, extremely wealthy. Tho
poorest poker player among them
would move through the WAACs
and the WAVES like a shearer
through sheep. I don't know what
the total payroll Of the women is,
but whatever 1t is, that sum would
pass into the pockets of the men.
They would never lack for spend
ing money. They would all Jingle,
Jingle, Jingle like q coin purse as
they marched.
The idea came to me the other
day when I kibitzed a women's
poker game. That is, they said 1t
was a poker game. To a man ac-
customed to stud and draw it was
like dropping In on some strange
ritual of an obscure jungle tribe. AS
matter of fact, had been kibitz-
ing for full half hour before a
chance remark dropped by one of
the players" tipped me of that
it was poker that was being played.
The only thing standard about
this poker" was the cards. It was
regulation 52-card pack, but what
the girls did with this deck ranks
right alongside of what happened to
Custer at Little Big Horn as a
massacre.
1t was dealers choice, and some
OF the choices were astounding.
Secret six coming up," one woman
declared as she started parceling
out the cards.
I won't attempt to describe "se-
cret six" to you in full. There aren't
enough keys on this typewriter to
paint fully the horrors of it. The
same goes for some of the other con-
coctions other dealers chose, such as
"the fiery furnace" 'the poverty
miseries" and "howling john"
In secret SIX" the first three cards
dealt are wild. Or, maybe it's the
first four cards. Come to think of
1t (and I don't like to- believe the
first five cards are wild. They are
all dealt face downward, with only
the sixth and final card exposed.
Now the peeking at the hole cards
begins. That is followed by giggling,
and then by the betting.
I took quick glance at the hidden
cards of one of the players and sug-
gested she raise.
"Raise? On .hat?" she de-
manded.
six kings" I whispered, that be-
ing a strong enough hand in my
poker league.
"And lose my shirt? No, sir. You
don't know this game" she said.
resignedly folding her cards.
She was right. Six kings would
have gotten her nowhere. The pot
was won by gilded lily Of q hand
called a super royal straight flush"
Only If she had declared for low
with her weak" hand Of six kings
would she have shared in the Dot
that tied for low.
"The fiery furnace" Is aptly
named. Not even Shadrach and his
chums would dare sit in on this one,
In 1.-The fiery furnace" (and I saw
this with my own eyes and heard it
with my own earS all black cards
are wild and all red cards are half
wild. Honest, cross my heart Ap-
parently the dealer deals cards until
she is tried and then, with the
betting finished, the players start
figuring up what they have, In frac-
tions, too.
Investigation revealed that I
didn't chance in on any unusual
women's poker game; that women
poker players everywhere indulge
IN such brainstorm variations of an
honorable and ancient sport. Now
1t is easy to see what the WAVES
and the WAACS. raised on such
games, would do in a real poker
game with their brothers In arms.
1t would be murder, men. How
would you like to get in a game
where two or three Of the players
wouldn't stay on anything as weak
as . full house? Or when they only
had four of q kind?
Distributed by McNaught Syndicate, Inc,
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