Poker Wallet February 14, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
This poker story comes from an extremely rare poker book that has, unfortunately, never been scanned and put online, John Lillard’s Poker Tales. It is perhaps the best collection of poker anecdotes the world has seen and dates to 1896:
A certain very well known New Jersey politician – an old man, whose fame extends far beyond the borders of his own State – is celebrated as a great bluffer. At Trenton they play quite a lively game at times, and this old man was formerly one of the most rapacious players there. Whenever he got a particularly large hand he would reach down into his waist-coat, pull out a huge wallet, slam it down on the table, and cry: ‘I raise that a hundred!’ As a rule he scooped the pot. Several men who had seen him do this several times noticed that he rarely did it except when he was reasonably sure of winning. They began to wonder what the big wallet contained, but none of them had nerve enough to call, as they knew the old man was a close player, who never bet unless he had something good.
Now the well known Jersey politician is about to get his comeuppance.
One day last winter a young legislator from Newark was in the game. The old man evidently had a good hand, and it was a rich jack pot. The young Newarker also had a good hand — a really good one, a full house, aces high. He sized up the old man and thought that a flush or a small full was about his size. They raised each other for comparatively small amounts several times. Then the old man’s hand went down into his waistcoat and out came the big wallet. Down it slammed on the table, and the old man shouted: ‘I raise you a hundred!’ The young man from Newark ‘skun’ his cards, looked at the old man a minute, and then, reaching down, he took off a long boot, looked at it carefully, threw it upon the table, and said: ‘I call. I guess there is more leather in my boot than in your wallet.’ And so it turned out. The wallet was empty. The old man had succeeded in bluffing the entire crowd for months on an empty wallet. This time the pot went to Newark.
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