Side Trail
PAY DAY POKER
John Duncklee
I was nineteen years old in 1948 and working on the E4 Ranch near Big Horn, Wyoming. Every pay day I went to Sheridan to cash my hundred dollar check, put eighty dollars from it into my account at the bank, ten in a separate pocket for Bull Durham, a couple of beers, and other expenses. With the other ten I would try my luck at some poker table.
I would never try to make a living as a poker player, but those games were good to me most of the time. One particular game stands out clearly. There were seven occupied chairs around the table. A "house-man" sat in one chair, I assumed to keep the game honest. He would take a dollar from every pot for the house whether he won or lost. I had been playing for about an hour, and the cards were going my way. I had parlayed my ten dollar start up into at least thirty. The next hand of "draw" continued my luck. I picked up the cards to find two pair, queens and tens. I opened for fifty cents, not wanting to look lucky. I was raised to three dollars as the betting went around the table.
Retaining a stone-faced expression as best I could at nineteen years old, I drew one card. A queen! A full house; queens over tens! I tried to keep breathing as normally as possible. I would also have to bet wisely so that I could keep as many players in the game for as long as I could. Since I had opened the hand it was up to me to make the first bet. I checked. The house man, sitting next to me, bet a dollar. The next player raised two dollars. A short man, wearing a greasy wool cap, across the table from me raised four dollars. The next two players tossed in their bills. The man to my right tossed his six dollars into the pile in the center of the table. It was my turn to bet. There was already a good pot so I took the chance I might scare everybody out. "Six and six more," I said as calmly as I could. The house man dropped and so did the next player. The short man in the greasy cap surprised me. "Your six and ten more," he said with a confident air. The rest of the players dropped, so it was up to me. "Your ten, and ten more," I said, pushing most of my remaining bills into the growing pile.
"Greasy cap" hesitated. I glanced at the dwindling stack beside him. He counted out ten one dollar bills, and tossed them into the center of the table. "Call," he said.
"Queens over tens, full house," I announced calmly.
"Four kings," he muttered, and extended both arms to drag in the pile of bills from the center of the table.
I looked at his cards across the table. "Wait a minute," I said. "I don't see your four kings, only three."
"Greasy cap" kept his arms extended, and didn't volunteer to spread out his hand on the table. I glanced at the house man, but he didn't say a word. I stood up, reached across the table between the man's arms and spread "Greasy cap's" cards. The six of diamonds covered the jack of clubs. "I reckon this pot belongs to me," I said, and pulled the pile of money to my place at the table. Complete silence and somber looks made me wonder what would happen next. I stacked the bills, and stuffed them into the right front pocket of my Levi's. It was my deal. I passed the cards to the house man. "I'll be leavin'....unless he's leavin'," I said nodding toward "Greasy cap".
"Greasy cap" didn't make a move. I glanced around at the other players, wondering why they had chosen to remain playing with a cheat. I guessed they were used to Greasy cap, and knew how to watch him. I also couldn't figure out why the cheat kept his seat with only a dollar left in front of him.
I walked across Main Street to the Mint Bar, ordered a beer, and went into the men's room to count my winnings. Taking out my ten start up money, I had won a month's wages. What a pay day that had been!
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