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 RULES FOR DRAW POKER 
 
Book tc) 3L. 
 
Elzevir Card Tracts. 
 
 No. 1 
 
H-J 
 
 
 DRAW, 
 
 Rules for Playing Poker. 
 
 The Hon. ROBERT C. SCHENCK, 
 
 >J]^' Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the 
 
 United States of America^ near Her Majesty the 
 Queen of Great B.-itain aud Irela?id. 
 
 '' Put not your trust in Kings and Princes : 
 Three of a kind will take them both " 
 
 BROOKLYN, N. Y. : 
 
 PRIVATELY PRINTED. 
 1880. 
 
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THE AUTHOR ^S APOLOGY. 
 
 Ik the Summer of 1872, while yisiting 
 with others at a country house in Somerset - 
 shire, the guests, as is usual in English soci - 
 ety amused themselves in the evening with 
 games at cards : and, as is also usual, the 
 stakes were for pennies and sixpences. They 
 were anxious to learn the American game of 
 poker, of which they had heard, and of 
 which some of them already knew a little. I 
 showed them how it was played. When I 
 was coming away the lady of the house re - 
 quested me, as a favor to herself, and other 
 friends who thought it attractive and amus - 
 ing, to write down some of the rules of the 
 
It 
 
 game, as it is so generally played in Americao 
 I complied with her request as well as I could 
 on the very morning of my leaving her 
 hospitable house, and thought little more of 
 my act of politeness until she surprised me 
 by sending me some copies of these rules, 
 which a gentleman, another visitor, had had 
 printed for her, and for their own private 
 use and circulation, on his own private 
 printing - press. It was very prettily done. 
 It was intended as a compliment, and I am 
 very sure that nobody can be more amazed 
 or more annoyed than my friend, LadyW., 
 and her family and guests, to find that they 
 have thus unwittingly brought down on me 
 the wrath and reprehension of so many good 
 people in America. 
 
RULES. 
 
 The deal is of no special value 
 and anybody may begin. 
 
 The dealer, beginning with the 
 person at his left, throws around five 
 cards to each player, giving one card 
 at a time. 
 
 The dealer shuffles and makes up 
 the pack himself, or it may be done 
 by the player at his left, and the 
 player at his right must cut. 
 
 To begin the pool, the player next 
 to the dealer on his left, must put up 
 money, which is called an ''Ante," 
 
and then in succession, each player 
 passing around to the left, must, after 
 looking at his hand, determine if he 
 goes in or not ; and each person de - 
 ciding to play for the pool must put 
 in twice the amount of the ante. 
 Those v/ho decline to play throw up 
 their cards, face downward, and per 
 consequence, in front of the next 
 dealer. 
 
 When all who wish to play have 
 gone in, the person putting up the 
 ante can either give up all interest in 
 the pool, thus forfeiting the ante 
 which has been put up, or else can 
 play like the others who have gone 
 in, by ''making good, " that is, put- 
 ting up in addition to the ante as 
 much more as will make him equal in 
 
stake to the rest. 
 
 If a number of players have gone 
 in, it is best generally for the ante - 
 man to make good and go in even 
 with a poor hand, because half his 
 stake is already up, and he can 
 therefore stay in for half as much as 
 the others have had to put up, 
 which is a percentage in favor of his 
 taking the risk. This, of course, 
 does not apply if any one has 
 ''raised," that is more than doubled 
 the ante before it comes around to 
 the starting point. 
 
 Any one at the time of going in 
 must put up as much as double the 
 ante, and may put up as much more 
 as he pleases by way of ''raising" 
 the ante, in which case every other 
 
player must put up as much as will 
 make his stake equal to such in- 
 crease, or else abandon what he has 
 already put in. 
 
 Each player as he makes good and 
 equals the others who are in before 
 him, can thus increase the ante if he 
 chooses, compelling the others still to 
 come up to that increase or to aban - 
 don their share in the pool. 
 
 All ''going in" or ''raising" of the 
 pool, as well as all betting afterward, 
 must be in regular order, going round 
 by the left; no one going in, making 
 good, increasing the ante, or betting, 
 except in turn. 
 
 When all are in equally who intend 
 to play, each player in turn will have 
 the privilege of drawing ; that is, of 
 
5 
 
 throwing away any number of his five 
 cards and drawing as many others, 
 to try thus to better his hand. The 
 cards thus thrown up must be placed 
 face downward on the table, and, for 
 convenience, in front of or near the 
 next dealer. 
 
 The dealer, passing round to the 
 left will ask each player in turn how 
 many cards he will have, and deal 
 him the number asked for from the 
 top of the pack without their being 
 seen. The dealer, if he has gone in 
 to play for the pool, will, in like man - 
 ner, help himself last. 
 
 The players must throw away their 
 discarded cards before taking up or 
 looking at those they draw. 
 
 In the game every player is for 
 
himself and against all others, and to 
 that end will not let any of his cards 
 be seen, nor betray the value of his 
 hand by drawing or playing out of 
 his turn, or by change of countenance, 
 or any other sign. It is a great ob - 
 ject to mystify your adversaries up to 
 the *^call, " when hands have to be 
 shown. To this end it is permitted 
 to chaff or talk nonsense, with a view 
 of misleading your adversaries as to 
 the value of your hand, but this must 
 be without unreasonably delaying the 
 game. 
 
 When the drawing is all complete, 
 the betting goes around in order, like 
 the drawing, to the left. The ante 
 man is the first to bet unless he has 
 declined to play, and in that case the 
 
first to bet is the player nearest to the 
 dealer on his left. But the player 
 entitled to bet first may withhold his 
 bet until the others have bet round 
 to him, which is called ''holding the 
 age, " and this being an advantage, 
 should as a general rule, be practiced. 
 
 Each better in turn must put into 
 the pool a sum eqval at least to the 
 first bet made; but each may in turn 
 increase the bet or raise it as it comes 
 to him; in which case, the bets, pro- 
 ceeding around in order, must be 
 made by each player in his turn e - 
 qual to the highest amount put in by 
 any one, or else failing to do that, the 
 party who fails must go out of the 
 play forfeiting his interest in the pool. 
 
 When a player puts in only as 
 
8 
 
 much as has been put in by each 
 player who has preceded him, that is 
 called *' seeing'' the bet. 
 
 When a player puts in that much, 
 and raises it, that is called seeing the 
 bet and ^' going better." 
 
 When the bet goes around to the 
 last better or player who remains in, 
 if he does not wish to see and go 
 better, he simply sees and '*calls," and 
 then all playing must show their 
 hands and the highest hand wins the 
 pool. 
 
 When any one declines to see the 
 bet, or the increase of bet which has 
 been made, he ''lays down " his hand, 
 that is throws it up with the cards face 
 downward on the table. If all the 
 other players throw down their hands, 
 
9 
 
 the one who remains in to the last 
 wins, and takes the pool without 
 showing his hand. 
 
 To ''bluff'' is to take the risk of 
 betting high enough on a poor hand 
 or a worthless one, to make all the 
 other players lay down their hands 
 without seeing or calHng you. 
 
 When a hand is complete, so that 
 the holder of it can play without 
 drawing to better it, that is called a 
 ''pat'' hand. A bold player will 
 sometimes decline to draw any cards, 
 and pretend to have a pat hand, and 
 play it as such, when he has none. 
 
 A skillful player will watch and ob- 
 serve what each player draws, the ex - 
 pression of the face, the circumstances 
 and manner of betting, and judge, or 
 
lO 
 
 try to judge, of the value of each 
 hand opposed to him accordingly. 
 
 No one is bound to answer the 
 question, how many cards he drew, 
 except the dealer; and the dealer is 
 not bound to tell after the betting has 
 begun. 
 
 If the player determines to draw to 
 a pair, he draws three cards. If he 
 draws to two pair, he draws one 
 card. 
 
 If he holds three to begin with, he 
 draws two cards, in order to have the 
 best chance of making a full, inas - 
 much as, in playing, pairs are apt to 
 run together. But, to deceive his 
 adversaries and make them think he 
 has nothing better than two pairs, a 
 sharp player will often draw but one 
 
II 
 
 card to his threes. 
 
 It IS advisable sometimes to keep 
 an ace, or other high card, as an 
 ''outsider'' with a small pair and 
 draw but one card — thus taking the 
 chances of matching the high card, 
 and so getting a good two pairs, or 
 something better possibly — while at 
 the same time others may be deceived 
 into believing that the player is 
 drawing to threes. 
 
 When drawing to cards of the 
 same suit, to try to make a flush, or 
 to cards of successive denominations, 
 to try to make a sequence, as many 
 more cards are to be taken as will be 
 needed to fill out the flush or se - 
 quence. But it is seldom advisable 
 to venture in to draw for either a 
 
1^ 
 
 flush or a sequence when more than 
 one card is required to complete the 
 hand 
 
 When a player holds fours in his 
 original hand, it is as good as it can 
 be ; and yet it is best to throw away 
 the outside card and draw one, be - 
 cause others may then think he is on - 
 ly drawing to two pairs, or for a flush 
 or a sequence, and will not suspect 
 the great value of the hand. 
 
 When one is in (as he ought sel - 
 dom to be) without even so much as 
 a pair, his choice must be, either to 
 discard four cards, or three cards, and 
 draw to the highest or two highest in 
 the hand, or throw away the whole 
 hand and draw five, or look content 
 and serious, stand pat, and bet high ! 
 
13 
 
 The player determining to try this 
 last alternative on a worthless hand 
 had generally better begin by raising 
 when he goes in, or else nobody will 
 be likely to believe in his pretended 
 strong hand. 
 
 Relative value of hands in their or- 
 der, beginning with the best: 
 
 1. A Sequence Flush — Which is a 
 sequence of five cards, and all of the 
 same suit. 
 
 2. Fours— Which is four of the five 
 cards of the same denomination. 
 
 3. A Full — Which is a hand con- 
 sisting of three cards of the same 
 denomination and two of likewise e - 
 qual denomination. 
 
 4. A Flush — Which is all five cards 
 of the same suit. 
 
5. A Sequence — Which is all five 
 cards not of the same suit but all in 
 sequence. [In computing the value 
 of a sequence, an ace counts either 
 as the highest or lowest card, that 
 is, below a deuce or above a king. ] 
 
 6. Threes — Which is three cards 
 of the same denomination, but the 
 other two of different denominations 
 from each other. 
 
 7. Two Pairs. 
 
 8. One Pair. 
 
 9. When a hand has neither of the a- 
 bove the count is by the cards of 
 highest value or denomination. 
 
 When parties opposed, each holds 
 a pair, the highest pair wins, and the 
 same when each party holds threes or 
 fours. 
 
15 
 
 When each party holds two pairs, 
 the highest pair of the two determines 
 the relative value of the hands. 
 
 When each party holds a sequence^ 
 the hand commencing wath the high - 
 est card in sequence wins; so also 
 when two or more parties hold flush- 
 es against each other. 
 
 That full counts highest of which 
 the three cards of the same denomi- 
 nation are highest. The two cards 
 of the same denomination help only 
 to constitute the full, ^but do not add 
 to the value of the hand. 
 
 When hands are equal so far that 
 each party holds a pair, or two pairs, 
 of exactly the same value, then the 
 next highest card or cards in each 
 hand must be compared with the next 
 
i6 
 
 highest card or cards in the other 
 hand to determine which wins. 
 
 In case of the hicjhest hands 
 (which very seldom occurs) being 
 exactly equal the pool is divided. 
 
 The main elements of success in the 
 game are : ( i ) good heck; ( 2 ) good 
 cards; ( 3 ) plenty of cheek; and ( 4 ) 
 good temper. 
 
i7 
 THE GAME OF POKAIRE. 
 
 BY BOB sea's KENK. 
 
 Thus rules tlie festiye gambolaire : 
 Never bet on a single pair. 
 For three of a kind wiil beat you square, 
 Or eyen a straight mil lead that are ; 
 But if a full your hand shall bear. 
 Your chance to win may be reckoned fair — 
 That is, if your three are away up there ; 
 Kings may do, but by aces swear, 
 Though four of a kind may make you stare. 
 Or a royal flush lift the four hand's hair. 
 Therefore, draw, boys, draw with care. 
 And shift your cards with a careless air. 
 And when at last to call you dare. 
 You may ^^rake the pile" of the gay crou - 
 paire. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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